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| − | '' Zynga '' | + | '''Zynga''' is an American video game developer running social video game services founded in July 2007 and headquartered in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States]]. Zynga states its mission as "connecting the world through games." The company was named in honor of Zinga, CEO [[Mark Pincus]]' deceased [[American bulldog]]. reaching 10 million daily active users (DAU) within six weeks. As of early January 2013, Zynga games had over 265 million monthly active users (MAU), and three of the top five Facebook games (in terms of MAU, according to AppData) were Zynga titles: ''FarmVille 2'', ''Texas HoldEm Poker'' (now known as ''[[Zynga Poker]]''), and ''ChefVille''. According to the BBC, around 80 percent of Zynga's revenue comes from Facebook users, but its formal partnership with Facebook ended on March 31, 2013. |
| − | + | Zynga began trading on [[NASDAQ]] December 16, 2011 under the ticker ZNGA. Originally priced at $10, ZNGA shares reached a price of $14.50 in March 2012, but fell steadily after that point, hitting $2.09 in 2012. Some analysts and journalists have questioned the long-term prospects of Zynga’s business model, especially after Zynga’s Q2 2012 earnings report failed to meet analyst projections for revenue and earnings. Zynga has been taking steps to cut expenses and expand its business into areas such as licensed board games, online gambling, its own gaming platform (Zynga.com), and mobile game apps. | |
| − | == | + | ==History== |
| − | + | [[Mark Pincus]], [[Eric Schiermeyer]], [[Justin Waldron]], Michael Luxton, Steve Schoettler, and Andrew Trader co-founded Zynga in April 2007 under the name Presidio Media; the company name changed to Zynga in July 2007. Zynga was named after an [[American bulldog]] named "Zinga" once owned by Mark Pincus. The company uses an image of a bulldog as its logo. Zynga's first game, ''Texas Hold'Em Poker'', now known as ''[[Zynga Poker]]'', was released on Facebook in July 2007. The company received US$10 million, led by [[venture capital]] firm Union Square Ventures, in its first round of funding in January 2008. In July of the same year, Zynga received US$29 million in [[venture finance]] from several firms, led by [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]] in July 2008, at which time they appointed former [[Electronic Arts]] Chief Creative Officer [[Bing Gordon]] to the board. During the same period, they also bought ''[[YoVille]]'', a large virtual world social network game. Soon after, the company opened its first external game studio in Baltimore, Zynga East, led by [[Brian Reynolds (game designer)|Brian Reynolds]]. In June of the same year, Zynga acquired MyMiniLife which then built and launched ''[[FarmVille]]'' on Facebook and by August it was the first game on Facebook to reach 10 million daily active users. It had 20 million daily active users by October. On November 23, 2009, FarmVille.com went live as Zynga’s first stand-alone game. | |
| − | + | On May 7, 2010, [[TechCrunch]]'s [[Michael Arrington]] reported that Zynga was threatening to leave Facebook altogether in the wake of the website's requiring exclusive use of [[Facebook Credits]] for monetization in applications. On May 18, 2010, Facebook and Zynga entered into a five-year relationship to expand the use of Facebook Credits in Zynga's games. | |
| − | + | In December 2010, Zynga's game ''[[CityVille]]'' surpassed ''[[FarmVille]]'' as its most popular game with over 61 million monthly active users and a base of over 16 million daily active users. | |
| − | + | Zynga filed with the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC) to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering on July 1, 2011. At the time, the company had 2,000 employees. Zynga began trading on [[NASDAQ]] on December 16, 2011. | |
| − | + | On June 26, 2012, during the annual Zynga Unleashed conference, Zynga announced the "Zynga With Friends" network, aiming to connect players of Zynga game titles across multiple platforms. Zynga also announced the Zynga API, intended to help developers build social games. The company announced that three new partners were developing games for Zynga.com including 50 Cubes, [[Majesco Entertainment]] and [[Portalarium]] and unveiled the Zynga Partners for Mobile program to help increase Zynga’s presence on mobile devices. | |
| − | + | On October 14, 2012, Zynga filed a lawsuit against a former general manager for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets. The suit claims the ex-employee copied important confidential information from his computer before leaving Zynga to work for a rival social games maker. | |
| − | + | On July 1, 2013, Zynga confirmed that it had hired [[Microsoft]]'s Interactive Entertainment President [[Don Mattrick]] as its new CEO. Zynga's press release announced that former CEO, Mark Pincus, would continue as Zynga’s chairman and chief product officer. According to Zynga's [[8-K]] regulatory filing, Mattrick would receive about $50 million in cash and stock compensation over several years. | |
| − | + | In 2013, Zynga began shutting down some of its games. On June 3, 2013, Zynga announced that the company would be laying off 520 employees — roughly 18 percent of its workforce — and close offices in [[New York City|New York]], [[Los Angeles]], and [[Dallas]]. By July 2013, Zynga has reportedly lost nearly half of its user base from the previous year. Consequently, investors decreased Zynga's valuation by 400 million. On July 25, 2013, Zynga reported during their Q2 earnings that they would not be pursuing real money game production in the US. Following this announcement, shares dropped 13%. The same month, the three top Zynga executives had left the company: John Osvald, a senior vice president of games, Jesse Janosov, a vice president who ran Zynga’s casino division, and Nathan Etter, a vice president of games, all resigned. | |
| − | + | In January 2014, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by 15%, bringing its total number of employees down by 314. In April 2014, as part of the company's regular quarterly earnings report, founder & former CEO Pincus announced he would be stepping down from day-to-day operations in his role as Chief Product Officer, retaining his position as Chairman of the Board. Daily Active Users fell from 53 million to 28 million year over year for the same period. The company also announced its new hire of [[Alex Garden]], co-founder of [[Relic Entertainment]] and former [[Microsoft Game Studios]] executive. | |
| − | + | In July 2014, Zynga announced they had leased office space and were hiring software engineers and technical designers for a new outfit in Orlando. | |
| − | Don | + | Don Mattrick abruptly left Zynga in April of 2015, replaced by predecessor Mark Pincus. |
| − | + | In February 2016, Zynga said that it planned to sell its headquarters in San Francisco, a property last assessed at over $238 million. The company shelved its plans for a sale in July, 2016 after exploring options. | |
| − | [Frank Gibeau] | + | [[Frank Gibeau]] took over as CEO on March 7, 2016, with Pincus once again stepping aside. Gibeau's last position was as head of Mobile for [[Electronic Arts]]. Before that he was President of Labels at EA, overseeing a large studio organization developing game for EA's top franchises. Gibeau joined EA in 1991 and rose through the marketing organization before stepping into his first studio role in 2008. He joined Zynga's Board of Directors in August, 2015. |
| − | === | + | ===Acquisitions=== |
| − | + | In February 2010, Zynga acquired Serious Business, a social game company. Zynga also in February opened a studio in Los Angeles, California as well as Zynga India in [[Bangalore]], the company’s first office outside the United States. In May 2010, Zynga acquired XPD Media. Weeks later on June 3, 2010, Zynga acquired Challenge Games, which would later be known as Zynga Austin. On June 9, 2010 Zynga launched [[The Pioneer Trail|FrontierVille]] developed at its Zynga East studio in Baltimore. Zynga acquired Conduit Labs on August 17, 2010, renaming it Zynga Boston. The acquisition of Dextrose, now Zynga Germany, marked the company's first expansion into Europe. Bonfire Studios was acquired by Zynga on October 5, 2010. It was renamed [[Zynga Dallas]]. The acquisition brought Zynga's workforce to more than 1300 employees worldwide. Months later, on December 2, 2010, Zynga announced it acquired the Texas-based mobile game developer Newtoy, Inc., developers of ''[[Words with Friends]]'' and ''[[Chess with Friends]]'', and renamed the studio to [[Zynga with Friends]]. | |
| − | + | Zynga acquired the New York-based game developer Area/Code, now renamed Zynga New York in January 2011. Soon after, in March 2011, Zynga announced the acquisition of the team from Boston-based game developer, [[Floodgate Entertainment]]. It was Zynga's tenth acquisition in ten months. In April 2011, Zynga announced the acquisition of MarketZero, an online poker tracker company. | |
| − | + | On March 21, 2012, Zynga announced their purchase of the game company [[OMGPOP]] for $180 million, therein acquiring the popular game ''[[Draw Something]]''. A noticeable drop in popularity was noted following the acquisition, as daily active users dropped from 15 million to 10 million in the first month post-acquisition. | |
| − | + | On June 4, 2012, Zynga announced the purchase of video game maker Buzz Monkey, along with their entire 50 person, Oregon based office, which will now turn into Zynga's 18th satellite office. Buzz Monkey is known for working on successful video games such as Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk, as well as Zynga's Frontierville. | |
| − | + | On September 17, 2012, Zynga announced it had acquired game maker A Bit Lucky for an undisclosed amount. | |
| − | + | On November 9, 2012, Zynga announced it had acquired game company November Software for an undisclosed amount. The team created the Battlestone game, which was released in 2013 and shutdown in 2014. | |
| − | + | On June 19, 2013, Zynga bought Spooky Cool Labs, a 40-person social games company led by Joe Kaminkow. The company has achieved successes with its Wizard of Oz city-building game and, more recently, with [[Hit It Rich Slots]]. Unlike many of Zynga's other acquisitions, Spooky Cool will continue to operate independently under the same leadership that it had up until the purchase. | |
| − | + | On January 30, 2014, Zynga announced it has agreed to purchase [[NaturalMotion]]. | |
| − | + | On June 15, 2015, Zynga announced it had acquired the product incubator [[Superlabs]]. | |
| − | + | On November 7, 2017, Zynga announced it had acquired Turkish-based [[Peak Games]]'s card games studio for $100 million | |
| − | == | + | ==Revenue== |
| − | + | According to the company’s first-ever earnings report, revenues from advertising and the sale of virtual goods grew by 59 percent compared with the same period the prior year. A net loss of $435 million included a one-time $510 million employee stock compensation expense that was triggered by the company going public. | |
| − | + | The company's top three games – ''FarmVille'', ''FrontierVille'' and ''CityVille'' – accounted for 57 percent of online game revenue. Total revenue was $329 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2012. | |
| − | + | Zynga approached a billion dollars in revenue in four years since inception, surpassing the market value of the longtime console game company [[Electronic Arts]]. Zynga's rapid growth has been seen as an indicator of the vastly different playing field from only a few years before, where games have become able to gain significant public acceptance in a shorter period of time, with the cost of entry being much lower. | |
| − | + | On July 25, 2012, Zynga reported revenue of $332 million for its Q2 2012, which was up 19 percent year over year, and reported that Q2 bookings increased 10 percent year over year. However, the company also reported a net income loss of $22.8 million, and reduced forecast for bookings for 2012 from 1.47 billion to 1.15 billion. and analysts heavily criticized Zynga, Zynga executives listed several reasons for the Q2 earnings: changes to Facebook's gaming platform that hindered Zynga users; a delayed release for an important new game; and several new games that didn’t meet expectations. | |
| − | + | In late October 2012, Zynga's stock price increased as much as 16 percent after it had posted revenues of $317 million during its third quarter, beating estimates of $256 million. Its revenue boost and stock price jump was a result of Zynga's $200 million share buyback plan that the company decided to instill to help improve its recent stock price declines. Another factor included Zynga's announcement that it was moving into real-money gambling in the U.K. While acknowledging Zynga’s continuing challenges such as slowing sales and its low stock price, some analysts were more upbeat after the Q3 2012 earnings than they had been after Q2 2012 earnings were announced. “Every single thing that they are doing is what you would want them to do,” said [[Michael Pachter]], an analyst with [[Wedbush Securities]] Inc. | |
| − | + | In early 2013, Zynga former CEO Mark Pincus announced that FarmVille, one of Zynga's most popular games, had reached $1 billion in total player bookings. | |
| − | == | + | ==Business model== |
| − | + | Zynga is supported in two manners: via direct credit card payments and partner businesses. | |
| − | + | Zynga also sells advertising sponsorships within some games such as movie tie-ins and other brands. In March, 2012, Zynga announced it launched a separate social gaming platform, which will include publishing other developers to the new Zynga.com platform. Early third-party developers include [[Row Sham Bow, Inc]] and Mobscience. In June, 2012 Zynga started running Facebook advertisements and sponsored stories on its website. The revenue is to be split between Facebook and Zynga, as they continue their partnership. The exact percentage of this split has yet to be disclosed. | |
| − | === | + | ===Hasbro partnership=== |
| − | + | In February 2012, it was announced that Zynga and [[Hasbro]] had partnered to create products based on Zynga properties and brands. In October 2012, Zynga and Hasbro launched eight ‘face-to-face’ games resulting from their collaboration: FarmVille Hungry Hungry Herd and Animal Games; CityVille Monopoly and Skies; Words With Friends Classic, Luxe, To Go; and Draw Something. The Hasbro games include ties to Zynga Web and mobile games, such as in-game currency that players can use in the digital versions of ''CityVille'' and ''FarmVille''. | |
| − | + | Initially, however, when Zynga was three or four people and they launched Texas Hold'em on the brand new Facebook Platform, they didn't spend any marketing dollars. | |
| − | + | In recent times, though, Facebook has been tightening up. Zynga's customer acquisition was perceived as spam by Facebook and the new rules have limited the rate at which Zynga can acquire users. In general, Zynga owes a lot of its growth to incentivizing users to send invitations to their friends on the Facebook platform. However, these incentives were usually artificial and not directly tied to the value proposition of the product. As a result, the indiscriminate usage of the virality that Facebook offered led to users getting spammed resulting in a backlash from users. | |
| − | + | Overall, Zynga grew very fast but its marketing has always been expensive and it is now further threatened owing to its over-dependence on Facebook. | |
| − | === | + | ===Platinum Purchase Program=== |
| − | + | In September 2010, [[Gawker]] reported that Zynga had set up a "Platinum Purchase Program" allowing members to purchase virtual currency in amounts over $500 at favorable rates by making a payment via [[wire transfer]]. In contrast, the normal maximum purchase limits are $50 to $200. Ryan Tate, author of the post, speculated that the program was a way for gaming addicts to feed their obsession, and compared the secrecy of the program to the secrecy of drug deals. | |
| − | === | + | ===Viability=== |
| − | + | Many journalists have questioned the viability of Zynga's [[business model]]. Ray Valdes questioned the long-term prospects for Zynga, saying that it would be difficult for the company to make new titles to replace old ones whose novelty is fading. Tom Bollich, a former Zynga investor, said that it is impossible to make a cheap viral game, and that retaining customers is difficult. | |
| − | + | In July 2012, after announcing disappointing second quarter results, some analysts speculated that the sale of virtual items may not be a long-term, viable business model. The company is also working to increase advertising revenues, which were up 45 percent in Q2 2012 compared to the previous quarter and increased 170 percent year over year. Advertising “will likely become a crucial revenue stream for the company,” according to ''Ad Age''. | |
| − | === | + | ===Scam ads=== |
| − | + | Through 2009, Zynga made money from [[lead generation]] advertising schemes, whereby game participants would earn game points by signing up for featured credit cards or video-rental services. These were criticized as being less cost-effective than simply buying game points, and in some cases, being outright scams that would download unwanted software or unwittingly sign up for a recurring subscription. Arrington also alleged that Facebook was complicit in this. On November 2, 2009, former CEO Mark Pincus announced a reform in its offers: [[Tatto Media]], a major offer provider that enrolled users into recurring cell phone subscriptions, would be banned, all mobile offers would be removed, and offer providers would be required to pre-screen offers. | |
| − | + | Arrington continued to question Pincus' role in the scams, republishing a video of a speech by Pincus. In the speech, Pincus said: | |
| − | + | In response, Pincus noted that after offering the [[Zwinky]] toolbar, his team of ten decided to remove it since it was a "painful experience". | |
| − | + | Several days after the Techcrunch story, Zynga's most recent Facebook game, ''FishVille'', was temporarily taken offline by Facebook on claim of advertising violations. According to Zynga, ''Fishville'' had 875,000 users within two days of launch. A release from Facebook on its reasons for taking the game offline read that "FishVille will remain suspended until Facebook is satisfied that Zynga demonstrates compliance with Facebook restrictions – as well as Zynga’s own restrictions – on the ads it offers users." The ''FishVille'' suspension was lifted less than 24 hours later. | |
| − | + | Several suits were filed against Zynga for promoting such offers, including the class-action lawsuit [[Swift v. Zynga]] in the [[United States District Court]] for the [[Northern District of California]] for violation of the [[Unfair competition law]] and the [[Consumers Legal Remedies Act]], after the lead plaintiff's credit card was billed more than $200 for offers she completed to receive ''YoVille'' currency. | |
| − | + | Pincus later said that he had been too eager to increase company revenues through advertising, and that operating in reactive mode by taking down ads only after receiving complaints had not worked. The company removed all ads for a time, relying only on direct purchase of game currency, then began reintroducing third party ads only after they had been screened. Zynga’s headquarters, nicknamed “The Dog House,” features a coffee shop, gaming arcade, gym, basketball court, and wellness center. At its San Francisco headquarters, Zynga CEO Pincus's goal was to create a "playful gaming environment" that evokes a "fantasy land." | |
| − | + | Prior to the company’s 2011 IPO, Zynga’s corporate culture received some negative media attention for renegotiating the equity packages of four senior employees. Those employees were required to either give up part of their non-vested stock or be fired. Pincus later explained that Zynga | |
| − | + | <blockquote>wanted to find them another position at the company versus just parting ways. They had the option to leave and have a package, as happened with some other leaders, but we in addition to that offered them other positions at the company that came with different forward compensation. | |
| − | + | In another criticism, in 2010 an ex-employee was cited quoting Mark Pincus as saying "I don't fucking want innovation. You're not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers." The CEO's philosophy is part of the Zynga meritocracy in which employees are rewarded for results. Pincus told ''The New York Times'': | |
| − | + | <blockquote>The only way people will have the trust to give their all to their job is if they feel like their contribution is recognized and valued. And if they see somebody else higher above them just because of a good résumé, or they see somebody else promoted who they don’t think deserves it, you’re done. | |
| − | + | [[Joe Raposo (bassist)|Joe Raposo]], the quality assurance lead on CityVille, is also the bassist for Southern California punk band [[Lagwagon]]. Raposo praised pro-creativity culture in Zynga, saying "I love working at Zynga because they really support anything you do on the creative side, and they nurture that." While on tour with Lagwagon, Raposo often works remotely for Zynga. | |
| − | + | In February 2013, Chief Game Designer [[Brian Reynolds (game designer)|Brian Reynolds]] discussed company culture positively in a post for [[VentureBeat]] at the time of his exit from Zynga. saying "the capability to absorb and adapt to change quickly is one of the great strengths of Zynga’s culture – the true meaning of the motto and occasional battle cry Zynga Speed!" among other comments. | |
| − | == | + | ==Relationship with Facebook== |
| − | + | On July 18, 2011, Zynga filed an addendum to its [[Form S-1]] detailing its relationship with Facebook, including the 2010 five-year agreement to use Facebook credits exclusively. According to the released information, all covered Zynga games that use Facebook integration must remain exclusive to Facebook for the duration of the agreement, and Zynga is not allowed to release new games on an undisclosed list of other social networks. Also, Zynga is required to notify Facebook of any new games at least one week prior to their release. Finally, Facebook agrees to help Zynga reach "certain growth targets for monthly unique users of Covered Zynga Games". | |
| − | + | On October 11, 2011, Zynga announced plans to create their own platform in which users can play the company's games. Although the platform, Project Z, will still have major ties to Facebook it is believed to be the first major step away from the social media giant. | |
| − | + | Facebook’s S-1 Filing indicates Zynga generated 12% of Facebook’s revenue in 2011. | |
| − | + | In November 2012, Facebook ended its special agreement with Zynga. Effective March 31, 2013, Zynga was bounded by the standard Facebook Platform policies. | |
| − | * [[Floodgate Entertainment]] | + | * [[Floodgate Entertainment]] – acquired March 2011 |
| − | * [[Naturalmotion]] | + | * [[Naturalmotion]] Games, acquired January 2014 |
** [[Boss Alien]] | ** [[Boss Alien]] | ||
| − | * | + | * Rising Tide Games, acquired September 2015 |
| − | * | + | * Wild Needle, a casual games company that makes games which appeal to females, acquired May 2012 |
| − | * Zindagi | + | * Zindagi Games, acquired Q1 2016 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga ATX (formerly MarketZero, Inc.) – acquired April 2011 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga Austin (formerly Challenge Games) – acquired June 2010 |
* Zynga Chicago | * Zynga Chicago | ||
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga Eugene (formerly [[Buzz Monkey Software]]), acquired on June 4, 2012. |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga Germany (formerly Dextrose AG, based in Frankfurt) – acquired September 2010 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga India ([[Bangalore]], India) |
| − | * | + | * Zynga Toronto (formerly Five Mobile) specialized in mobile platforms, acquired July 2011 |
| − | * [[Zynga with Friends]] | + | * [[Zynga with Friends]] (formerly Newtoy, Inc., based in McKinney, Texas) – acquired November, 2010 |
| − | * | + | * Peak Istanbul, based in Istanbul Turkey, acquired from Peak Games in November 2017 |
| − | === | + | ===Former=== |
| − | * [[OMGPop]] | + | * [[OMGPop]] ([[Draw Something]] creators), acquired March 2012 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga Boston (formerly Conduit Labs) – acquired August 2010 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga China (formerly XPD Media, based in Beijing) – acquired May 2010 |
| − | * [[Zynga Dallas]] | + | * [[Zynga Dallas]] (formerly Bonfire Studios) – acquired October 2010 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga East (Baltimore) – started in May 2009 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga Japan (formerly Unoh Games, based in Tokyo) – acquired August 2010 |
| − | * Zynga Los | + | * Zynga Los Angeles – opened February 2010 |
| − | * Zynga New | + | * Zynga New York (formerly Area/Code) – acquired January 2011 |
| − | * Zynga | + | * Zynga Seattle, opened October 2010, closed January 2014 |
| − | * [[ | + | * [[Page 44 Studios]] Acquired September 2011 |
| − | == | + | ==Reception and controversies== |
| − | + | Since its first years of existence, Zynga has been criticized on various fronts, sometimes resulting in legal action. | |
| − | === | + | ===Game quality=== |
| − | + | Critics like Nick Saint of ''[[Business Insider]]'' have said that Zynga's games have essentially the same mechanics even though they have different premises and settings. [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] professor [[Ian Bogost]] came up with the name "cow clickers" for such challenge-free games that demand little more than clicking on things, and eventually created the satirical Facebook game [[Cow Clicker]], an "attempt to distill the social game genre down to its essence". The game became quite popular. | |
| − | === | + | ===Spam concerns=== |
| − | + | Many of Zynga's games involve players posting messages to non-players, often for in-game benefits. Many non-players have notably complained about such communications created by those games that appear to them as "spammy." Peter Jamison described Zynga's communications as a "deluge" of "unwanted gifts or requests for neighborly 'help'". Kotaku attributed the removal of Facebook notifications to a decline of users of Zynga games in April and May 2010. | |
| − | === | + | ===Intellectual property controversies and litigation=== |
| − | + | Zynga has been accused several times of copying game concepts of popular games by competing developers. The launch of ''[[Mafia Wars]]'' sparked a lawsuit from the makers of ''[[Mob Wars]]''. An attorney for Psycho Monkey, the creators of ''Mob Wars'', said that in making ''Mafia Wars'', Zynga "copied virtually every important aspect of the game." The suit was settled out of court for $7–9 million. An [[Ars Technica]] column said that Zynga's ''Café World'' and Playfish's ''Restaurant City'' were "nearly identical"; ''Café World'' was released six months after ''Restaurant City''. Its gameplay, design, graphics, avatars, and even in-game items are almost identical to the ones in ''Restaurant City''. Many players who have played ''Restaurant City ''and ''Café World'' have noticed the extreme similarities between both games. In addition, journalists have remarked that Zynga's ''FarmVille'' is similar to ''[[FarmVille|Farm Town]]'', with Peter Jamison calling it "uncannily similar." NimbleBit founder Ian Marsh has accused Zynga of copying its award-winning ''[[Tiny Tower]]'' game to create ''Dream Heights''. Within a week, Buffalo Studios alleged that | |
| − | + | its game ''Bingo Blitz'' was copied by Zynga in making ''Zynga Bingo''. Pincus responded by saying that tower-building games have existed since ''[[SimTower]]'' (1994) and that Zynga uses mechanics and ideas developed throughout the history of video games to create "best in market games". He added that ''Bingo Blitz'' has similarities to the discontinued Zynga game ''Poker Blitz''. In response, Marsh argued that other tower games like ''SimTower'' and ''Tower Bloxx'' are substantially different from ''Tiny Tower'' and ''Dream Heights'', and that Zynga copied ''Tiny Tower''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "core gameplay mechanics and rules" and tutorial steps. ''[[Inside Social Games]]'' writer Pete Davison said that although Zynga's ''[[The Ville]]'' is "not a ''complete'' clone" of ''[[The Sims Social]]'', it was "''very'' similar". | |
| − | + | Zynga founder Mark Pincus has dismissed the criticisms, saying that competing video game makers have always released similar titles for each genre of game. The managing director of Lightspeed Venture Partners said that creating similar competing games has "always been part of the game industry." In September 2009 Zynga was threatened with legal action by [[Nissan]] for using their trademarks in the game ''Street Racing''. Zynga subsequently renamed and changed the thumbnail images of all cars that were branded Nissan and Infiniti to "Sindats" and "Fujis" with the thumbnails changed. At the time they also renamed and redesigned automobiles depicted as being made by GM, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Saab, and others. In September 2009, Zynga initiated trade secrets lawsuits against [[Playdom]] and 22 other rivals, including [[(Lil) Green Patch|Green Patch]] which Playdom acquired in November 2009. These lawsuits were finally settled in November 2010. In October 2010, Zynga was criticized on [[Hacker News]] and other [[social media]] sites for having filed a [[patent application]] relating to the ability to purchase [[virtual economy|virtual currency]] for cash on gambling and other gaming sites. Commentators said that significant [[prior art]] exists for the concept. | |
| − | + | In January 2011, [[Techdirt]] reported that Zynga had sent a [[cease and desist]] letter to Blingville alleging trademark infringement for its use of the letters "ville" in the name of a proposed Facebook game. Blingville has filed a suit for [[declaratory judgment]] that it is not infringing a Zynga trademark. As reported in ''Gamasutra'', Jay Monahan of Zynga responded by saying that Blingville's "[use] of the name 'BlingVille' is an obvious attempt to capitalize on the fame and goodwill associated with Zynga's family of 'ville' games which includes ''FarmVille'' and ''CityVille''". In November 2011, Inside Mobile Apps wrote that Zynga's lawyers demanded that mobile game developer Latman Interactive abandon its trademark registration for the game ''Quackville''. Night Owl Games has also filed a lawsuit for declaratory judgment that its game ''Dungeonville'' does not infringe any Zynga trademarks after Zynga protested Night Owl's registration of the ''Dungeonville'' trademark. In May 2012, Zynga sued [[Kobojo]] for trademark infringement for calling one of its games ''PyramidVille''. | |
| − | + | On May 20, 2011, it was reported that The Learning Company, owners of [[The Oregon Trail (video game)|''The Oregon Trail'']] trademark, filed a [[trademark infringement]] suit against Zynga, which is planning an "Oregon Trail" expansion to ''[[The Pioneer Trail|FrontierVille]]''. The Learning Company had previously contacted Zynga about an Oregon Trail game on Facebook, but Zynga declined. On May 24, [[Games.com]] writer Brandy Shaul wrote that Zynga was dropping the Oregon Trail name and soliciting new names for the expansion. The name of the expansion is now "Pioneer Trail". In August 2012, [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) sued Zynga for copyright infringement, alleging that Zynga's ''The Ville'' copied expressive elements of EA's ''[[The Sims Social]]''. Zynga's counsel responded by alleging that EA's ''[[SimCity Social]]'' "bears an uncanny resemblance to Zynga’s [[CityVille]]". | |
| − | === | + | ===Other legal controversies=== |
| − | + | In late May 2010, the Norwegian Consumer Council filed a complaint to the Data Inspectorate regarding breaches of the Data Protection Act. | |
| − | + | In August 2010, the San Francisco city attorney's office complained about the firm's [[guerrilla marketing]] campaign for its ''Mafia Wars'' game that pasted fake money on city sidewalks, calling it "vandalism". | |
| − | == | + | ==Funding== |
| − | + | In December 2009, Russia's [[Digital Sky Technologies]] bought a $180 million share of Zynga. In 2010, a combined $300 million from [[Softbank]] and [[Google]] were invested in Zynga. | |
| − | === | + | ===Public offering=== |
| − | + | On July 1, 2011, the company filed its Form S-1 registration statement with the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC). Zynga priced at $10 per share and began trading on [[NASDAQ]] under ZNGA on December 16, 2011. The stock closed down 5% on its first day, After Facebook's weak [[Initial Public Offering|initial public offering]] and announcement of poor earnings results, Zynga's stock fell, hitting $2.27 per share by October 2012. | |
| − | + | In March 2015, a district judge ruled that plaintiffs can pursue a lawsuit against Zynga on claims executives inflated the company’s value prior to its 2011 initial public offering by concealing weaknesses in its R&D pipeline of new games, numbers of users and their purchasing patterns, and other key metrics. | |
| − | == | + | ==Games== |
| − | === | + | ===Current games=== |
| − | + | As of December 2016, Zynga currently features 13 [http://company.zynga.com/games/facebook-games Facebook games] (denoted by ^) and 28 titles for [http://company.zynga.com/games/mobile-games mobile platforms] (denoted by *). | |
| − | + | # ''[[Chess with Friends]]'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Crazy Cake Swap'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Crazy Kitchen'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Draw Something]]'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Drop7]]'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Empires & Allies (2015 video game)|Empires & Allies]]'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''[[FarmVille]]'' ^ | |
| − | + | # ''[[FarmVille#FarmVille 2|FarmVille 2]]'' ^ | |
| − | + | # ''FarmVille 2: Country Escape'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Farmville Harvest Swap'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Farmville Tropic Escape'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Gems With Friends]]'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Hanging with Friends]]'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Hit It Rich! Casino Slots]]'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Ice Age: Arctic Blast'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Looney Tunes Dash'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Matching with Friends'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Princess Bride Slots ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Speed Guess Something'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Spin It Rich'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''What's The Phrase'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Willy Wonka Slots'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Wizard of Oz Magic Match'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Wizard of Oz Slots'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Word Streak With Friends'' (formerly ''Scramble With Friends'') ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Words with Friends]]'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Words on Tour'' * | |
| − | + | # ''Yummy Gummy'' * | |
| − | + | # ''[[Zynga Poker]]'' ^ * | |
| − | + | # ''Zynga Poker Classic'' * | |
| − | === | + | ===Discontinued games=== |
| − | + | # ''Art with Friends'' – shut down April 1, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Ayakashi: Ghost Guild'' – pulled from app stores April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Battlestone'' – shut down January 1, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Bubble Safari|Bubble Safari Ocean]]'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Bubble Safari]]'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[ChefVille]]'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Café World]]'' – shut down July 22, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''[[CastleVille]]'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[CityVille]]'' – pulled from app stores April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[CityVille 2]]'' – shut down March 7, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''CityVille Holidaytown'' – shut down February 12, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[CityVille Hometown]]'' – shut down February 12, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''CityVille KRE-O Invasion'' – shut down May 15, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''CoasterVille'' – shut down July 23, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Drugwars#Zynga version|Dope Wars]]'' – shut down December 2009. | |
| − | + | # ''Dragon Wars'' | |
| − | + | # ''Dream Heights'' – shut down June 20, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Dream PetHouse]]'' – shut down June 28, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''Dream Zoo'' – shut down May 27, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''Duck Dynasty'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Empires & Allies]]'' – shut down June 17, 2013; revived for mobile in 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Fashion Wars'' – shut down August 22, 2011. | |
| − | + | # ''[[FishVille]]'' – shut down December 5, 2012. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Friends for Sale]]'' | |
| − | + | # ''[[Hidden Chronicles]]'' – shut down July 23, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''Hidden Shadows'' – shut down July 23, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''ForestVille'' – pulled from app stores. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Indiana Jones Adventure World]]'' – shut down January 14, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''Kingdoms & Quests'' (Geo-locked release to Australia) - shut down September 30th, 2011 | |
| − | + | # ''[[Mafia Wars]]'' - shut down June 6, 2016.''' | |
| − | + | # ''[[Mafia Wars#Mafia Wars 2|Mafia Wars 2]]'' – shut down December 30, 2012. | |
| − | + | # ''Mafia Wars Shakedown'' – pulled from app stores. | |
| − | + | # ''Mojitomo'' – pulled from app stores. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Montopia]]'' – shut down December 21, 2012. | |
| − | + | # ''Ninja Kingdom'' (formerly ''Dojo Mojo'') - shut down July 7, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Party Place]]'' – shut down March, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''PetVille'' – shut down December 30, 2012. | |
| − | + | # ''Pirates : Rule The Caribbean'' – shut down August 22, 2011. | |
| − | + | # ''Poker Blitz'' – shut down December 14, 2010. | |
| − | + | # ''Puzzle Charms'' (formerly ''Fairy Tale Twist'') - shut down April 30, 2015 | |
| − | + | # ''Roller Coaster Kingdom'' – shut down June 30, 2010. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Ruby Blast]]'' – shut down January 4, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''Riches of Olympus'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Special Forces'' – shut down August 22, 2011. | |
| − | + | # ''Street Racing'' – shut down in December 2010. | |
| − | + | # ''Skateboard Slam'' –shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''The Friend Game'' – shut down in February 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''[[The Pioneer Trail]]'' (formerly ''FrontierVille'') – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[The Ville]]'' – shut down June 24, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Treasure Isle (video game)|Treasure Isle]]'' – shut down December 5, 2012. | |
| − | + | # ''Vampire Wars'' – shut down December 5, 2012. | |
| − | + | # ''War of the Fallen'' - shut down August 24, 2014 | |
| − | + | # ''Warstorm'' – shut down in September 2011. | |
| − | + | # ''Word Scramble Challenge'' – pulled from app stores. | |
| − | + | # ''[[YoWorld|YoVille]]'' – sold May 11, 2014. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Zynga Bingo]]'' - shut down December 2012 | |
| − | + | # ''[[Zynga Slingo]]'' – shut down August 26, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''Zynga Plus Casino'' – shut down March, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Zynga Plus Poker'' – shut down March, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Zynga Slots'' – shut down November 25, 2013. | |
| − | + | # ''Zynga Elite Slots'' – shut down April 30, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''Zombie Smash'' – shut down January 12, 2015. | |
| − | + | # ''[[Solstice Arena]]'' – shut down August 12, 2015. | |
| − | == | + | ==Board games== |
| − | + | In 2012, Zynga, in conjunction with [[Hasbro]] released several physical board games based on the various properties in the Zynga game library. These games were released under an imprint of Hasbro called "Hasbro Gaming". | |
| − | + | As of 2012, the list of available games includes board game versions of ''[[Draw Something]]'' and ''[[Words with Friends]]'', a ''[[CityVille]]'' edition of ''[[Monopoly (game)|Monopoly]]'' and several kids' "Animal Games" based on ''[[FarmVille]]''. | |
| − | == Zynga.org == | + | ==Zynga.org== |
| − | + | In 2009, Zynga started a nonprofit organization, [[Zynga.org]], in charge of incorporating charitable contributions into its games such as ''[[FarmVille]]''. To date, Zynga.org efforts have raised $15 million for international humanitarian relief efforts and philanthropic initiatives. | |
| − | == | + | == See also == |
| − | == Notes == | + | ==Notes== |
| − | == | + | ==Source== |
[http://wikipedia.org/ http://wikipedia.org/] | [http://wikipedia.org/ http://wikipedia.org/] | ||
