Zynga launches iPhone game Dream Heights: let the copycat wars begin
Zynga has launched its Dream Heights mobile game for the iPhone and iPad today. The title enables players to build the “skyscraper of the century,” but the game is sure to get a lot of press because Zynga has been accused of ripping off the game from independent developer Nimblebit, creator of Tiny Tower.
Zynga acknowledged its entry into the popular genre wasn’t the first.
“While Zynga surely isn’t the first of many great games … Continue Reading
GamesBeat weekly news roundup
Here’s some of the stories that ran only on GamesBeat this week. We’re running more stories exclusively on the GamesBeat section of VentureBeat now, particularly when the stories are mainly of interest to game readers. The broader interest stories are running on VentureBeat as well. And please visit the GamesBeat section to catch up on game news. We’re ramping up our game coverage, so you’ll find more and more news at GamesBeat.
Here’s some of … Continue Reading
The DeanBeat: Billionaire Mark Pincus breaks out of quiet period (exclusive interview)
Mark Pincus is the newest billionaire in Silicon Valley, thanks to the December initial public offering of Zynga, the social game giant he founded in 2007.
For much of last year, Zynga was in a quiet period leading up to its IPO and Pincus had to wear a muzzle. During that time, Zynga haters came out of the woodwork in poorly disguised attempts to derail the IPO.
But the company managed to go public at … Continue Reading
Beware the king: Zuckerberg’s voting power a risk to shareholders
As VentureBeat’s Jolie O’Dell pointed out yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg managed to strike a deal with some key investors and friends that gives him 57 percent of the shareholder voting power. For a public company, it’s an almost unheard of concentration of authority, a troubling sign for those who focus on shareholder rights.
“The public has no say in the control of the board, which in my view is terribly harmful to any notion … Continue Reading
Zynga CEO: We aren’t the copycats on Bingo social game (exclusive interview)
Mark Pincus, chief executive of social gaming giant Zynga, denied that Zynga copied a rival’s Bingo game on Facebook. Instead, he said in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat that the accuser in this case borrowed from Zynga.
On Sunday, Buffalo Studios in Santa Monica, Calif., alleged that the upcoming Zynga Bingo was a copy of Buffalo’s Bingo Blitz game, which has a million daily players on Facebook.
The story reinvigorated one of the oldest memes … Continue Reading
The DeanBeat: Should Zynga move into online gambling?
Do gambling and Facebook games go together?
Slot machine maker International Game Technology answered that question with a resounding “Yes!” when it bought Double Down Interactive, a 70-person Facebook casino game studio, for $500 million on Jan. 13. Zynga’s shares started going up after the deal was announced, which came shortly after the Obama administration’s Justice Department ruled in December that online gambling was legal, as long as it was not sports-related, which was specifically … Continue Reading
Zynga hires away EA’s top mobile and social executive Barry Cottle
Social gaming giant Zynga has hired Electronic Arts’ top mobile and social executive Barry Cottle as Zynga’s new executive vice president of corporate and business development.
The hire is a big development in the war for talent between the two companies, which are in the midst of a major battle for control of the fastest-growing parts of the game business. Cottle will report to John Schappert, chief operating officer at San Francisco-based Zynga and the … Continue Reading
2012 predictions: It’s doom & gloom for Amazon, RIM and Zynga
The predictions I made for 2011 turned out pretty well, since I framed things like any good fortune teller or horoscope would have done. I was vague enough to allow flexibility but detailed enough to sound spot on. I would say I hit four for four:
✓ The Groupon juggernaut will slow down
✓ Virtual reality will be hot again … thanks to Kinect
✓ Tablet market explodes
✓ Mobile commerce poised for takeoff in … Continue Reading
Will they laugh this time? Shervin Pishevar predicts social mobile games to dwarf Facebook games
As the founder of Social Gaming Network, Shervin Pishevar squared off against Zynga in the early days of social gaming. But Pishevar veered off into iPhone gaming while Mark Pincus stayed put on Facebook with social games.
The consequences of that competitive battle have played out. Zynga went public at a $10 billion valuation yesterday, while MindJolt acquired SGN for a much lower price in April. But Pishevar isn’t bitter. He offered his congratulations to … Continue Reading
Zynga closes at $9.50 a share, down 5 percent in IPO debut
Zynga’s initial public offering wasn’t as popular as the company hoped, with the stock closing at $9.50 a share, down 5 percent from its offering price of $10 a share.
The weak performance came after a considerable mix of hype and cynicism about the social gaming company, which raised $1 billion at an $8.9 billion valuation with options included. The stock price opened at $11 a share (up 10 percent) and rose at the outset … Continue Reading
The complete history of Zynga (so far) in handy e-book form
To mark Zynga‘s stock-market debut, we’re releasing a 63-page e-book on the history of the company.
In just five years, social-gaming company Zynga has gone from scrappy, sometimes-shady underdog, to multi-billion dollar company. On Friday, Zynga capped of the first leg of its journey and started another when it went public on the Nasdaq.
VentureBeat’s lead games writer Dean Takahashi has followed the company from its beginnings as Presidio Media in 2007, through lawsuits, hit … Continue Reading
Mark Pincus rings Nasdaq’s opening bell; Zynga stock trades begin
Zynga chief executive Mark Pincus rang the opening bell — in a virtual way, from Zynga’s headquarters in San Francisco — as trading began for Zynga’s initial public offering today.
Zynga’s opening trades for its offering of $1 billion at $10 a share are about to begin. The overall stock market is trading up this morning, so the company picked a good day.
Pincus rang the opening bell along with board member Bing Gordon and … Continue Reading
Zynga’s rivals welcome the social gaming IPO
With the IPOs of Zynga and Nexon this week, the social and online game industries have their first billion-dollar public offerings. May many more follow.
That’s the spirit among social gaming rivals, including those that have been fierce competitors to Zynga, the largest of the social gaming companies. Now both Zynga and Nexon will have an extra billion dollars to buy some of those rivals, spreading around some of the holiday cheer. And the worldwide … Continue Reading
CashVille: Zynga prices at a high $10 a share
After months of delay, social game maker Zynga is finally about to go public. The company priced its stock moments ago at $10 a share, the upper-end of the price range.
The maker of games like FarmVille and CityVille now has enough cash to buy many of the hardcore game companies that openly scoffed as Zynga came of age.
Founder Mark Pincus is now a multibillionaire on paper, as the majority shareholder in a company … Continue Reading
Timeline: A chronology of the life of Zynga
Zynga is expected to go public any day now. The social game maker could raise more than $1 billion at a valuation of $8.9 billion as it seeks to spread its social games to all platforms where gamers congregate.
Founded by Mark Pincus (pictured right) in 2007, Zynga has has packed an interesting and colorful history into its four and a half years. Here’s our chronology of the life of Zynga.
Dec. 12, 2011 — … Continue Reading
From castles to card games: a rundown of Zynga’s biggest titles
Zynga is the most recognizable name in social gaming. Facebook members and iPhone owners alike have seen Zynga’s games continuously rise and fall from the top of the charts over the past few years, and with CastleVille’s launch earlier this month, it is unlikely that will change any time soon. The company is likely to go public soon and raise a ton of money, so we thought we would show this primer on Zynga’s social … Continue Reading
How Zynga grew from gaming outcast to $9 billion social game powerhouse
Update: This article is now available as a 63-page e-book on Amazon’s Kindle bookstore.
Zynga has turned the video game world upside down in its short five-year history. As it’s poised on the verge of a massive initial public offering, the social game startup is now one of gaming’s great success stories.
But its success was never a foregone conclusion. In fact, most game industry veterans didn’t view it as a real game company. Mark … Continue Reading
CEO claims Zynga could double paid users after IPO, and he’s probably right
Zynga co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Pincus said today that his company could double its number of paid subscribers.
Zynga has about 215 million monthly users. Roughly 7.7 million of these users have purchased Facebook Credits, which can be redeemed for virtual goods inside Zynga games like Farmville. This figure represents between 2.5 and 3 percent of Zynga’s total user base.
“We could see that doubling,” Pincus said before a room of about 100 … Continue Reading
Zynga posts its IPO roadshow, explains why you should buy its stock (video)
Zynga has posted its pitch to investors for its upcoming initial public offering roadshow. The pitch is part of Zynga’s plan to raise $850 million to $1.15 billion in an IPO that values the company at $5.9 billion to $6.99 billion, or $7.6 billion to $8.9 billion including employee stock options.
Zynga will deliver this 30-minute roadshow pitch to investors over the next nine days. The company is expected to price its shares — now … Continue Reading
Zynga confirms plans to raise up to $1.15B at $8.9B valuation and start IPO roadshow
Zynga plans to raise around $850 million to $1.15 billion at a $5.9 billion to $6.99 billion valuation in an initial public offering that will be priced on Dec. 15 and begin trading the next day. Counting options, the value would be $7.6 billion to $8.9 billion.
Finally setting its long-awaited initial public offering in motion, social game maker Zynga has named a price range for its offering and unveiled its investor roadshow pitch for … Continue Reading
