It has been far too long since i blogged. And I think I finally have something to say. It is time to quit mafia wars. I am sure it won't be easy for me, and might take a couple months to totally detox, but it is clear to me now: I should not spend any more money on this game and should start spending less time on it. Zynga doesn't deserve meh :P
It has been a fight with zynga from the beginning. They have fought the player base tooth and nail. They killed our beloved trading communities. They loaded us down with event after event. They failed to fix glitches and errors that were actually annoying and instead made changes to the way we became accustomed to playing the game. They bombarded us with "fire sales"/marketplace promotions. They continue to offer double builds at very annoying and limited times that are hard for working americans like me to catch (when the obvious simple solution is to make the double builds triggered individually on a timer). They continue to dump limited time properties on us. They created an exclusive "VIP" program.
They drove away millions of mafia wars players.
I think the final straw was that I, like many of you, now no longer get proper experience points when attacked, or am being limited to a certain amount. I am now relegated to 25k experience every 5 minutes. (But the final, FINAL, straw was reading of yet ANOTHER limited time property, the Naughty one or whatever it is going to be called.)
Mafia Wars has been a central part of my life for 4 years solid now. It has been so much fun, and I have made so many real friends. Zynga truly created something special. But they screwed it up beyond all recognition (i believe the expression is FUBAR :v ). I mean, this game has gone to places that I don't think Mark Pincus could have ever dreamed up. The social side of this game is HUGE!!! So many war pages and family pages and help centres and secret groups and blogs and on and on. I have seen true friendships, and relationships, and even a marriage result from mafia wars. I have seen amazing teamwork, and hierarchy, and organisation, and camaraderie. And the camaraderie...that is what really makes it hard to quit.
But it is time. The game has become not unlike a drug addiction. The fun part of getting high every day is over. Now it's become this miserable slavery of spending and time consumption and dealing with zynga's crap.
TO ZYNGA AND MARK: you ruined this game. Just like you are ruining your company. I hope you go bankrupt Mr. Pincus. That might make me feel better about the stupid amount of money i sent you.
TO ALL MY FRIENDS and FOES: I love you all. You made this game fun and amazing. Without you there is no mafia wars. And so many of you are leaving the game.
TO ALL THE QUITTERS: Yes i have strongly disliked the quitters, but soon, I am joining you ;)
From the artist formally known as {ℳ} ßrµ╬µ§, I bid you adieu.
There is a boycott set to begin at 12:00 AM June 23rd Pacific (California) Time. The FB page for the boycott group is here
The countdown timer can be found here
well said brother
ReplyDeleteYes, i can only agree.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better
I quit 6 months ago today and sadly i can say i havent missed the crap involved with daily play one bit. I wish you well, I found it was easiest for me to walk away when i ran through the last of my rp's like you I had spent lots of money and didnt want to see it abandoned but honestly it was worth it to let it go
ReplyDeleteback in the day it was certainly a great addiction i too am getting close,its the friends i fear ill lose thru the process of quitting the game,but like you,it is time only for me it may take a longer amount of time...peace. ӤᾭϐΦḎὟ
ReplyDeleteI was playing 3 accounts daily and down to only 1 and soon will stop but it's hard as I have been doing it for years.
ReplyDeleteI am weaning myself from FB and the game.
Even now playing only one account it makes a HUGE difference on time wasted.
If you spend money on a basic point and click game you are a fucking idiot.
ReplyDeleteI hope you go broke for the "stupid amount of money i sent you".
As long as Zynga has morons like you sending them money they don't care about fixing the problems.
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DeleteWell, you, "Anonymous", are certainly entitled to your opinion ;) However, I think it is appropiate to define idiot:
Deleteid·i·ot [id-ee-uht]
noun
1.
Informal. an utterly foolish or senseless person.
2.
Psychology . (no longer in technical use; considered offensive) a person of the lowest order in a former and discarded classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.
Perhaps I am foolish and senseless to a degree. However, I am a responsible employed adult who has not gone into debt over this game :) I have not sacrificed or gone without anything in my life financially over this game. So really you are being a bit myopic and narrow-minded to label me a "fucking idiot." Now, I will hand it to you, it was idiotic to spend all this money. But doing something idiotic and being a fucking idiot are two very different things. Perhaps if you were being less narrow minded when you wrote that you would have realised that.
my·op·ic [mahy-op-ik, -oh-pik]
adjective
lacking tolerance or understanding; narrow-minded.
And hoping that someone goes broke over this (which won't happen), kind of makes you an asshole lol. So cheers, dick :D
Oh and I guess you somehow failed to grasp that this is a goodbye article, which means I wont be sending zynga anymore money. unless you thought I was so fucking idiotic that i plan to keep sending them money after I quit playing.
Deleteand one last problem with your poorly thought out remarks:
Delete"As long as Zynga has morons like you sending them money they don't care about fixing the problems."
Without morons like me sending them money, they have no revenue, which means no money to pay for this game. You think it runs for free? All the zynga employees work for free out of charity for us poor gamers. And the electric company donates the electricity to power their servers. Yup. If only everyone played for free then mafia wars would be perfect (and I assume you play, or did play, or you would be reading a blog on mafia wars and commenting on it).
#endrantgoodday
I don't see what difference it makes where anyone spends their money. Just because someone spends money on this so called game, does not make them a effing idiot. It is no different than if they spend their extra money on a game of bowling, golf or a night out to the movies. As long as you're a responsible adult paying your bills on time and putting away for the future, if you have some extra money to spend on activities that you enjoy and are legal, what difference does it make where you spend it. I guess Mr. Anonymous, you've never gone bowling, golfing or fishing or have done anything that it takes money to do so?
DeleteI can see spending like 20 bucks here and there, but to throw away thousands just to be stronger then other people is absurd. Instead of wasting it on skills do something useful if you have that kind of money burning a hole in your pocket and donate to charaties and such. I cant justify spending thousands of dollars on a simple (yet broken) flash point and click game, that is just silly.
DeleteThose players are also the ones who like to justify their spending power by posting people who attack them and lose. Nothing to brag about.
Well you make a foolish assumption, you assume I am not charitable...I'll leave it at that ;)
DeleteAnd hoping that someone goes broke over this (which won't happen), kind of makes you an asshole lol. So cheers, dick :D
DeleteTO ZYNGA AND MARK: you ruined this game. Just like you are ruining your company. I hope you go bankrupt Mr. Pincus. That might make me feel better about the stupid amount of money i sent you.
So you hope Pincus goes bankrupt but somehow you aren't a dick? And no one feels the least bit sorry for you or the other CC players who have had your way in this game based on money and not actual skills. The only skills you had is copying your CC info to Zynga so please spare us your bullshit. You got what you paid for and you deserve every bit...:)
It's great that you take offense at someone calling you an idiot for spending money on this game. It shows that you spent a TON of money on this game if you are trying to sound smart by posting cheeky comments and definitions making you seem intelligent. If you were smart you would have seen long ago that this game is doomed and made the proper decision to stop spending money. You did not, and in the process are out a lot of money. For a game. A point and click game at that. So how smart are you again? lol
DeleteAnd that's why you are out a ton of money and have nothing to show for it besides your MW name. Are you going to put that name on your driver's license? How about your car tag? Sorta like a way to relive the good old days when you were somebody?
DeleteMark Pincus is a greedy dick. You or whoever it was said they i hope I go broke over spending on this game. I hope Mark Pincus goes broke because he is freaking greedy corporate leech who preys on people. And I don't recall asking you or anyone to feel sorry for me ;)
DeleteOh and I never said I wasn't dick either. So bite meh.
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DeleteAnonymousJune 25, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Delete"It's great that you take offense at someone calling you an idiot for spending money on this game. It shows that you spent a TON of money on this game "
I DID SPEND A TON OF MONEY ON THIS GAME. HELLOOOOOOO I NEVER DENIED IT HAHAHAHAHA.
"So how smart are you again? lol"
I'm smart enough to earn enough money to be able to spend a TON of money on mafia wars and not be broke.
"If you were smart you would have seen long ago that this game is doomed and made the proper decision to stop spending money."
I'm addicted to this game. If you had read any of my articles over the past couple years you'd know I frequently make fun of how ridiculous it is to spend money on a dying game. You obviously don't have a grasp on topics such as addiction and compulsion and what is or is not intelligent. I have always said what I say now. Only now I am making a declaration that actually do need to stop playing.
AnonymousJune 25, 2013 at 11:34 AM
DeleteAnd that's why you are out a ton of money and have nothing to show for it besides your MW name. Are you going to put that name on your driver's license? How about your car tag? Sorta like a way to relive the good old days when you were somebody?
who the fuck are you and what do you even know about me? you don't know shit lol. I got addicted to mafia wars and can afford to be. I can still afford to be and I don't need anybodies sympathy. I'm just tired of zyngas bullshit. If I am gonna throw tons of money at the game I ought to at least get what I want out of it and that just isn't happening anymore.
There are, however, many people who have damaged their finances through the addiction to mafia wars. addiction to video games is nothing new. In theory, one can be addicted to anything that elicits pleasure or excitement. And I think it is evident that zynga exploits the fact that so many people are hooked on this game. And that's why I have no issue calling Mark Pincus a dick. He is where "the buck stops".
I don't know about the other guy/girl who posted but the only way I knew anything about you or your blog was reading about it on Mafia Wars Loot Lady website. I don't agree will all of what the post said about you but it is a little funny to see big spenders like yourself finally realize what the rest of us has known for the last few years: that Zynga is fucked. You can post all you want about knowing it too but your continued spending on this game shows otherwise. I don't feel sorry for you in the least. You sound like a wealthy guy who chooses to spend it on this game. It's a free country. More power to you..
DeleteTo "Anonymous".... My first comment would be that anyone who posts Anonymous instead of revealing their identity has no balls. A person who truly believes in what they write doesn't mind posting who they are.
DeleteSecond, how someone else chooses to spend their money is none of your business. I spend a small amount of money on the game each month because I enjoy playing. I like the game, and I really like the friends I have made by playing it... the person who wrote this blog being one of them. Perhaps you are too much of an asshole to make friends. I will also say that there are people who play, enjoy it, and never spend a dime.
Third, you don't get to judge someone you don't even know. To me, that seems a little idiotic.... to use your word. The person who wrote this happens to be a wonderful, talented, hard-working man. The way I see it, he can spend his money exactly as he wishes....
Next time you want to be a judge, take a look in the mirror. Anonymous....really? LOL
You're right that it's like a drug addiction. Big time. It's not even that much fun any more, but you keep doing it because you have to. I decided to scale back my play and only do the things I *want* to do. It's been much more fun. Loot items don't matter that much anyway.
ReplyDeletei have a plan in place. My VIP will be cancelled in July and as my character gradually becomes weaker due to lack of spending I will cut my time down to nothing. The game has been fun but its time to move on. No more gaming of any kind for me. I never was a game r and dont know what came over me with this game. But the honey moon was over long ago and now the divorce has begun.
DeleteDo you realize by your statement "My VIP will be cancelled in July and as my character gradually becomes weaker due to lack of spending I will cut my time down to nothing" is really messed up. You become weaker/stronger solely on the fact on money. No actual skill. Just money. Kinda sad..
Deleteyup. that's nothing new lol. this has always been a free to play pay to win game.
Deleteill be quitting very soon as well, VIP all cancelled, RP's almost gone, so im right there with ya bro!
ReplyDeleteIf you quit, can I have your account?
ReplyDeletelol, you are not the first person to ask that . this is however my real facebook account so i will be keeping it.
DeleteWhy bother? This game is dead and it's not coming back. It's so sad to see the war pages now. Bunch of nothing
DeleteWell said. For me Z has cut the nose off despite the face kind of thing. They continue down this road. Killing looters and traders was a big one. How they still don't see that move killed a big aspect and took a lot of money from them is beyond me. Like you said all this begging and limited time crap.. they want it to be a job. I hate the arena, to me it made skills less important. My time is coming to end i am sure as well. Though I always thought they received a large chunk of money from the ads.. the player base was icing on the cake, and when they lost millions of users, they had to ramp up the player spending. but i could be wrong on all this.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to point out what I feel are a few misconceptions. I do not feel Zynga ruined the trading community. The players who created multiple mini accounts which they used to obtain a large amount of loot are the ones who are to blame. This appears to be one of the few times Zynga acted appropriately and put a stop to this abuse of the rules. The players greed was their downfall, not anything Zynga did
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not think the size of ones wallet should be a factor in ones ability to advance in this game, I understand that Zynga is a business first and foremost and as such are entitled to make a profit.
As to the kami accounts, while it is possible to create one that is within the rules of the game, I do not feel most were created that way. Anyone creating kami's with the use of mini accounts should have their account penalized if not removed entirely. To complain that one is not getting their just rewards after using a cheat to create such an opportunity, to me seems ludicrous.
The lame excuses players give for breaking the rules, "Everyone does it", "I spend money so I am allowed" "" It has been going on forever" are things a child uses for justification. But we are adults and are expected to act on a higher level.
It is really sad that everything Zynga does in this game, The question is "What would happen if players abuse this"
You stand here and make you speech, the injured party you are not.
wow, i mean, i could bash that all to bits, and maybe I will after I unwind from my work day. But really, zynga should encourage minis at this point. The DAU is so low, that if all the minis were eliminated the remaining number of players would barely justyfy to the shareholders keeping this game open, and without all these minis and dual accounts the fightlist would be bizarre.
DeleteThis is also a game based on criminal activity, so it is a bit ironic to make a speech yourself about rules. Fact is, you and anyone else had the same opportunity to utilize kamis and minis as the rest of us. It's not like it was any secret. zynga should have anticipated this in the beginning and are doubly at fault for failing to address it when they realised it was happening. And I promise you they knew it was happening long before Jen published her story about it on her blog.
"But we are adults and are expected to act on a higher level."
Uh....I dont play mafia wars to be a mature adult. That's what I do all day at work and when i am with family and friends. I play mafia wars to kick virtual ass and unwind. If anything to BE immature.
"While I do not think the size of ones wallet should be a factor in ones ability to advance in this game, I understand that Zynga is a business first and foremost and as such are entitled to make a profit."
uh....this is a free to play pay to win game...the size of your wallet is absolutely going to be a factor and always has been.
If I have time later I'll go further into your comment.
"wow, i mean, i could bash that all to bits, and maybe I will after I unwind from my work day. But really, zynga should encourage minis at this point. The DAU is so low, that if all the minis were eliminated the remaining number of players would barely justyfy to the shareholders keeping this game open, and without all these minis and dual accounts the fightlist would be bizarre."
DeleteWell if you think you can, be my guest. Since gifting is now being monitored, the mini accounts can't do anymore damage to the game, unless of course one converts them into a kami accounts
"This is also a game based on criminal activity, so it is a bit ironic to make a speech yourself about rules. Fact is, you and anyone else had the same opportunity to utilize kamis and minis as the rest of us. It's not like it was any secret. zynga should have anticipated this in the beginning and are doubly at fault for failing to address it when they realised it was happening. And I promise you they knew it was happening long before Jen published her story about it on her blog."
You honestly believe that because this is a "game based on criminal activity" It gives you justification to ignore the rules of the game? No I don't have the ability to use kamis and minis because my level ethical behavior prevents that. No, Zynga is not responsible for their players moral compass, they posted the rules in TOS, that is all that they are required to do. Zynga says no one under the age of thirteen was to play their game, I do not think they expected their players to act so inappropriately
"But we are adults and are expected to act on a higher level."
Uh....I dont play mafia wars to be a mature adult. That's what I do all day at work and when i am with family and friends. I play mafia wars to kick virtual ass and unwind. If anything to BE immature."
If you want to act a little crazy and unwind, that is fine, but not at the expense of the other players. You would not appreciate someone wrecking your game, Do you think that it is too much to ask you do the same? News Flash, once an adult always an adult Sorry but it is a cross all of us must bear
I've always found it interesting that people openly attack the concept of multiple accounts per player yet Zynga has never truly taken any real action against them. I ran a lotto vaulted looter with shareholders back when Cuba was new. Zynga loved the loot accounts because they drove the DAU up and the higher the DAU the more money Zynga could get from advertisers. Ending trading wasn't an attempt to level the playing field, it was an attempt by Zynga to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted the loot sellers income. Had they been smart they would have made what the loot sellers were selling available for purchase through the marketplace and encouraged players to buy from them, instead they made high end loot ungiftable. Every move Zynga has made has been an attempt to line their pockets. Too bad they only looked at everything from a short term perspective instead of long term.
ReplyDeleteWell look at who runs the company. Pincus does not care. He has openly stated that he would do anything to make a buck.If that meant violating TOS, so be it.
DeleteIt's really stunning how bad Zynga messed up Mafia Wars. I played the game for 3 years and had a great experience for the most part. I met a ton of great friends, and some of them I still have as my FB friends even after quitting a year ago. After a while I realized it was the people, not the game, that kept me playing. After a while though Zynga made it difficult to simply log on, play the game, and log off. It became a chore where you were forced to use autoplayers just to keep up with your friends and stay current. After a while all I did was set up the player and watch it work which in the end took all the fun out of it. Remember wars? That for me was the best part of the game. I never spent much money on this game because I'm a console gamer and my money was spent on games but I don't begrudge anyone for spending on this game. If you got the money then knock yourself out. No different for any other hobby in my opinion unless of course you have people who are spending their bill money on RP's. That is an addiction and that is sad for everyone involved. At the very least I hope all of the major CC players realize as you have that Zynga is like a black hole where your money goes in but never comes out. Have a good one..
ReplyDeleteI am still playing because of our clan. If it wasn't for our members, I'd quit. Never spent a dime on this game, never will. It's an addictive game, but when it starts to feel like a job (Too many damn events at the same time!), the addictive side wears off fast...
ReplyDeleteI wish everyone well, who leaves and who stays :)
agree hun !!!
ReplyDeleteagree hun, 100% try story
ReplyDeletezynga just killed millions of players love for the game...and as for facebook...
ReplyDeleteI only log in to catchup with frens and see some meaningful/beautiful pics and quotes...keep fucking up and we'll see what happens in the end.
I will be joining you soon {ℳ} ßrµ╬µ§, I bid you adieu...haven played much over 6 mths alr...I play once in a blue moon just to help around...frens & clan...and very limited.