The Internet is called the “world wide web” for reason, and Zynga (ZNGA) has no intention of leaving those additional players on the table. And so starting today, you can play Draw Something in no fewer than 12 languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese.
That sound you just heard was high school language teachers nationwide ripping up summer reading assignments and replacing them with “download this app, play until your brain melts.”
Bonus: There are celebrities involved. Zynga has enlisted Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias (who have a joint North American tour to promote) to help them celebrate the launch. And if you’ve ever wanted to play a social game with J-Lo, good news, because the pair are going to engage Draw Something players via Twitter. They’ll also be selecting words that’ll be featured in the “JLo Enrique” option of the new “Special Words” feature. A new word will be added every day.
“We are excited to be able to give back to our players around the world by offering an experience that is more locally relevant to them.” said Zynga chief mobile officer David Ko in a statement released today. “With native pop culture references and our partnership with global superstars such as Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez, the game will be even more fun for more players.”
He concluded: “How do you draw ‘caliente’? We’ll soon find out.” (Zero points for drawing Ms. Lopez’s posterior, because you get no credit for the obvious.)
Nor are Mr. Iglesias and Ms. Lopez the only local pop culture references Zynga is injecting. Other additions: Spanish actor Mario Casas; German soccer player Philipp Lahm; Korean boy band phenom Junsu; and Italian opera star Bocelli. In China, Zynga is also partnering with Sina Weibo, one of the nation’s major social networks. Hey, it worked in the U.S.
We’ve got to say, as far as save-Draw-Something strategies go, it’s far superior to “more ads.”
