There 
are plenty of Zynga investors who want to cry after watching the stock has plunge so precipitously over the past year. One of those is CEO Marc Pincus.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Apple director Bill Campbell, who was brought in to advise the social giant’s founder earlier this year as things imploded, says Pincus was “discouraged” and near tears over the state of the company.
Activision’s 
cash machine is still running smooth.
In what’s becoming a November tradition, the latest Call of Duty game is once again the biggest entertainment launch of the year. Activision announced Friday that Black Ops II earned over $500 million in its first 24 hours.
It’s 
shaping up to be a very Nintendo holiday season.
This Sunday’s launch of the Wii U, the first of the next generation videogame consoles, seems all set to follow the script that most new gaming systems follow: A huge rush of initial sales, followed by weeks of people camping outside of stores on weekends in hopes of grabbing one before Dec. 25.
The question is: What happens after the holidays are over?
Call 
of Duty: Black Ops II is getting rave reviews, and judging by the early numbers we’re hearing, it’s bound to be another seriously big seller.
But not all versions of the game are created equal.
During 
the first nine months of 2012, venture capitalists closed just shy of 2,700 deals with entrepreneurs, investing nearly $20 million, according to the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Not surprisingly, the bulk of the top deals (those boasting investments of $25 million or more) are in the software category, but biotech and medical devices/equipment are both putting in strong showings this year.
Here’s a look at the startups that landed the most venture capital funding through the end of the third quarter — and are now poised to be the hottest young tech companies of 2013.
In 
theory, the cloud is great. It simplifies actions, such as billing. It lets businesses reduce their information technology costs. And it claims to be infinitely scalable.
In the real world, though, it doesn’t always work as well as advertised. Several major sites — including Reddit, Foursquare and Common Sense Media — found that out last month when Amazon’s East Coast cloud servers suffered what the company called “performance issues.”
Microsoft 
is sending out some early holiday gifts to long-time Xbox Live users.
With the 10th anniversary of the online service upon us, the console maker has been sending some of its oldest subscribers a special present: A brand new, limited-edition Xbox 360.
Among 
third-party publishers, you aren’t likely to find a bigger Wii U booster than Ubisoft chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot.
That’s hardly surprising, given his company’s big bet on the system (it has 10 games in the Wii U’s “launch window,” including six day one titles). But even Guillemot has some things he’d like to see Nintendo doing differently.
Specifically: He’s not a big fan of the console’s price.
Well, 
we know at least one part of Black Ops II’s near-future vision won’t be coming true.
While the Call of Duty series strives for a sense of authenticity amidst the over-the-top game scenarios — and it usually hits pretty close to the mark — current events are casting doubt on one feature of Black Ops II: the casting of former CIA director David Petraeus as the Secretary of Defense in 2025.
When 
it comes to the holidays, gadgets perennially top people’s wish lists — and retailers are happy to oblige.
Shoppers will spend an average of $252 on consumer electronics this year, according to a Consumer Electronics Association forecast, with 76 percent of gift-giving adults planning to give a gadget as a present. Sorting out the hot items from the ones destined to end up in the clearance bin — or at a garage sale — isn’t easy, though.
If you’re looking for a perfect tech gift for a friend or loved one, click ahead for suggestions that can’t miss.
Chris Morris: Journalist 