Confessions of a CityVille addict

Why Zynga's casual gaming is minting money and hooking so many people -- including yours truly.

The author's expanding community in CityVille.

I'm taking a break.

Right about now, I take a few minutes to harvest crops, put up several small businesses, collect rent, and hire Facebook friends to work at community halls. That's because last month, I joined the legions on CityVille, the city-building simulation game from Zynga that annoys Facebook users with News Feed updates like, "JP needs donuts to feed hungry cops!" or "JP needs bird seed to feed pigeons!!"

Confessing as much by way of Fortune.com is even more embarrassing than the time I came out as a feverish, freaky-deaky photo-shopping Facebook addict. While many readers at the time identified with the notion of wanting to be liked, telling someone you're a CityVille fan seems as dubious a distinction as announcing yourself a Britney Spears fan.

"If you ask me to join, I'll block you," my best friend mused. She said this with a smile, but I got the sense she wasn't joking. Reactions from some colleagues were similar, from blank stares to silent judgment, followed by something like, "Oh, good for you." (Translation: "freak.") More

Posted in: Britney Spears, Casual game, CityVille, Facebook, Farmville, game boy, Grand Theft Auto, Zynga

• Nintendo does 3D with the groundbreaking 3DS (video)

  The new 3DS might look milquetoast, but it's Nintendo's latest stab at doing what it does best: Videogame innovation.

  In March*, Nintendo launches the 3DS in the U.S. If all goes according to plan the handheld console will one-up previous Game Boy iterations and Sony's Playstation Portable with more advanced hardware, most notably a 3-D screen that doesn't require the clunky glasses consumers now associate with 3-D TVs, movies, and games. (Note: MORE

  JP Mangalindan, Writer - Jan 12, 2011 11:36 AM ET
  Posted in: game boy, Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS, Reggie Fils-Aime, Wi-Fi

• If the iPad is the new iPod, is the new Nook an Atari Lynx?

  Barnes & Noble decided it had to be first to market with a color e-reader, even if that meant not putting out a perfectly polished device. But in an iPad world, the dedicated e-reader race might not even matter.

  When news leaked of the Nook Color, the new e-reader with a color screen from Barnes & Noble (BKS), the hype machine went into overdrive. Pundits frothed at that idea that this could MORE

  JP Mangalindan, Writer - Oct 29, 2010 12:43 PM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Apple Inc., Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, Barnes & Noble, E-book, game boy, Game Boy Color, iPad, iPod, iTunes, Mirasol, Nook, Qualcomm, video games, Wi-Fi

• Today in Tech: News around the Web

  A round-up of the companies, deals, and trends that made headlines.

  Every day, the Fortune staff spends hours poring over tech stories, posts, and reviews from all over the Web to keep tabs on the companies that matter. We've assembled the day's most newsworthy bits below.

  HP (HPQ) selected ex-SAP executive Léo Apotheker to take the vacant CEO spot once held by Oracle's Mark Hurd. "Leo is a strategic thinker with a passion MORE
  JP Mangalindan, Writer - Oct 1, 2010 6:45 AM ET
  Posted in: 3DS, Carol Bartz, Digg, Facebook, game boy, gamification, Gordon McLeod, HP, Léo Apotheker, Mark Hurd, Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Net neutrality, Oracle, Pete Cashmore, Sprint Nextel, The Social Network, Twitter, Windows Phone 7, Yahoo

• Gaming on the iPad, no one knows you're a mom.

  Insiders explain why the future expansion of videogames with widespread appeal rests with Apple's already popular tablet

  Since the first Game Boy hit our shores in 1989, gamers have used single-purpose devices for gaming on the go, a model most developers followed until 2007, when the iPhone took "walking-around" gaming mainstream. The smartphone's touch-screen interface, hardware, and widespread adoption  means that both casual gamers and hardcore gamers could get their fix MORE

  JP Mangalindan, Writer - May 3, 2010 10:04 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, EA, Electronic Arts, firemint, Flurry, game boy, Gaming, iPad, iPhone, Tech Savvy, videogames