The highly popular Facebook game, FarmVille, recently marked its expansion on Apple devices – with the game’s developer Zynga last week launching a mobile app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

However, the game is still linked to Facebook; and players need to first sign in to their Facebook account to play the game.

Saying that the company expects that largely those players who have already played FarmVille will likely come on to the Apple devices, Pincus said in an interview at Zynga headquarters: “We saw the iPhone not as a way to get more distribution, but a way to make the game more accessible and convenient.”

That the expansion of FarmVille to the Apple devices comes at a challenging time for Zynga was highlighted by ThinkEquity analyst Atul Bagga, who revealed that Zynga game play has tumbled by 15 percent over the last few months. Bagga also opined that there are indications that the company will ultimately become stronger again.

The FarmVille game play on Facebook has fallen largely due to the social networking site’s earlier-this-year move of limiting the messages that Zynga and other app developers could send to users. While Facebook argued that the move aimed at making the site “less spammy,” it became difficult for game publishers to update gamers about new features and revive their interest in the game.