Zynga sees 95% drop in profits

[J T]

http://www.destructoid.com/bad-dog-zyng ... 2250.phtml

I've always been baffled by Zynga's success. Now I'm curious as to why they are dropping off. Are people wising up and realizing that they are being ripped off by being asked to routinely pay money for the upkeep of a virtual farm? Zynga is still powerful, but does this downturn in profits signal a change in the air for the casual games market?

[BoringSupreez]

Doesn't surprise me. Stuff like Farmville doesn't have long term appeal, it's more like a fad. My mom stopped caring about Farmville months ago.

[Erik_Twice]

Their profits went down because they spent it expanding, the revenue actually went up.


That said, I don't think the bussiness is viable in the long-term. The games are crap and not even different crap. With thousands of copycats they will sooon be swallowed by other companies spouting the same games they do.

Also those games have a very short life-span. Farmville will die soon as people get bored with it. With no depth you can't keep people interested for long.

[BoringSupreez]

That said, I don't think the bussiness is viable in the long-term. The games are crap and not even different crap. With thousands of copycats they will sooon be swallowed by other companies spouting the same games they do.

Sounds a lot like 1983 to me. Except it won't matter to us if the casual market crashes.

[AmishSamurai]

That said, I don't think the bussiness is viable in the long-term. The games are crap and not even different crap. With thousands of copycats they will sooon be swallowed by other companies spouting the same games they do.

Sounds a lot like 1983 to me. Except it won't matter to us if the casual market crashes.

I'm thinking less 1983, and more the scenario Hannah Barbera found itself in- so many similar cartoons flooding the market its only real competition was itself.

[Inazuma]

Casual games in general seem to be a lot less popular now.

[isiolia]

Casual games in general seem to be a lot less popular now.

Nah. Market is just shifting to smartphones/tablets. Can't seem to go a week without some celebrity name-dropping Angry Birds.

Not that Farmville isn't on iOS too, but it's not exactly dead either. Probably more that people got bored of it, or tired of spending money. Or maybe they just moved over to the Sims Social beta >_>

[Inazuma]

Casual games in general seem to be a lot less popular now.

Nah. Market is just shifting to smartphones/tablets. Can't seem to go a week without some celebrity name-dropping Angry Birds.

Not that Farmville isn't on iOS too, but it's not exactly dead either. Probably more that people got bored of it, or tired of spending money. Or maybe they just moved over to the Sims Social beta >_>

Yeah, that sounds right. Casual gamers were spoiled by $1 mobile games and now they don't want to spend $60 for them anymore. Can't really blame them, I guess.

[BoringSupreez]

That said, I don't think the bussiness is viable in the long-term. The games are crap and not even different crap. With thousands of copycats they will sooon be swallowed by other companies spouting the same games they do.

Sounds a lot like 1983 to me. Except it won't matter to us if the casual market crashes.

I'm thinking less 1983, and more the scenario Hannah Barbera found itself in- so many similar cartoons flooding the market its only real competition was itself.

TBH, that's even worse, as that sort of situation takes much more time to work itself out. Took about 2 or 3 years before the crash was reversed, but it took 20 years before HB had to start making quality stuff again in order to compete.

[AppleQueso]

Would be cool if the 'casual games' market shifted towards giving us more arcade-style games again.