Zynga Buys NaturalMotion and Lays Off 15% of Own Workforce

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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May 9, 2000
Messages
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Zynga is sending out some mixed signals recently, first by purchasing NaturalMotion, a gaming company much unlike Zynga and then turning around and handing out pink slips to 314 of its own employees.

Zynga, however, seems to be undergoing a metamorphosis. Part of it seems to be due to the painful realization that its previous business model is no longer sustainable today.
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They bought the better company...
So in a weird kind of way it makes sense.
 
Zynga is one of those companies that makes me think "Is there a company called Asshole Executives, Inc where they find these morons to run these companies?"
 
Proving why people despise them. Stay classy Zynga, stay classy.
 
Today Zynga is shedding off another 314 of its employees, in addition to hundreds let go last August. Mattrick says those jobs are mostly related to infrastructure rather than game development
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Maybe the new company had a better team in charge of infrastructure, or they realized they didn't need as many people doing that job as they had
 
Good. Maybe they'll make the stupid gas limit go away in CSR racing.
 
Exavior said:
Maybe the new company had a better team in charge of infrastructure, or they realized they didn't need as many people doing that job as they had
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It's more promising when they aren't shedding creative people. Although with Zynga's mismanagement I don't know if they can turn this around. They printed money with FarmVille (remember that shit!) and have been unable to recreate the magic.
Also how bad is it that you would fire your inside staff to bring on someone else's. That definitely sounds like good management :D
 
Thats good news! I like hearing about what Zynga is doing since a lot of their games are fun to play and are a ton more popular than mostly every so-called AAA title released just in the number of people who play them. It's sort of the same way Angry Birds is better than Halo because Angry Birds is a ton more popular.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Thats good news! I like hearing about what Zynga is doing since a lot of their games are fun to play and are a ton more popular than mostly every so-called AAA title released just in the number of people who play them. It's sort of the same way Angry Birds is better than Halo because Angry Birds is a ton more popular.
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By that thought process a Ford is better than a Ferrari because more people use it. By your logic that's true. Trust me if majority use equates to superiority I don't want to live in your world.
 
Krazy925 said:
By that thought process a Ford is better than a Ferrari because more people use it. By your logic that's true. Trust me if majority use equates to superiority I don't want to live in your world.
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I don't get the whole comparing cars to everything else stuff. Video games aren't cars and I'm pretty sure that being able to go faster isn't really a good thing anyway since you can't do it anywhere legally and if you do it illegally, you're just being irresponsible and putting a bunch of innocent people all around you in life threatening danger. Totally not a braggable thing. Look what just happened to Paul Newman and his stupid friend in Los Angeles recently becasue they were being dummies and acting unsafely.
 
I think it was a smart move, they are stream lining there business model. They bought the better company and cut off some fat. I hope this helps them to move forward. I have made good money with there stock and hope to make more.
 
Paul walker pretty sure Paul Newman didn't just die in a fiery crash. Also it doesn't just apply to cars. Your terrible logic applies to everything. Go convert to Islam since it has to be right it's most popular. Go buy an f150 the majority of Americans do.
Also just because it's illegal for you to drive fast doesn't mean that I can't do it legally just that you can't. I resent the assumption that it has to be illegal to go over 70 MPH.
Group think is the one of the most damaging things in America currently and you jump on the numbers bandwagon. Here's some money figures for you Zynga all Q1 made 4.1m whereas Halo 3 made 220m in a weekend. Pretty sure they can find $4m in profit there.
 
Krazy925 said:
Paul walker pretty sure Paul Newman didn't just die in a fiery crash. Also it doesn't just apply to cars. Your terrible logic applies to everything. Go convert to Islam since it has to be right it's most popular. Go buy an f150 the majority of Americans do.
Also just because it's illegal for you to drive fast doesn't mean that I can't do it legally just that you can't. I resent the assumption that it has to be illegal to go over 70 MPH.
Group think is the one of the most damaging things in America currently and you jump on the numbers bandwagon. Here's some money figures for you Zynga all Q1 made 4.1m whereas Halo 3 made 220m in a weekend. Pretty sure they can find $4m in profit there.
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I guess he should have just walker'ed himself to get snacks instead of riding with his dumb friend. If you don't like driving at 70 MPH, then go advocate a change in the laws. Until then, if the posted speed limit is 70, then it really is illegal to drive faster than that whether or not, in your mind, you think you're entitled to go faster. Until then, that particular fact hasn't and isn't going to change despite your resentment. Feelings aren't relevant.

Zynga's margin of profit demonstrates how considerate the company is about pricing their products and how smartly they position their games for sale. They've analyzed their target audience and priced accordingly. I don't see how the amount of money they generate in sales has any impact on the fact that they sell far more in far greater numbers than other publishers that spend years developing a so-called smash hit that sells far fewer copies.

Your arguments are made from the depths of anger and emotion instead of from a sensible analysis. I know some people get really emotional about the games they play and the companies that make then, but it seems like there are lots better things to get excited about like hugging your pet kitty or paying attention to the little kids living with you. :D
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
I guess he should have just walker'ed himself to get snacks instead of riding with his dumb friend. If you don't like driving at 70 MPH, then go advocate a change in the laws. Until then, if the posted speed limit is 70, then it really is illegal to drive faster than that whether or not, in your mind, you think you're entitled to go faster. Until then, that particular fact hasn't and isn't going to change despite your resentment. Feelings aren't relevant.

Zynga's margin of profit demonstrates how considerate the company is about pricing their products and how smartly they position their games for sale. They've analyzed their target audience and priced accordingly. I don't see how the amount of money they generate in sales has any impact on the fact that they sell far more in far greater numbers than other publishers that spend years developing a so-called smash hit that sells far fewer copies.

Your arguments are made from the depths of anger and emotion instead of from a sensible analysis. I know some people get really emotional about the games they play and the companies that make then, but it seems like there are lots better things to get excited about like hugging your pet kitty or paying attention to the little kids living with you. :D
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Not really emotional about any of these games since I have only one love and it's not even the most popular of its genre(dota 2). You say it's illegal to drive over 70 however I do so all the time (Sears Point) and last time I checked we were talking about Zynga laying people off. Pretty sure having a 16 billion person install rate doesn't do anything to keep a company afloat assuming they can't monetize. From what I've seen they can only get 2-5% of customers to monetize and spread interest/grow but that was in 2011-2012 when I had a friend working there. He tells me he is Much happier working for some Lucas subsidiary.
I think zynga turned a whole lot of people into gamers that wouldn't have been lured in the console/pc segment however I don't think they have positioned themselves into a company that is financially viable. Who cares how many people played your games in the past if you can't keep the doors open and the asses in seats to continue making said games? Selling something is an essential part of most business models. Although Dota 2 is just as bad since it's f2p just like FarmVille :D maybe I can get grandma/dad/girlfriend to play and tell them it's the next step in casual gaming.
 
Not that strange. They just acquired another company, thus they'll reduce the staff as the companies merge. It gets rid of redundancy of positions (ie: If each company has 4 accountants for 8 total, but you'll only need 5 to do the new workload, you lay off 3).
 
Krazy925 said:
Not really emotional about any of these games since I have only one love and it's not even the most popular of its genre(dota 2). You say it's illegal to drive over 70 however I do so all the time (Sears Point) and last time I checked we were talking about Zynga laying people off. Pretty sure having a 16 billion person install rate doesn't do anything to keep a company afloat assuming they can't monetize. From what I've seen they can only get 2-5% of customers to monetize and spread interest/grow but that was in 2011-2012 when I had a friend working there. He tells me he is Much happier working for some Lucas subsidiary.
I think zynga turned a whole lot of people into gamers that wouldn't have been lured in the console/pc segment however I don't think they have positioned themselves into a company that is financially viable. Who cares how many people played your games in the past if you can't keep the doors open and the asses in seats to continue making said games? Selling something is an essential part of most business models. Although Dota 2 is just as bad since it's f2p just like FarmVille :D maybe I can get grandma/dad/girlfriend to play and tell them it's the next step in casual gaming.
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If they're buying other companies and laying off some of their workforce, they're reorganizing and getting rid of redundant or unneeded positions after getting a lot more staff. That indicates a growing business that's getting biggerer and betterer than ever before. I'm sure a lot of us also have friends we can totally claim over the internet worked for company A and now work for company B and are happier there to make an argument about company A seem more valid, but still not at all related to the simple fact that we don't like that their games are a lot more popular than the games we think should be better. ;)

Anywho, you go around driving fast or whatever and hurt other people who are out driving around trying to go get kitty food and live with whatever kinda guilt or reasons help you get through a day. A huge number of teenage boys get into accidents being over confidant and dangerous in a car and some of them even kill others when they drive unsafely. I only even talk about that kinda thing because it's good if a younger driver thinks twice before taking away someone else's life before they get old enough to kinda learn better or just overcome their hormone problems. :(
 
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