![]() By the way, Zynga still has close to 30 titles on Facebook, so it isn’t in a terrible situation as such. Let’s hope Zynga can have a turnaround with this move. Well, sometimes it is wiser to let go of the weaker ones as it Darwin’s theory of evolution still makes sense even in the world of apps. To numb the pain and try to get gamers hooked on titles that will keep running, Zynga offered people who played FishVille, Adventure World, and some other titles a free bonus package of virtual goods in one of its flagship games CastleVille, ChefVille, FarmVille 2, Mafia Wars, or YoVille. and I’M going to miss my pet Jaime….why do you want cause depression for me and others. Now, if you weren’t active on one of the games above, you may not understand the grief of users who have been actively playing these. Comments from gamers on the shutdown notices included things like “my daughter is heartbroken” and “Please don’t remove petville. PetVille – Shut down December 30th Mafia Wars 2 – Shut down December 30th FishVille – Shut down December 5th Vampire Wars – Shut down December 5th Treasure Isle – Shut down December 5th Indiana Jones Adventure World – Closed to new players, shuts down January 14th Mafia Wars Shakedown – Pulled from app stores Forestville – Pulled from app stores Montopia – Shut down December 21st Mojitomo – Pulled from app stores Word Scramble Challenge – Pulled from app stores Here’s the full list of the apps that have come under the hammer: To get the company back on track, Zynga announced a deep set of cost cutting measures including laying off over 100 employees, shutting down titles, closing offices and significantly reducing investment in The Sims-style game The Ville. Zynga’s share price is down 3.52% to $2.33 from its $10 IPO price a year ago. ![]() Investors feared it had become bloated, free virality on Facebook had been curtailed, competitors were proliferating, and the shift of Facebook users to mobile from Zynga’s stronghold on the desktop canvas would break the company. But recently Zynga shares prices have been plummeting. Everything seemed to go great till the IPO. Zynga had a brilliant start by launching titles after titles and grew as Facebook grew. It has been a tough journey recently for Zynga and with layoffs already done, this seems to be another move to get the company back on track. Continuing with that Zynga has shut down, pulled from the app stores, or stopped accepting new players to eleven games, with some turning off today.The objective is to reallocate resources to more successful titles as well as creating new ones. Oddly enough, the original Mafia Wars is being kept on in place of its sequel thanks to its larger player base.įacing increased competition in the Facebook market and shrinking public interest in “hands off” games like FarmVille, Zynga is looking to mobile markets and real-cash gambling to keep itself afloat.Zynga CEO Mark Pincus announced the company’s cost reduction plan in November. Montopia’s shutdown was announced just three months after its launch. Mafia Wars 2, FishVille, Vampire Wars, Treasure Isle, Mafia Wars Shakedown, ForestVille, Montopia, Mojitomo and World Scramble Challenge have all either suffered the same fate or are about to. Server costs aren’t the issue, Zynga simply doesn’t have the manpower to keep the title running. PetVille was shut down despite some 7.5 million likes on Facebook and a reported 60,000 daily active users. As recompense for murdering its user’s virtual pets, Zynga is offering a one-time complimentary bonus package for one of a handful of other social games. Yesterday, players who tried to log into PetVille were met with a message informing them that the game is finished, and they should move on to one of the other ville titles. The surprising part is which games were chosen and how quickly they were taken down. Last October, Zynga announced it would be “sunsetting” 13 of its older and less successful games. ![]() It quickly became clear that the company would have to go through some severe belt-tightening to stave off financial destruction. Last year, the company had to lay off 100 employees, and a number of high-profile managers bailed in spectacular fashion. The company’s shares have done their best impression of a submarine, dropping to $2.36 from an initial $10 asking price. It was terrible.īut now, just one year after Zynga’s initial public offering, the dream is over. Parents looked at their children with a hungry gaze, like they were calculating how much Farmcash they could get for a fresh kidney. FarmVille was inescapable even outside the confines of Facebook. Not too long ago, it felt like Zynga was on the verge of taking over the world. 60,000 active users can’t stop Zynga from putting PetVille down.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |