Which businesses have been the most successful at building fan bases, moving with the rapidly-changing industry, and willing to take risks?
Showing posts with label Zynga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zynga. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Google tosses up to $US200 million into Zynga's kitty
Google, in its bid for a successful launch of Google Games, invested upwards of $US200 million in Zynga.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Will Square Enix make further acquisitions?
An interesting titbit of news came the way of Gamasutra from Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada, courtesy of E3.
In the interview, Wada is quoted as saying: "of course I will always do it [pursue an acquisition] when the right opportunity arises. For example, new culture is needed. There is a need for social networking type services. When it comes to that, maybe the resources we have today may not be enough to address that market."
It's not the most surprising piece of news - last year another publishing giant, EA, also saw the need to capitalise on the massive market being created by vendors such as Zynga. To that end, it acquired Facebook rival, Playfish, for $US275 million.
Between the growing popularity of downloadable games, and the explosion of social networking games, there's entire new markets opening up to publishers, and acquisition is a relatively speedy way to develop competencies in new markets. Square Enix has already shown it's keen on developing its iPhone and download business, so it was only a matter of time before it looked to social networking.
It’s also no stranger to acquisitions. Last year, Square Enix acquired UK-based publisher, Eidos.
In the interview, Wada acknowledges there is a difference in US and Japanese social networking markets and this would be a challenge for the Japanese publisher, but it seems inevitable that we'll soon see some kind of Final Fantasy take on FarmVille.
In the interview, Wada is quoted as saying: "of course I will always do it [pursue an acquisition] when the right opportunity arises. For example, new culture is needed. There is a need for social networking type services. When it comes to that, maybe the resources we have today may not be enough to address that market."
It's not the most surprising piece of news - last year another publishing giant, EA, also saw the need to capitalise on the massive market being created by vendors such as Zynga. To that end, it acquired Facebook rival, Playfish, for $US275 million.
Between the growing popularity of downloadable games, and the explosion of social networking games, there's entire new markets opening up to publishers, and acquisition is a relatively speedy way to develop competencies in new markets. Square Enix has already shown it's keen on developing its iPhone and download business, so it was only a matter of time before it looked to social networking.
It’s also no stranger to acquisitions. Last year, Square Enix acquired UK-based publisher, Eidos.
In the interview, Wada acknowledges there is a difference in US and Japanese social networking markets and this would be a challenge for the Japanese publisher, but it seems inevitable that we'll soon see some kind of Final Fantasy take on FarmVille.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Zynga chases new frontier of users
Social networking game developers, Zynga, will launch a new IP as it chases new customers.
The new game, Frontierville, follows Zynga's push into the iPhone, Yahoo and MSN gaming markets, away from its traditional Facebook audience.
The vendor, widely considered to be the leader in the casual gaming space with properties such as Farmville, has had a significant retraction in user numbers recently, and is down nearly 40 million from an April high of 252 million to 216 million.
The new game, Frontierville, follows Zynga's push into the iPhone, Yahoo and MSN gaming markets, away from its traditional Facebook audience.
The vendor, widely considered to be the leader in the casual gaming space with properties such as Farmville, has had a significant retraction in user numbers recently, and is down nearly 40 million from an April high of 252 million to 216 million.
EA boss dismisses retail data
EA CEO, John Riccitiello, has claimed that retail data is missing a big part of the overall picture.
As reported by gamesindustry.biz, Riccitiello claimed that the overall value of the industry had doubled from the 2003 levels from $20 billion to $40 billion, and although a little less went through the retail stores that usual, the overall strength of the industry is strong.
This makes sense - in the last few years, the number of digital download services has increased, and that will naturally take some spending away from traditional retail.
Riccitiello also pointed out that the data captured doesn't take into account second sale - which is a critical element of a retailer's business.
He also dismissed the supposed decline in the PC gaming industry - citing Zynga and World of Warcraft as examples of highly profitable companies and games operating primarially on PCs.
It seems all you need to do is find a creative way to engage with PC customers, then.
As reported by gamesindustry.biz, Riccitiello claimed that the overall value of the industry had doubled from the 2003 levels from $20 billion to $40 billion, and although a little less went through the retail stores that usual, the overall strength of the industry is strong.
This makes sense - in the last few years, the number of digital download services has increased, and that will naturally take some spending away from traditional retail.
Riccitiello also pointed out that the data captured doesn't take into account second sale - which is a critical element of a retailer's business.
He also dismissed the supposed decline in the PC gaming industry - citing Zynga and World of Warcraft as examples of highly profitable companies and games operating primarially on PCs.
It seems all you need to do is find a creative way to engage with PC customers, then.
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