IGN social games channel possibly in development, News Corp says

The videogame news site, IGN, could be News Corp's target for its social gaming efforts rather than the obvious choice, MySpace, Reuters reports. (We're sure IGN is just thrilled about this news.) Rupert Murdoch's media empire has its hands in nearly every form of media from social networking to film studios and now social gaming. News Corp digital group CEO Jonathan Miller revealed the news to the Abu Dhabi Media Summit and added that Making Fun, the company's very own social games publisher, could also be involved in its social gaming efforts.

When asked about whether News Corp had an interest in Zynga, Miller replied, "It's a little expensive, that particular company, at the present. We're trying to build it up organically." In other words, Zynga's nearly $10 billion price tag is too much for even News Corp. Instead, Murdoch and the gang seem to be looking to take Mark Pincus and his crew head on. "We're putting a toe and then a foot in the water and we'll see how that goes," Miller added.

Come to think of it, News Corp is in a unique position for a social games channel what with its nearly limitless advertising opportunities to generate a following. In fact, Miller added that the company could use its existing television and film properties to attract players, according to Reuters. If anyone is going to topple Zynga, it's going to be someone with financial backing like News Corp. However, as is with all endeavors, it's all in the execution.

Are you excited to hear about another potential Zynga competitor? How do you think News Corp could stack up against the competition?

FarmVille creator Mark Pincus stalked by Russian stripper, er... former stripper

But they didn't meet in a strip club. Business Insider reports that Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga, filed for a restraining order against Vera Svenchina, an amateur filmmaker and former stripper from Russia. Seriously folks, you can't make this stuff up. According to Business Insider, Pincus filed for the restraining order in San Francisco court in Feb., claiming that Svenchina threatened his wife and children and even visited him personally in his home twice in one week.

Pincus cited several bizarre emails and voice mails across several days in February, in which Svenchina makes insane and offensive claims including Zynga was her Russian family's idea, Google's co-founders killed her father, that Pincus's children are "ugly babies" and that "I wish them all the worst." It was likely easier for the court to grant the restraining order in March after learning that Svenchina was put into a mental ward for 72 hours after she went to Mountain View Police Department in May 2010 to report that Google was sending messages to her brain, ordering her to kill herself.

Pincus claims to have met Svenchina when she was dating a friend of his, Business Insider reports. But a reader submitted a letter to the news website that appears to reveal that Pincus had agreed to invest in one of her independent films (she's a bit of an entrepreneur--just like Mark!). However, a glaring grammatical error towards the ends raises a red flag. Hey, it was only a matter of time before Pincus attracted a stalker--it's one of the few drawbacks of being a billionaire. And at least it's a more... exciting one than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's recent "fan."