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HK Tech Phooey

Tapping the pulse of this gateway for Asia's IT

by Victor Cheung, Hong Kong SAR, PRC

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I'm hooked on Happy Farm

Nov 5, 2009 00:31

Who would have thought that a Facebook application like Happy Farm would take Hong Kong, Taiwan and China by storm? I didn't, and now I'm hooked. Just last week, unofficial numbers were released on Taiwanese subscribers for the application reaching a whopping 3.08 million subscribers out of 3.85 million. Unbelievable.

Happy Farm is basically a very simple game. You start off with six pieces of land, you farm, you plow, you harvest, and you get to steal crops from your friends (who play the game as well). Yes, the essence of the game is to steal and guard your own crops by harvesting before anyone can steal them.

For those who play Happy Farm, take a look at this restaurant out in Yangmingshan National Park in Taiwan (image from mmdays.com). It's designed after the Happy Farm. This is how crazy the Taiwanese are for the game.

Just last week, the Taiwan local media reported 13 regional Governments had banned or limited access to Facebook over concerns about employees playing Happy Farm during office hours. In Mainland China, according to Venture Beat, there are more than 28-30 million Netizens playing different variations (or copies) of these farm games on a daily basis. The same goes for Hong Kong. Companies have issued circulars warning staff not to play Happy Farm during office hours.

Since I first started playing it back in July, I average a good 20-30 minutes on the game (not telling you how much is in the office, LOL), and now have 129 of my friends on it as well. "How many vegetables have you stolen today?", "why you stole my pumpkin?", have become the only things me and my buddies talk anout on Facebook Chat or IM these days.

This game is addictive and it's ruining my life, my social life, and I need to pull the plug or I will start setting my alarm clocks just to wake up in time to harvest my crops in the middle of the night. Talking about having a life...

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spangaroo

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spangaroo says...
"why you stole my pumpkin?"...lol

At work I thought they were going to block all of Facebook due to Happy Farm but it turns out they're only blocking the ports used by the game. But some people are so into it that they play it over 3G.

Glad I didn't start up because I'm pretty sure I'd become addicted as well. :)

Nov 06, 2009 15:33

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Codet

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Codet says...
You know that's a good way for Facebook (& game publishers) to generate revenue. Release paid apps for its games on all smartphone OS.

Taiwan alone can account for millions in revenue from a single HappyFarm app!

Nov 06, 2009 17:14

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aweysham

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aweysham says...
@HK Tech, I know the feeling, I love the games and they are very addictive. Unfortunately for me its blocked at work and at the hotel the net is too slow. I have food on my Cafe game that is rotten by now, must wait until I get back home. My next phone must be able to access the games, not just Facebook. Never tried Happy Farm yet but played Farm Town and Farmville. Im a lot older than most too but love the games.

@ spangaroo, yes I get a kick out of messages like, Bill stole some fish from your aquarium. Funny.
@ Codet, I'd pay to access the games on my phone soon as I get one with the big screen.

Nov 06, 2009 17:49

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About Victor Cheung

A true tech junkie at heart, Victor Cheung has been obsessed with all tech gadgets since his college days. His favorite gizmos span from tablet PCs to UMPC, to PMPs, gaming consoles, mobile phones and anything with WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0 on it. A newcomer to the blog scene, he started his own quasi-tech blog, The Hong Kong Phooey in October 2006.