5 ms·

I'm not a fan of their games, but I do want them to do well....not sure why. Maybe it's because I feel that out of all the latest IPO's and IPO rumors, they hav

by nhangen 15y ago

I'm not a fan of their games, but I do want them to do well....not sure why. Maybe it's because I feel that out of all the latest IPO's and IPO rumors, they have the closest to an actual business, or because I want a gaming company to do well since I make games. Either way, 95% is a lot, and this doesn't bode well at all for anyone lower in the food chain.

truthout 15y ago
Their business model is people sitting on the computer nurturing virtual farms and buying cows. Are you serious? Their business targets the least productive segment of humanity and leeches off of their stupidity. The fast that they have negative q/q userbase growth and q/q profits is pretty serious. Their market is ripe for competition and their userbase will continue to be cannibalized.
Zak 15y ago
From what I've read, it's my impression that their games aren't actually fun and they get pretty much all their popularity through manipulative social incentives to play. I want that model to lose. More generally, I'm not thrilled by things that try to monetize my relationships with friends and family, which includes, to a degree Facebook itself.
zemo 15y ago
Have you played a Zynga game? In Zynga games, you cannot complete the core objectives without recruiting other people to play the game or by paying money. Zynga's products are pyramid schemes masquerading as games.
- nhangen 15y ago
  I don't doubt that, but they seem to make people happy judging from my FB feed. I think they found a way to make non-gamers feel good about gaming, which I'm for. Maybe Zynga can be a gateway drug?
  - bluedanieru 15y ago
    Why do you want non-gamers to "feel good about gaming"? Why do you care? Why is this kind of thinking so prevalent among the gaming community? You don't see golf enthusiasts concerning themselves with the general population's interest in golf. You don't see golfers applauding courses opened up with the sole purpose of getting everyone on the planet to golf (in fact it's often the opposite). Not everyone has to play video games or want to.
    - code_duck 15y ago
      I'm thinking the difference is that golf isn't widely misunderstood to be an activity only engaged in by lonely male teenage misanthropes. Regardless, many people do try to promote activities or groups that they are involved with. Golfers who want to keep their courses uncrowded is a poor example; generally games get better as more people play.
    - richardw 15y ago
      Let the man care about what he cares about. If he wants more gamers, that's his right. Unless he's actually impacting your life, live and let live.
      - bluedanieru 15y ago
        What the hell kind of comment is this? It's a discussion forum, we're discussing. I care more about gaming than I probably should, and I'd welcome a larger community as well, but not if it means gaming comes to resemble the lowest-common-denominator shit we get from Zynga, et al.
        ido 15y ago
        As an avid gamer of more than 2 decades (I'm 28 & started playing games on my parents' PC XT when I was 4) I don't think this is the trend we're seeing, if anything things keep getting better all the time - you got more choice & more games of more types coming out all the time. If you want "hardcore" games, there is no shortage of new ones coming out.
- dorkitude 15y ago
  It's actually become quite rare for them to gate core objectives in this manner (I haven't seen it in a new game in at least a year, and I've spent a lot of time researching their games). The general rule: if you have the patience to wait for your energy to recharge, you can play for free (and without neighbors) for quite a while (weeks or months). You might miss out on some fancy extras, but even still, it's not bad in terms of length and depth, when compared to the 'free trial' phase of so-called "hardcore" games.
Hisoka 15y ago
I don't really want them to do well... They're a huge time waster, and distracts people from the important things in life
- elliottcarlson 15y ago
  Isn't that what a game generally is? I don't play games because I get something real out of it - I play them as something to keep me entertained, and thus waste time while I could be doing something else. The same could really be said about any game including sports (though it has physical benefits) and other games like chess.
rorrr 15y ago
95% decline in profits doesn't mean much, especially in a young company. It only means they spent much more that quarter than in the previous quarters. It's absolutely normal, if they are trying to grow or investing in their future.
- edtechre 15y ago
  Are you stupid? Zynga's not a young company at more than 4 years. And this is horribly detrimental for any prospect of IPO.
saraid216 15y ago
> Maybe it's because I feel that out of all the latest IPO's and IPO rumors, they have the closest to an actual business I feel I have to say that this might be the saddest reason to want a company to do well: that its context is even more depressing.

by nhangen 15y ago

truthout 15y ago

Their business model is people sitting on the computer nurturing virtual farms and buying cows. Are you serious? Their business targets the least productive segment of humanity and leeches off of their stupidity. The fast that they have negative q/q userbase growth and q/q profits is pretty serious. Their market is ripe for competition and their userbase will continue to be cannibalized.

Zak 15y ago

From what I've read, it's my impression that their games aren't actually fun and they get pretty much all their popularity through manipulative social incentives to play. I want that model to lose. More generally, I'm not thrilled by things that try to monetize my relationships with friends and family, which includes, to a degree Facebook itself.

zemo 15y ago

Have you played a Zynga game? In Zynga games, you cannot complete the core objectives without recruiting other people to play the game or by paying money. Zynga's products are pyramid schemes masquerading as games.

nhangen 15y ago
I don't doubt that, but they seem to make people happy judging from my FB feed. I think they found a way to make non-gamers feel good about gaming, which I'm for. Maybe Zynga can be a gateway drug?
- bluedanieru 15y ago
  Why do you want non-gamers to "feel good about gaming"? Why do you care? Why is this kind of thinking so prevalent among the gaming community? You don't see golf enthusiasts concerning themselves with the general population's interest in golf. You don't see golfers applauding courses opened up with the sole purpose of getting everyone on the planet to golf (in fact it's often the opposite). Not everyone has to play video games or want to.
  - code_duck 15y ago
    I'm thinking the difference is that golf isn't widely misunderstood to be an activity only engaged in by lonely male teenage misanthropes. Regardless, many people do try to promote activities or groups that they are involved with. Golfers who want to keep their courses uncrowded is a poor example; generally games get better as more people play.
  - richardw 15y ago
    Let the man care about what he cares about. If he wants more gamers, that's his right. Unless he's actually impacting your life, live and let live.
    - bluedanieru 15y ago
      What the hell kind of comment is this? It's a discussion forum, we're discussing. I care more about gaming than I probably should, and I'd welcome a larger community as well, but not if it means gaming comes to resemble the lowest-common-denominator shit we get from Zynga, et al.
      - ido 15y ago
        As an avid gamer of more than 2 decades (I'm 28 & started playing games on my parents' PC XT when I was 4) I don't think this is the trend we're seeing, if anything things keep getting better all the time - you got more choice & more games of more types coming out all the time. If you want "hardcore" games, there is no shortage of new ones coming out.
dorkitude 15y ago
It's actually become quite rare for them to gate core objectives in this manner (I haven't seen it in a new game in at least a year, and I've spent a lot of time researching their games). The general rule: if you have the patience to wait for your energy to recharge, you can play for free (and without neighbors) for quite a while (weeks or months). You might miss out on some fancy extras, but even still, it's not bad in terms of length and depth, when compared to the 'free trial' phase of so-called "hardcore" games.

Hisoka 15y ago

I don't really want them to do well... They're a huge time waster, and distracts people from the important things in life

elliottcarlson 15y ago
Isn't that what a game generally is? I don't play games because I get something real out of it - I play them as something to keep me entertained, and thus waste time while I could be doing something else. The same could really be said about any game including sports (though it has physical benefits) and other games like chess.

rorrr 15y ago

95% decline in profits doesn't mean much, especially in a young company. It only means they spent much more that quarter than in the previous quarters. It's absolutely normal, if they are trying to grow or investing in their future.

edtechre 15y ago
Are you stupid? Zynga's not a young company at more than 4 years. And this is horribly detrimental for any prospect of IPO.

saraid216 15y ago

> Maybe it's because I feel that out of all the latest IPO's and IPO rumors, they have the closest to an actual business I feel I have to say that this might be the saddest reason to want a company to do well: that its context is even more depressing.