Virtual Goods News

ion to an estimated 18 million.   

Hi, My Name Is Mike And I Was A FishVille Addict

TechCrunch's Michael Arrington confesses to become briefly "addicted" to Zynga's FishVille game, talking about how he was willing to schedule much of his day around checking on his virtual aquarium. He quite after being criticized by co-workers and goes on to say that social gaming "addiction" is a real problem.  

Twitter, Amiando, Obopay, And Playfish Are Named Technology Pioneers By The World Economic Forum

Technology start-ups honored this year for pioneering work included the mobile pay service Obopay and recently-acquired social games company Playfish. Companies are selected for demonstrating leadership and vision in the release of "life-changing" technology products. 

Zynga Plays Alone For Now

Mark Pincus tells Reuters that, for now, Zynga does not plan to either be acquired or go public. He estimates the size of the global virtual goods market at about $4 billion and expects this number to quadruple in the next three to five years.