This digital elaboration of a loyalty card scheme is an extension of the existing in-game and cross-game mechanisms that Facebook gaming operators are turning to in order to drive engagement. Reward schemes are common in online gaming, especially so within social network games, but this is the first time that an operator that majors in social network gaming has attempted to produce an umbrella-like loyalty platform that exists independently of the social network that hosts the portfolio.

Zynga's following across its Facebook portfolio is so large - totalling 254m monthly active users at the end of December - and its bids for growth so aggressive that it's an unsurprising move. And it's one whose success will be shown in how well Zynga's MAU numbers hold up in the coming months; after the record-breaking launch of CityVille in December, the MAU count for the operator's portfolio is in steady, expected decline, as Zynga focuses on retention and monetisation of users. If RewardVille provides a successful bulwark, this could be another user-acquisition strategy for the larger social network gaming operators to embrace. However, it's worth noting that other large social network operators haven't yet established such blanket branding for their game portfolios as Zynga has achieved with its 'Ville' series.

Given that Zynga is not requiring users to sign up to a separate account independent of their Facebook login details, this is not a strategic play for wrenching some measure of ownership away from the social network itself. It certainly highlights the ongoing importance of such initiatives for sustaining the long-tail of service and promotion, a vital aspect of remaining competitive on such a crowded and dynamic platform. Zynga's efforts are arguably paying off, as the engagement levels for some of its ageing titles (including FarmVille) are improving, and are among the forefront of the most popular games on Facebook. This subject will be explored further in a forthcoming IHS Screen Digest Market Monitor, which focuses on social network gaming in Q1 2011.

Further, IHS Screen Digest will be updating its global forecast of the PC social network gaming market in the near future.