Zynga

RockYou Rocked By Layoffs as It Switches Focus To Social Games

nextuprresearch2 — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:45:25 +0000

RockYou has had substantial layoffs this week, and has restructured the organization in the last couple of days. RockYou will continue to work on its advertising initiatives and will be directing most of its resources at developing social games

Non-retail video game sales hit $2.9 billion

nextuprresearch2 — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:49:28 +0000

U.S. consumers spent up to $2.9 billion buying video games through mobile phones, social networks, downloads and subscriptions in the first half of the year according to research firm NPD. Sales of video game software and equipment fell 8 percent in September. Software sales fell 6 percent to $614 to million while hardware sales tumbled 19 percent to $383 million.Many customers are buying games through downloads or by visiting online social networks to play games offered by companies such as Zynga. Apple Inc’s iPhone has also become a major gaming platform, with users buying games through the App Store.

Zynga opening Seattle studio

nextuprresearch2 — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:19:38 +0000

Zynga is opening a Seattle office and hiring a team of web engineers for the new location.The area is also home to a number of other major video game developers and publishers, such as Nintendo of America, Microsoft, Sony Online Entertainment, PopCap, Bungie, Valve Software and others.Zynga already has more than 1,200 employees spread out across at least 13 studios around the world.

The Internet Advertising Pie Is Still Growing

nextuprresearch2 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:07:27 +0000

A new report sponsored by the Internet Advertising Bureau paints a hopeful picture of the online ad landscape during the first six months of 2010. Ads earned a record $12.1B during that period, a new record and an 11.3% increase above revenues in the first six months of 2009. Drilling down a little, the second quarter of 2010 also saw record revenue of $6.2B

Facebook, Zynga Impose Pre-IPO Share Fees

nextuprresearch2 — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:08:49 +0000

Facebook and Zynga are charging fees of at least $2,500 for each sale of company shares, a move legal experts say discourages employees from putting equity in the hands of large numbers of outside owners before an initial public offering.

Social gaming sector braces for deal wave

nextuprresearch2 — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 10:46:47 +0000

Among those eyeing the likes of Zynga or CrowdStar are Web powerhouses seeking to shore up their social networking credentials such as Google Inc and media giants such as News Corp or Viacom Inc seeking new marketing avenues, industry executives and analysts say.As online gaming continues to grow at double-digits — it became the No. 2 online activity in June — a growing number of corporations hoping to boost their Web presence have begun to take a serious look at the biggest players in social gaming, including oft-cited targets such as CrowdStar and Kabam.

Zynga expands to Europe, acquires German game company

nextuprresearch2 — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:43:52 +0000

Zynga has acquired the assets of Dextrose, a game engine developer in Germany.Dextrose developed the Aves Engine, which enabled high-end game play within a web browser.Zynga’s games such as FarmVille have often been criticized for their bad graphics. Using Aves Engine, Zynga will be taking a step up in graphics quality.

RockYou launches Toy Land

nextuprresearch2 — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:44:49 +0000

RockYou has launched a new social game Toy Land on Facebook. Even though Toy Land is a hodgepodge of virtual space, treasure hunting and board game elements, Toy Land is different from other games. The game is based on the concept of players acting as toymakers. Toy Land is a sort of children’s fantasy premise where cash is replaced by hearts and jobs by promises.

Zynga buys Bonfire Studio and sets up Dallas game studio

nextuprresearch2 — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:33:17 +0000

Zynga has acquired Bonfire Studios, a Dallas-based social game startup. The new studio will be called Zynga Dallas. Bonfire Studios was started by David Rippy, Bill Jackson and Scott Winsett in November 2008, after Microsoft shut down Ensemble Studios (the legendary maker of the Age of Empire games

CrowdStar becomes the second biggest application developer on Facebook

nextuprresearch2 — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:47:03 +0000

CrowdStar has become the second biggest application developer on Facebook.A little over a week after releasing its new games ItGirl and Pop Boom, the developer has managed to put no less than four games on Appdata’s list of fastest-growing Facebook titles by monthly active users. Other games of CrowdStar such as Happy Pets, Happy Aquarium and Quiz Planet have shown rapid gains.