11–20 of 91 posts
Zynga's already done the innovative part in figuring out marketing/distribution. Now they need to reduce other risks. Copying competitors who have good game ideas but weak marketing/distribution is a great idea.
Ethical considerations aside, this seems like a solid management strategy to me. They have the brand to push through large mass of users , who are not so much into gaming as they are into socializing. If I were an investor in Zynga, I would be very happy , although I would probably use a part of the 10x ROI to buy a sweet gaming rig and play real games.
Are they into socializing? Or are they just into a pleasant distraction that fires off addicting dopamine patterns that they can also share with their peers?
The author of the article mistakenly assumes that Zynga's value is in Farmville/Fishville/Poker. It's not.
Pincus once said that if he could re-do tribe, he would instead build "a platform for testing ideas about how to make social networks," or something. With Zynga, Pincus has buildt an entire company mechanism for figuring out how to make money from FB games, I assume revolving around everything from what he calls "ghetto testing" to a/b tests et cetera.
Yes, Zynga obviously copied the ideas being a lot of its games. So did 300 other companies. The value in Zynga is that it beat those 300 other companies. This article gives us no way of understanding why it beat all those other companies. My guess it that it's because Zynga's value is in its "platform for figuring out how to get people to pay money for games" rather than in the games themselves.
I have only a second hand exposure to farmville due to an avid player close to me. I wouldn't say they don't innovate - or at least they mask it real good. Farmville is full of new stuff that ties in together all the time, but general framework looks to be less keen on innovation. I wonder how long can they run with it though. It's like where you have an ultra strong brand for games and you innovate by pushing variou…
The concept owes a lot to Harvest Moon, but let's not kid ourselves, those are very different games. FarmVille is a well-oiled machine designed for virality, keeping people playing through social obligation and fear of loss, and monetization. It has its own peculiar kind of beauty to it. You're a 40 year old woman and your aunt, who you always keep meaning to talk with but never find the time to do, needs help with h…
I don't think Zynga should be viewed as non innovative evil place as the article suggests though. Farmville is a good game in its genre. Because if it weren't, people would not play it. And I admire their driver for constant updates, which do take a lot of effort to think about and make. Tournaments, hunting for truffles with your pigs, honeybees for your bee hives, seasonal items like wedding gazebos etc...
And it's engaging mechanics works on multiple levels. There's that icebreaker level that facebook inherently drives which you've mentioned with aunt example. There's also a point based competing drive: "come on, that girl can't be a level over mine"...
Then there is show of level (sort of a competing) which I regard as most genius of all. It's geared towards women population. Where they show of new items acquired on their meticulously crafted farm designs which are more of a home+backyard than a farm. This happens in real life too, but this is more streamlined and on display to everyone you know that plays farmville. Genius.
Also, they produce lots of pixel art for their game - which is dear to my heart. So, I respect Zynga regarding farmville, a lot.
To me this sounds like Zynga just took an idea that was already out there, improved upon it, and executed the marketing/business side of things better than their competitors. The blatant art rip-off is evil, but the methodology of "taking something proven, and making it better" is not. Apple does this all the time, and I don't fault them for it. For the HN crowd who "can't find an idea for a startup", maybe this is a…
edit: I remembered that I have heard another version, with a different take: "In a street where there are several bakeries, next business that will open up will be a bakery" - I actually like that one more.
I'm interested in how Zynga blatantly copying competitors is positioned as evil, but when Google promotes a software and hardware ecosphere that at heart requires the blatant copying of the iPhone, it's considered necessary and smart business. It can't be evil sometimes and not evil others. If copying is just smart business, then Zynga is proving that every shred of copying allowed by law is even smarter business.
The "social" games space is ripe for revolution. There's no fun there, nothing virtuous in what they consider gameplay. You don't even play with your friends, so much as exploit them for personal gain. It's a very cynical view of how to spend time with people. When the leading social games company is led by a guy like Pincus, what more can you expect?
The fact that they're not fun is part of why they are successful. You're just kind of trivially there, so you don't feel dorky and you don't feel like you're wasting too much time, only a moment.
All online multi-player video games are "social" games, but most of them aren't hyper-casual and can't be bolted on as a distraction to Facebook. Therefore, they feel a little dorky, a little like wasting time, and way more fun.
To me this sounds like Zynga just took an idea that was already out there, improved upon it, and executed the marketing/business side of things better than their competitors. The blatant art rip-off is evil, but the methodology of "taking something proven, and making it better" is not. Apple does this all the time, and I don't fault them for it. For the HN crowd who "can't find an idea for a startup", maybe this is a…
There is kind of a proverb related to business here, which loosely translated says something like: "In a street where there are several bakeries, it is wise to open up another bakery." edit: I remembered that I have heard another version, with a different take: "In a street where there are several bakeries, next business that will open up will be a bakery" - I actually like that one more.