Many of you who enjoy gaming on mobile devices and social networking platforms will be well aware of the name Zynga, creators of some of the most popular games ever such as FarmVille, CityVille and Words with Friends. Today we have heard of a development called Zynga with Friends, which will be a unified platform for playing Zynga games across all platforms.
Currently Zynga games are available to play on Facebook and Google+, Android devices, iOS devices and on Zynga.com and users can play against friends using the same platform. The new Zynga with Friends network will enable users to play against friends across all of these platforms in a unified experience. When you think about it this move makes perfect sense although quite what Facebook, who formerly had a much-closer affinity with Zynga, will think is certainly interesting. Especially when considering that Zynga with Friends is much like a new social network but with a focus on gaming.
News of this came to us from Pocket-Lint and as Zynga already has more than 290 million monthly users this has the potential to be a huge hit. Some of the highlights of Zynga with Friends include the ability to chat to friends, stream activity and update statuses on one platform. Another possibility is that Zynga could make games more interactive by opening up its API to third party developers. Zynga spoke of this new move in San Francisco at the Zynga Unleashed event and enthusiastic Zynga gamers will also be pleased to hear that the company also announced a sequel to FarmVille.
Although we think that Zynga with Friends sounds like it has enormous potential it seems that Wall Street feels otherwise. The WSJ reports that the new games announced by Zynga along with the new network were not enough to stop stock dropping by 5% to $5.76, continuing its recent falls. It appears that the lack of diversity with the new offerings from Zynga has analysts questioning the company’s success with its plans.
What are your thoughts on Zynga with Friends? Do you think this is a great idea from Zynga that will make your gaming experience even more pleasurable? What else do you think Zynga could have come up with to get stock rising again? Let us know with your comments.