Zynga was once the juggernaut of social gaming on social media giant Facebook. However, after the growing popularity of the ultra successful Candy Crush Saga by King.com, Zynga has fallen from grace and losing its No. 1 ranking. This has led analysts to question the company’s business model and long-term viability.
Following the company’s initial public offering (IPO), Zynga has shuttered its games, laid off hundreds of its employees and attempted to understand its underperforming games. Although it has been reported that its Farmville franchise is still performing quite well – Farmville and its sequel represent about up to 20 percent of its online gaming revenues – it has noted surprised weakness in Texas Holdem Poker, an important game franchise for the company.
Former employees are coming out lambasting the company for being too short-minded.
“A lot of people internally at Zynga are jaded," said Dave Dopson, a former Zynga principal engineer, reports Ars Technica. "The whole company is very short-term minded. There must have been some artists that like drawing cutesy characters, but [to the] majority of the people, [it's like]: we found this money-printing machine; help us oil the wheels and make more money.
“Here's the real question you need to answer: once they cut all the high-expense ratio, the stuff that they do at a cost point that's so high, is there anything left? Is there still a core of things that's profitable, and how big is that company?"
Analysts are recommending that Zynga make its popular Farmville a permanent success. This means that rather than mimicking its competitors’ gaming models, it should just innovate, expand and promote its shelf of games. Industry experts have pointed to War of the Fallen and Battlestone as some games that have the potential to establish a wider audience.
Not all hope is lost, though, especially considering that new CEO Don Mattrick has been considered to have the expertise and knowledge to create a larger and more permanent customer base as time continues to go by – perhaps he will follow the advice of the experts that say Zynga needs “better games, innovation and more sustainable ways of monetizing games.”
At the present time, there are 11 Facebook games and 17 titles for mobile devices. Some of the games include ChefVille, Dragons and Titans, Hit it Rich Slots, JamJam and Words with Friends.
In the past month, Zynga’s price share is up by roughly two percent and is more than 25 percent higher than during the beginning of the year. This could be due to the new chief executive’s shakeup of upper management.
