Now that millions of people have gone crazy for the incredibly popular Facebook game Farmville, cheating is on the rise and that could mean trouble. Each day hundreds if not thousands of people search the internet for Farmville cheats and codes, but unlike many games, cheating in Farmville can have real consequences.
Cheating in video games is a long standing tradition. Many of the most popular video games of all time have had cheat codes built into the game. Infinite health, infinite ammo, and skipping to levels late in the game have always been popular cheat codes to include in a game. However, with an online game like Farmville, cheating is not exactly encouraged.
Here is how the editor of http://GameFarmville.com explained it, "Cheating in Farmville is something that Zynga just plain doesn't want to see happen. They rely on people buying virtual goods and virtual currency, so finding a way around that system loses Zynga money."
That virtual currency economy is potentially worth millions of dollars. Currently there are over 50 million people playing Farmville on Facebook. With average yearly revenue in the $0.50 - $1.00 per user estimated, Farmville could potentially be making somewhere between ten and fifty million dollars a year. Then again, Zynga is a private company so there is no way to know exactly how big the Farmville economy really is.
If a user were to find holes in the Farmville system, they would not need to purchase items with real money. Farmville includes no advertising other than for other Zynga games, so cheating the virtual currency system could bring the whole game economy to a halt. Thus, if Farmville users are caught cheating, it's very likely that they could have their game accounts banned.
Similar actions have been taken in other online games such as World of Warcraft. Online game publishers and developers work proactively to protect their in game economies because if they don't they risk the success of their companies. Farmville cheaters should be careful because they are playing with fire when they cheat.
If you're a Farmville player looking for cheat codes or anything else Farmville related, go to http://GameFarmville.com for a 100% free guide to Farmville.
