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'FarmVille' coming to the iPad

Doug Gross
An image from "FarmVille's" iPad app, which uses touchscreen commands and enhanced graphics.
An image from "FarmVille's" iPad app, which uses touchscreen commands and enhanced graphics.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • "FarmVille," Zynga's popular social game, is coming to the iPad
  • Game will use touchscreen features and enhanced graphics on iPad app
  • An estimated 60 million people play "FarmVille" daily -- nearly 1 percent of the world's population
RELATED TOPICS
  • Farmville
  • Apple iPad
  • Video Games

(CNN) -- Sharpen up your hoes, Apple fans. "FarmVille" has cropped up on the iPad.

Zynga, creators of the ridiculously popular -- and almost equally reviled -- social game announced Thursday that they're rolling out an app specifically for the tablet-style touchscreen computer.

The app will let players tend the same farms they play on on the Web -- most notably through Facebook, where it gained much of its popularity -- and the iPhone app released last summer, Zynga said.

"We want to reach people wherever they want to play the games they love, and deliver the most fun and social experience on every platform," said Steven Chiang, president of studios for Zynga.

Even before Zynga's announcement, the iPad app already was appearing in the Apple online store early Thursday afternoon.

A statement from Zynga said the app will differ from the online version by using the iPad's touchscreen and enhanced graphic abilities. Players can swipe the screen to plant or harvest crops and double-tap to zoom in. They can get updates on their agrarian prowess through push notifications.

"FarmVille" is the most popular title for Zynga, whose social-gaming roster includes "Mafia Wars," "FrontierVille" and "Cafe Wars."

While they've raised scorn among hardcore gamers andirked Facebook users with the near-constant updates some players push into their news feed, Zynga's games have been at the forefront of a social-gaming explosion.

The company says 60 million people play "FarmVille" every day. That's nearly 1 percent of the world's population.

The iPad is also off to a big start. While it missed the huge sales forecasts for the most recent business quarter, the tablet sold 4.2 million units in that time and another 3.3. million in its first few months after being releaed earlier this year.