Analysis: Is Zynga’s spending out of control?

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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Opinion: Rovio $1.2B Valuation Push Ruffles Some Feathers

[Is Rovio’s Angry Birds really more valuable than Grand Theft Auto? Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris argues that Rovio’s recent push for a $1.2 billion valuation is “somewhat ridiculous.”]

The absurdities of today’s venture capital market – and of investors hoping to ride those coattails to wealth – are multiplying at a staggering rate.

And the reported recent push by Angry Birds developer Rovio to seek funds that would value the company at $1.2 billion could indicate the bubble that has been building for some time in the tech space is reaching a dangerous size.

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