• Bussinessweek, Tuesday, October 26, 2010 12:54 PM

Guess it's no longer 'in the game,' but on the Web. Showing the dramatic rise of socially spread, online gaming, Zynga Game Network's estimated worth has surpassed Electronic Arts's stock-market value, reports Bloomberg/Businessweek. As the news source explains, the shift is "a sign of the ascendance of social-networking entertainment at the expense of traditional video games."

Zynga is now valued at $5.51 billion, according to SharesPost Inc., an exchange for shares of privately held companies. Electronic Arts, the second-largest game publisher by sales, is worth $5.16 billion on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Less than four years old, Zynga has thrived on the popularity of games like "FarmVille" and "FrontierVille" among millions on Facebook and other online platforms. Hard to fathom for some, the company makes its money by selling virtual goods, like vehicles and weapons that help players advance in games. The company now commands about a third of the virtual goods market, which will be worth $1.6 billion this year, according to Inside Network.

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