The Sims Social yanked millions of Zynga players, Raptr report suggests

With over 66 million monthly players, we all know that The Sims Social is killing it. But EA and Playfish's flagship social game might be killing more than just it --the game is rapidly killing off Zynga's player base, if you ask Raptr. The 10 million-strong social network for gamers has issued another report based on the data it gathers from its users, and it doesn't look pretty.

Well, it's not looking pretty for Zynga, at least. Raptr found that a whopping 50 percent of The Sims Social players are also playing Zynga's games. More importantly, play time for both FarmVille and Empires & Allies has dropped 25 percent since EA launched its secret weapon, while CityVille dipped just 10 percent in play time. The latter is thanks to a number of promotions and major content additions like the recent Enrique Iglesias event and the ongoing Governor's Run goals.

Still, that means 33 million Zynga fans are playing both The Sims Social and the top Zynga games. (Keep in mind, this study was conducted before Adventure World surpassed FarmVille.) So, how did EA do it? Well, aside from attracting a swath of Zynga game players, the company marketed heavily to its existing social game players and even the 10 million remaining The Sims 3 fans on the PC. As a result, The Sims Social has effectively cannibalized EA's own player base, according to Raptr.

As for how EA can strike gold again on Facebook, Raptr suggests the company looks at its most recent buy: PopCap. According to the study, social versions of the publisher's core franchises like Dragon Age Legends didn't do so hot. (Who woulda' thunk it?) But the social network finds that anywhere from around 58 to 75 percent of those who enjoy PopCap casual games also play social games.

In other words, EA is sitting on the weapons cache of a lifetime, but after Zynga Unleashed, it's clear that Zynga plans to return fire. Find the full report from Raptr right here in PDF form.

Are you a Zynga game player that has also been sucked into The Sims Social? Do you think EA will attract even more Zynga fans through PopCap and Playfish? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.