Tag: zynga mobile games

Zynga continues to struggle toward mobile games

| June 11, 2013

Mobile games transition proves turbulent for Zynga

Once-acclaimed game developer Zynga continues to work toward recovering from its recent fall from grace with consumers. The company has faced harsh criticism over the years due to its approach to gaming. Some of this criticism suggests that Zynga blatantly copied other, more popular games in order to attract consumers through confusion. After Facebook cut ties with the developer, the company has been working to reclaim its position through a strong focus on mobile games.

Zynga continues to see financial difficulty and criticism from consumers

Though Zynga believes that mobile games will lead to its eventual ascension to fame, the company is still struggling in its transition into the mobile space. Much of Zynga’s interest in mobile games comes from the success other companies have seen in this sector, such as Japan’s GungHo Online Entertainment. Even major publishers, such as Electronic Arts, have been finding success in mobile games, largely due to the simplistic nature of these games and how much they appeal to a massive number of consumers.

Mobile Games - Zynga strugglesZynga makes drastic cuts to staff

Zynga has been having trouble acclimating to the mobile space, however. The company has yet to produce a single mobile game as much of its focus is currently centered on reinventing itself. While Zynga is making progress toward embracing mobile games, the company has yet to shrug off its complications. Late last week, the company announced that it had laid off 18% of its staff throughout the U.S. This move was meant to save the company as much as $80 million annually but has done little to win the company the confidence of investors who consider Zynga’s acquisition of OMGPOP in 2012 as the mark of the company’s ultimate decline.

OMGPOP now defunct

OMGPOP is the development studio behind the acclaimed Draw Something, which is largely considered to be one of the most successful mobile games on the market. Since acquiring Zynga acquires OMGPOP in 2012 for $200 million, but has had to make several cuts to the development studio in an effort to save money. Zynga had once considered OMGPOP to be a powerful step in its journey toward mobile games, but Zynga closed the studio last week without having it produce another game.

Zynga pins hope on mobile games

| June 3, 2013

Mobile games may determine the fate of Zynga

Troubles game developer Zynga has been working to restructure itself recently. The company has struggled to find some stable ground after losing the faith of Facebook, which had once been its primary distribution platform. Zynga has set its sights on mobile games, believing that the mobile space will provid ethe company with the momentum it needs to reclaim the favor of consumers throughout the gaming market. Zynga has yet to find this momentum, however, as it has not yet produced a successful mobile game.

Company reporting drop in revenue and daily active users

Zynga has reported an 18% drop in revenue in the latest quarter of this year. The company’s financial troubles have continued for several consecutive quarters. Zynga’s financial problems are being exacerbated by the falling number of consumers that are playing the company’s games. Zynga has reported that the number of daily active users has dropped by 21% in the latest quarter. The company believes that mobile games can turn its fortunes, but whether or not the company can perform well in the mobile space has yet to be seen.

Zynga - Pinning hopes on mobile gamesZynga aims for success with sequel to Draw Something

Zynga is placing much of its hope for the future on a new game it is planning to release in the near future. This game is a sequel to the highly acclaimed Draw Something, which was originally developed by Omgpop. Zynga spent $180 million to purchase the rights to Draw Something in March of 2012, but consumers quickly lost interest in the game once they heard that Zynga had become involved. Draw Something had been one of the most popular mobile games of its time and Zynga believes that consumers will respond well to a genuine sequel to the title.

Mobile games have trouble holding consumer attention

Consumers tend to lose interest in mobile games rather quickly, due to the nature of these games. Mobile games are not typically designed with any significant level of depth, thus making the entertainment they offer to consumers somewhat limited. Those with short attention spans typically move on to new mobile games quickly, even if their experience with a particular game had been favorable.