Michael Bublé croons his way into CityVille to ring in the holiday

Zynga has gone celeb crazy in CityVille, its top game on Facebook. The next star to make his social game debut is none other than Michael Bublé. The swing singer from another era will strut on into the popular Facebook just in time for Christmas this year to promote his new chart-topping album for the holidays, "Christmas". And according to CityVille GM Scott Koenigsberg, "Bublé was a perfect fit."

"We love bringing real-world experiences into the game," Koenigsberg tells us. Sometime near Christmas, players will get to interact with Bublé in CityVille, as his avatar will walk around in players' cities, greeting players with a few sayings. (We're told those are still in the works with Michael Bublé.) The main draw of the promotion is for players to build a holiday bonfire with Bublé and their friends, which will unlock an exclusive music video featuring the crooner himself.

As players work to complete the holiday bonfire, they'll collect various items from turntables to hockey sticks that give players hints as to just what kind of guy Michael is. Koenigsberg says that this promotion won't be as mechanically different from previous in-game celebrity events (like, say, Enrique Iglesias's time in CityVille) as it will be thematically different with new artwork and assets. As for why Zynga has become obsessed with celebrity?

"One of the reasons why we do these integrations is because our players love it," Koenigsberg gushes. "We actually spend a lot of time speaking to our players, through our forums, through Skype chat. We actually just invited some local players in the San Francisco area to come have lunch with us and sit down and talk to them." Stay tuned to CityVille as we inch closer to Christmas to see just how Bublé will hit the game in a big way.

[Image Credit: The Berry]

Are you excited to hear that Michael Bublé is headed to CityVille? What celeb would you like to see in the game next?

FarmVille Winter Wonderland Chapter 1 Goals: Everything you need to know

While Winter Wonderland still hasn't launched in FarmVille (as of this writing), we're beginning to learn more and more about what will be required of us when we finally do make the trek to the North Pole. Namely, we're seeing a set of six goals that will likely be available to those users that pay Farm Cash for early access to the farm. This "Chapter 1" series will, in theory, only be available to paying players, and therefore so will its prizes. FarmVille Freak has discovered just what we'll need to collect and do in this new farm to score all six, but you'll likely only have a week to get it done once this farm launches.

A Winter Wonderland

    Get 6 Jingle Bells
    Harvest 45 Gingerbread
    Harvest 1 Polar Train Station


The Train Station is like the Lighthouse Cove on the game's third farm. It will likely be available to harvest once every day. Your rewards? 100 XP, 2,500 coins and a Borealis Tree.

Snowy Trail

    Get 6 Egg Nogs
    Harvest 60 Iced Rice
    Complete 1 Orchard


This Orchard comes complete with the theme, with snow around its fencing. How cute! Your prizes for this goal are 200 XP, 2,500 coins and a Holiday Ermine (animal).

Snow Blanket Bingo

    Get 6 Arctic Beach Balls
    Make 2 Ginger S'mores
    Harvest 1 Borealis Tree


The Ginger Smores will be created inside Winter Wonderland's eventual crafting building, the Sweet Shoppe (like the Pub in English Countryside or the Restaurant in Lighthouse Cove). Since the farm hasn't launched yet, however, we're not sure which kinds of bushels you'll need to use to create them (aside from perhaps Ginger). Now that Winter Wonderland has launched, we can tell you that Ginger S'mores require three Gingerbread, three Iced Rice and two Sunflower Bushels each. Finishing this goal will give you 300 XP, 2,500 coins and an Ice Geyser.

Something Blue

    Get 6 Snow Shoes
    Harvest 60 Candied Yams
    Harvest 1 Holiday Ermine


The Candied Yams really do look like candy, with orange, yellow, white, green and pink stripes! Finish this goal and you'll receive just as colorful a prize: 500 XP, 2,500 coins and an Icy Horse that's bright blue!

Dances with Elves

    Get 6 Holiday Tunes
    Make 2 Candied Yam Pies
    Discover one Small Snow Treasure


As we told you previously, Snow Treasures will be presents trapped in blocks of ice and snow, and for these smaller ones, you'll apparently need to collect hair dryers to thaw them out. Finishing this goal will give you 500 XP, 5,000 coins and an Ice Fishing Gnome.

Snow Day

    Get 6 Perfect Snowflakes
    Make 2 Candied Apples
    Harvest 1 Polar Train Station


Finishing this final goal in the Chapter 1 series, which, again, will likely only be available for paying players grants you 500 XP, 5,000 coins and a Holiday St. Bernard.

While we're not sure if these quests will 100% only be for paying players, a similar situation has occurred with Lighthouse Cove in the past, so it's likely that these six goals will be added to the incentive list for players to pay to access the Winter Wonderland farm. We'll stay on top of things and will let you know exactly when these goals and the entire farm launch within FarmVille, which could be as early as this week! Stay tuned!

[Via FarmVille Freak]

Are you excited to start these goals in Winter Wonderland, even if you have to pay for early access?