Zynga slaps Brazilian social game creator Vostu with lawsuit for copycatting

Zynga vs Vostu
Look, we all know Zynga has been pegged before for, how do you say, being inspired by their competitors' works. But that pales in comparison to what Vostu, a Brazilian social game publisher has done with popular games like CityVille and PetVille. The developer south of the equator has essentially copied several Zynga games wholesale--mistakes and all, as TechCrunch reports--into games like Mega City and Pet Mania. Lo and behold, Zynga has slapped Vostu with a big ol' lawsuit for, you guessed it, infringement. Zynga had this to say in its lawsuit:

    Vostu has brazenly appropriated the copyright-protected aspects of Zynga's games(as well as almost every other aspect of Zynga's business) – with scant effort to mask their strategy– and then offered games virtually identical to Zynga's games to prospective players in the United States and elsewhere.

Basically (and based on its previous run-ins with companies), Zynga sees drawing inspiration from and downright copying the opposition verbatim, as two different things. Though, again, that's also a slippery slope. The lawsuit, which Zynga filed in a San Francisco court (and TechCrunch has in full right here), displays detailed comparisons between its games and Vostu's, clearly supporting its case. It's a shame, too, because we'd love to see Vostu's take on games like FarmVille for iPhone--mistakes and all.

Zynga, Treasure Isle GM leaves social games for social love, joins eHarmony

Sometimes ... you just have to follow your heart. TechCrunch reports that Zynga executive Jeremy Verba (pictured far right) has left his position as GM of hit game Treasure Isle to become the CEO of eHarmony, the ubiquitous online dating service. (I think we've all seen that old white guy tout the service enough on TV.) Confirmed on his Linkedin profile, Verba worked with Zynga since December 2009.

While Treasure Isle certainly isn't Zynga's most popular, it's still worthy of "hit" status at 5.6 million monthly players and over 1 million of those being daily players, according to AppData. The timing sounds even more odd when you consider that the company could go public any day now, raising another cool $1 billion and realizing a potential $20 billion valuation. Perhaps it was simply the title of CEO that lured him in. (Though, I'd personally want to be with the potentially most valuable games company ever.)

As Verba leaves the company, Zynga is reportedly reeling in a number of execs from other games companies, namely EA. Just this year, former EA CCO John Schappert has joined Zynga. It's also rumored that Jeff Karp, VP of the publisher's EA Play division, has left for Zynga along with Mark Turmell, creator of NBA Jam and formerly senior creative director at EA Sports.

According to TechCrunch, eHarmony has enjoyed growth through its mobile apps and generally across its web offerings, and operates in 16 countries. Hey, maybe the guy just got bored of being on top in the games biz. But considering the guy has a wife and kids, according to his Twitter profile, we seriously doubt he's looking for anything more than prestige and a pay upgrade.

Hey, if Angry Birds can do it: Fruit Ninja gets its very own plush toys

Look, if the creator of Angry Birds can put out a cookbook for Pete's sake, then Fruit Ninja can get its own official plush toys. Here's the thing, Halfbrick: Rovio has a cast of adorable characters with which to make plush toys. You have ... an old guy and some fruit--not exactly ready to leap off the shelves. Nevertheless, the Fruit Ninja maker has released two official plush toys.

The first is a plush version of the sensei you see in the game daily (we know it's daily) for $15.99. The second? A watermelon with eyes and a headband that's split in half for $14.99. Wait a second, the watermelon has eyes and a headband! That looks freaking adorable, now take us to where we put the magic numbers in. Now that we're out 15 bucks, it looks like Fruit Ninja has finally "arrived". (You can also buy both in a bundle for $29--some deal, huh?)

Well, we'd take the fact that Halfbrick plans to open a studio dedicated entirely to the Fruit Ninja sequel as evidence of that. But really, we're smelling a trend here: Not only is Rovio in on the plush toys now, but so is Zynga with more FarmVille plush toys than we can afford shake a stick at. And if Fruit Ninja has arrived, where are our customizable Sims plush toys?

Watch your back, Nintendo: GREE doesn't want just a piece of your pie

The Japan-based mobile social games company wants all of it. That's essentially what the company's founder and CEO, Yoshikazu Tanaka, told TechCrunch during its Disrupt event in Tokyo recently. The GREE chief told TechCrunch that most of the company's revenue comes from its Japanese audience, but that it hopes to follow Nintendo's example in creating a massive global audience.

But Tanaka isn't happy with just following Nintendo, he looks to displace the veteran games maker. He told the news outlet that he wouldn't surprised to see GREE's revenue in the West jump to four to five times of what it is in Asian within the next five years. "We definitely feel positive, and our goal is to make sure our brand is just as successful, if not better than Nintendo."

Nintendo is infamous for its unwillingness to enter the mobile games market through iOS or Android. While the company does plan to release an iOS version of its eShop (the downloadable games store on the 3DS), it simply refuses to create games for mobile phones. This is despite numerous studies suggesting otherwise and even investors clamoring for Nintendo games on iPhone.

Nintendo did, however, manage to sell more 3DS consoles in its first eight months on the market than the original DS system sold in one year. Perhaps there's still interest in a handheld device dedicated to gaming, but you could also chalk these immense sales up to the devices' price cut over the summer and a terribly strong Black Friday. Regardless, the mobile gaming world is after Nintendo, which leaves us wondering whether its stern strategy can withstand the onslaught.

Could GREE eventually overtake Nintendo through its mobile social games network? Can Nintendo continue to dominate the mobile gaming space with its current strategy?