This won't be a long post. A recent post on Gamasutra detailed why Zynga is crashing and burning. Its a straight forward post and well worth the read. Read it here http://t.co/1ZISL7d0
What strikes me is how no one saw this coming?
My view is that it all stems from the Zynga culture which comes down from Mark Piincus. Everything I have read is that he is nasty, mean and was driven by revenue and narcissism. He seems to believe he is owed greatness. It shows in the games. Game play is sacrificed for the sake of revenue. Players are treated the same as the virtual cattle they shuffle around. There are accounts of fraudulent reporting of numbers. From the numbers of players to amount of money being made. Zynga"s culture is one of largesse. From the flagrant cloning of IP to the inability to succeed at any of the games with inflating friend counts all smell of corrupt culture. Zynga's demise was telegraphed by anyone paying attention.
While I admire the amazing success that Zynga has had, I just don't see how it is sustainable with a culture that relies on some level of deceit and fraud.
Zynga really is the embodiment of game studio as hedge fund. Management driven by profit and revenue alone.
Am I wrong? Gone to far? What say you!
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