Kabam Planning a Major Social Game Release Based on “The Godfather”

Kabam may not be as well known as other social game makers, like Zynga, but its next big release is based on one of the most recognized modern-day movies: “The Godfather.”

The Redwood City-based company has teamed up with Paramount Digital Entertainment to build The Godfather: Five Families , a big-budget social game for Facebook, based on the American Mafia classic.

The game will be set in the Prohibition era of the 1930s, preceding the setting of the first film by about 10 years. Players and five crime families will battle for money, power, and respect with the ultimate goal of becoming “Don” of a family.

The game’s release on the social network represents one of the largest intellectual property bets on the platform yet.

To date, the game charts have been mostly dominated by independent titles, such as Mafia Wars, Crime City, FarmVille and Restaurant City, depending on the genre.

The shift to using more brand names has started to ramp up recently, with titles such as Ubisoft’s Smurfs & Co. and Electronic Arts’ Sims Social, which have been able to build large audiences in the past couple of weeks.

But it’s unclear whether the platform will continue to be driven by original titles or evolve as Hollywood pegs it as its next creative outlet.

The heavily venture-backed company declined to disclose the terms of its agreement with Paramount, but in the past, game makers have licensed big brands with mixed results.

Oftentimes, IP-holders are able to demand big upfront fees in addition to guaranteed payouts. It’s not clear if that model would be the same with social games, given that they are typically free to play and monetized through advertising and virtual goods.

The Godfather: Five Families will also be free, and, like other games made by Kabam, will fall into the “hardcore game” category.

Hardcore games are typically role-playing action games that can be played by multiple players at once. They are also typically played on videogame consoles with high-definition graphics, a large screen and a heart-pounding soundtrack.

Mafia Wars How To Win Fights - News


Kabam Planning a Major Social Game Release Based on “The Godfather”

To date, the game charts have been mostly dominated by independent titles, such as Mafia Wars, Crime City, FarmVille and Restaurant City, depending on the genre. The shift to using more brand names has started to ramp up recently, with titles such as



Red Robot launches Life is Crime game with location-based play (exclusive)

Rivals include Mafia Wars from Zynga and Mobsters from Disney Playdom. Other check-in style rivals include Booyah's MyTown as well as Foursquare, Gowalla and Shadow Cities. Ouye hopes to launch two more games this year. “All of the other games take a



Is Zynga's Dependence on Facebook the Key to Its Success -- Or Its Downfall?
Is Zynga's Dependence on Facebook the Key to Its Success -- Or Its Downfall?

Half of its revenues go away if it gets into a fight with either. Distribution does not diversify as easily as other resources." In 2010, Zynga cut a distribution deal with Yahoo to feature games, including poker, FishVille and Mafia Wars,



Jump into the Octagon with the Best MMA Game's on Facebook

Digital Chocolate's MMA Pro Fighter is older and a bit more primitive than UFC Undisputed Fight Nation, but it deserves credit for showing up early and translating the text RPG formula into a mixed martial arts game. The game really is Mafia Wars with



Television movies for the week of Aug. 28

An undercover FBI agent uses the patronage of an unwitting mobster to infiltrate the New York Mafia. (R) (3:00) AMC: Thu. 5 PM (CC) • Donnie Brasco '97. Al Pacino. An undercover FBI agent uses the patronage of an unwitting mobster to infiltrate the New




Mafia Wars How To Win Fights - Bookshelf

Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, ...

Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People

The first hardcover release since 1981, a newly packaged edition of the multimillion-copy-selling icon of motivational books.

To the lighthouse

To the lighthouse

A portrait of members of the Ramsay family follows an English family's complex lives, and then picks them up again after a ten-year hiatus in order to explore ...

How to Cook Everything, 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food

How to Cook Everything, 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food

Ten years after the first edition, this complete revision features more than 50 new recipes, fully updated to reflect contemporary eating habits, and presented ...

Casual Guide Directory


Mafia Wars Strategy Guide: How to Win Fights in Mafia Wars ...
If you want to know how to win fights in Mafia Wars, you've come to the right place. ... A bigger mafia will win more fights! Regardless of level, you can use ...

Mafia Wars - Hints Tips Cheats - Winning Fights
Mafia Wars - Hints Tips Cheats - How to win fights.

How to win Fights in Mafia Wars. Howto FunAdvice.com
This How To will lead you through setting your Top Mafia, raising your mafia size, crafting vehicles and weapons, and placing your skill points to win fights. ...

Ultimate Mafia Wars Guide: How To Win, Strategy, Tips, Money
Mafia Wars guide that includes Mafia Wars list of tips, Mafia Wars strategies to grow Mafia Wars family and how to win at Mafia Wars.

Mafia Wars Maniac: How to Win a Lot of Easy Fights
This blog is dedicated to all Mafia Wars players around the world. ... The best way to win easy fights is to find a weak player and attack them over and over. ...