Tag Archives: social games

Beyond shovelware: Where do social games go from here?

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When Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello said “consumers won’t pay for crap,” he hit the nail on the head as to why some social game companies are going through a crisis, argues Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris.John Riccitiello may not be the most popular executive in the video game industry, but when he speaks an undeniable truth, you have to give him credit. 

Riccitiello made news last week when, at a conference, he noted “consumers won’t pay for crap” when it comes to social games. And while one could argue that, ok, people do sometimes pay for crappy things in general, he absolutely hit the nail on the head as to one of the chief reasons social game companies (including his own) are going through a crisis these days.

Read more at Gamasutra

Zynga Prowls for Fresh Talent at E3

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Zynga will participate in E3 for the first time. But instead of using the media-saturated event to showcase its titles, Zynga’s there with another goal in mind: capturing the eye of some of the industry’s best talent.

“It was an easy decision,” says Rob Dyer, vice president of partner publishing at Zynga. “We have a number of potential partners who will be there. … We did this very purposefully. We knew when we signed up for the space we would have launched Zynga Partners and would have Zynga.com up and running.

Read more at CNBC.com

What’s Zynga doing at E3, anyway?

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As Zynga prepares to make its first appearance at E3 next month, the developer’s head of partner publishing Rob Dyer explains why the social game company decided to exhibit at the traditionally core-focused show.

Something was missing at last year’s E3.

While there were the usual big announcements and spectacle, the absence of Zynga – which was already one of the largest publishers in the industry – was a shadow hard to ignore. This year, though, the social games maker has reversed course – and will join the industry’s annual circus.

Read more at Gamasutra

As IPO looms, Facebook confronts its game addiction

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Five months after Zynga was center stage on Wall Street, Facebook is readying for its own IPO. And the parallels between the two companies are startling.

At the time (and since it began trading), FarmVille house Zynga was criticized for its over-reliance on the social media site. Investors grumbled that the offering was a dog and pony show — and investors would have no real say in the company’s operations, since the majority of shares remained controlled by Mark Pincus. And the company’s valuation seemed impossibly high.

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King.com’s hard-fought battle for Facebook games’ second place

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Now in its ninth year, King.com has rapidly become a social gaming powerhouse after pushing its games to Facebook. Amidst rumors of acquisitions and an IPO, Gamasutra speaks with the Bubble Witch house.

While it’s going to be a long while before anyone gets within striking distance of Zynga’s dominance when it comes to social games on Facebook, the fight for the number two position on that site is a fierce one, when it comes to daily active users.

Three companies are battling for the silver medal — Wooga, Electronic Arts and King.com. EA’s held the lead for a while, but earlier this month King.com broke away from the pack, largely on the strength of its Bubble Witch Saga game.

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Analysis: Is Zynga’s spending out of control?

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Zynga raised eyebrows with its $210 million acquisition of OMGPOP, and CEO Mark Pincus said there’s more high-dollar buyouts to come. Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris examines the spending frenzy.

Just under a month ago, the games world gasped when Zynga spent $180 million for Draw Something developer OMGPOP (plus a reported $30 million in employee retention payments). While the game was dominating the app store charts, that was still a shocking amount for a company with just one hit.

It turns out, though, that may have been just the beginning. In an interview with Bloomberg this week, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said he’s hoping to do “a few” more deals for that amount or higher. And that’s when the klaxons in people’s heads should have started sounding.

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Zynga’s in the black – but for how long?

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While the gaming world was busy watching THQ implode last week, a funny thing happened in the background. Zynga began trading in positive territory.

Boosted by Facebook’s IPO filing, the social games maker finally escaped the mire of mediocrity it had been stuck in since its first day as a public company and began to grow. The question is: Is it a short-term surge or the start of a true growth curve?

Read more at Gamasutra

Social Game Maker Zynga’s Market Valuation Tops $5.5B

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A lot of people might not know Zynga’s name, but they sure know its games. “Farmville,” “Mafia Wars,” and “Café World” are some of the biggest titles on Facebook – and continue to draw hundreds of millions of players per month.

That has led to massive growth at the social gaming company. And now SharePost, an exchange for shares of privately held companies, has put a valuation of $5.51 billion on Zynga. If accurate, that would make the company the second largest publisher in the video game industry – ahead of Electronic Arts and far ahead of Take-Two Interactive Software, but still less than industry leader Activision-Blizzard.

Read more at CNBC.com