December 19, 2011
FarmVille may be one of the most popular games on the ‘Net, and especially on Facebook, but apparently that may not translate into trading success as a public company.
(Related: Zynga Inc. Prices Initial Public Offering)
The Wall Stret Journal reports that the game’s maker, Zynga, has seen its shares slide downward since going public Friday, losing around 5% each day after an initial $10 IPO value.
As of Sept. 30, Zynga had four of the top five social games on Facebook as far as daily active players, according to the Wall Street Journal.
(Related: Discover® Sponsors First-Ever Zynga FarmVille Game Expansion)
But is Zynga is sweating the early returns, COO John Schappert wasn’t showing it in an interview over the weekend with TechCrunch. Here’s a couple experts.
On the game plan for using the new funding:
“We’re investing in existing games to drive bookings [revenue-generating events like the purchase of a virtual good]. We’re also working to create new franchises and genres, like Castleville, which we recently launched on Facebook. That also means more international expansion. We’ve just started localizing a year ago with CityVille.”
On what he would tell investors:
“We look at this for the long-term, we’re not making short-term decisions… We’re looking at the long-term of play, the long-term of Zynga and connecting the world through games, and that’s hopefully what people are investing in — the future of social gaming and play.”
Click here to read the full TechCrunch interview.