For all of the allegations lobbed their ways about cloning and copying, Zynga sure knows how to be protective when it comes to their own material. Take the ‘Ville branding, for example. You can dispute and debate all you want when it comes to how many “influences” went in to making games like FarmVille and CityVille – but there’s no questioning that the ‘Ville branding is distinctly Zynga’s own.
For all of the allegations lobbed their ways about cloning and copying, Zynga sure knows how to be protective when it comes to their own material. Take the ‘Ville branding, for example. You can dispute and debate all you want when it comes to how many “influences” went in to making games like FarmVille and CityVille – but there’s no questioning that the ‘Ville branding is distinctly Zynga’s own.
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Zynga took competing social games developer Kobojo to court earlier this year over the use of the term in their PyramidVille and PyramidVille Adventures. Now, a mere five months later, PyramidVille has undergone an inevitable rebranding.
Say hello to PyramidValley.
No specifics have surfaced on whether or not the legal battle between Zynga and Kobojo has come to an end, though it would seem that Kobojo probably wouldn’t have gone ahead with a name change unless it was part of a settlement agreement or a judge ordered them to.
Regardless of how they got here, Kobojo seems to be taking this in stride. In an effort to put a positive spin on the change, they’re going with the “new name and new content!” approach. In addition to the name change, players of the mobile version – PyramidValley Adventures – will now be able to build a home in Ancient Greece. Once they reach level 18, they can build a brand new village on the Mediterranean coast.
Note to Kobojo: don’t call it ParthenonVille.
UPDATE: Inside Social Games is reporting that Zynga has “reached an amicable resolution in their lawsuit against Kobojo over PyramidVille and PyramidVille Adventures. Details of the settlement are confidential, but Zynga confirmed that neither group made any payments as part of the settlement.”
