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每日观察:关注Zynga为IPO收回员工股份(11.11)

发布时间:2011-11-11 11:00:00 Tags:,,

1)据《华尔街日报》报道,社交游戏开发商Zynga最近为准备IPO要求一些员工以高薪为交换条件,向公司出让原来持有的Zynga股份(游戏邦注:据称Zyna本次IPO有可能让公司身价达200亿美元,一些股份持有人会因此暴富)。

Zynga IPO(from news.brothersoft.com)

Zynga IPO(from news.brothersoft.com)

但该公司这种要求员工交还股份,否则就以辞退相挟的做法也可能导致Zynga遭遇就业起诉。Zynga原先计划于九月份进行IPO,但由于市场行情不济而一再推迟,该公司最近在西雅图Pioneer Square附近新成立一家大型开发工作室。

2)市场调研公司eMarket最新报告预测到2012年底,企业在社交网络投入的每10美元广告费用中,就7美元流向Facebook。

US social network ad revenue(from eMarketer)

US social network ad revenue(from eMarketer)

预计到2012年全球社交网络广告投入将达80亿美元,其中美国市场占39亿美元;2013年全球社交网络广告投入将近100亿美元,其中美国市场占48.1亿美元。

Facebook share(from eMarketer)

Facebook share(from eMarketer)

eMarket预测Facebook在2012年的广告营收将达57.8亿美元,占全球社交网络广告营收的72%,占全球在线广告营收的6.1%(游戏邦注:占美国在线广告营收的7.9%)。

3)日本社交游戏公司DeNA近日宣布与开发商TinyCo合作,将后者旗下iOS游戏《Tiny Chef》和《Tiny Nightclub》推向Android版本的Mobage平台。

Tiny-Chef(from handheld.softpedia.com)

Tiny-Chef(from handheld.softpedia.com)

尽管Mobage平台在日本已有3000万用户,但Mobage北美平台却仍然有待完善。据DeNA子公司Ngmoco所称,Mobage目前已有100多款不同游戏投入开发,Android应用商店中有27款游戏来自Mobage平台,iOS版本的Mobage平台预计于今年底问世。

4)据Business Insider报道,有几位匿名知情者透露,在过去三个月中有6名至少相当于副总裁级别的Playdom高管相继离职,原因是迪士尼向Playdom施压,要求后者开发特定游戏,放弃某些游戏的控制权。

Micky Mouse(from games)

Micky Mouse(from games)

还有消息源称,“Playdom有些人声称他们看不到迪士尼品牌在社交游戏领域的价值”,因为锁定儿童市场的迪士尼品牌并不适用于Facebook用户主力军。观察者称这并非外界首次看衰迪士尼与Playdom联合的情况,目Playdom尚未对此发表评论。

迪士尼则对此事回应称《Gardens of Time》是公司最成功的社交游戏,并强调首款基于迪士尼品牌的社交游戏即将问世。

5)大型游戏公司Take-Two宣布发行2亿美元债券的消息,并表示公司预计于2016年6月偿还债务。

Take Two Logo(from thetechherald.com)

Take Two Logo(from thetechherald.com)

Wedbush分析师Michael Pachter认为,Take-Two手头已经有足够资金偿还在2014年才到期的债务,因此这一举动有可能意在进行一项手机/社交游戏领域的收购交易。

他还指出,根据Take-Two最近财季报告显示,数字内容已占Take-Two净收益的25%,并且该公司一直将数字游戏领域视为关键发展环节,之前已通过Facebook游戏《CivWorld》试水社交游戏市场,而其首席执行官Strauss Zelnick也曾在本周表示,公司在未来数月会公布更多关于社交游戏的消息。由此不难推测,Take-Two可能将对手机及社交游戏领域展开收购行动。

6)据games.com观察,谷歌最近更新Google+主页并添加了一个支持用户快速体验自己最近玩过游戏的工具条。

google+ home page(from games)

google+ home page(from games)

这种功能与Facebook设置相似,但与Facebook工具条有所不同的是,它允许用户移除这一功能。观察者认为这是Google+试图模仿Facebook的又一明证,Google+如何在Facebook面前建立自己的竞争优势值得关注。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

1)Zynga seeking to get shares back from workers before IPO

by San Francisco

Zynga has demanded that some of its workers return the shares they received in place of high salaries, as the company prepares for its initial public offering.

The company’s planned IPO could value it at nearly $20 billion and make holders of large blocks of stocks rich.

But the company’s demand that workers return shares or be fired could expose it to employment litigation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The matter puts a spotlight on the practice of startups offering stock rather than high salaries to early employees.

The San Francisco powerhouse, maker of the hit games FarmVille and CityVille, filed its S-1 with the SEC in July, indicating it could raise as much as $1 billion. The company was originally planning for a September debut, but delayed the IPO due to market volatility.

Zynga recently opened a large development office in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.(source:techflash

2)Facebook To Grab $7 Of Every $10 Spent On Social Ads

by David Cohen

Ad spending on social networks continues to increase, as does Facebook’s share of that pie, meaning that $7 out of every $10 invested in social network advertising will go to Facebook by the end of 2012.

So eMarketer sees ad spending on social networks topping $8 billion in 2012 and nearing $10 billion in 2013 globally, pegging those figures at $3.9 billion and $4.81 billion, respectively, in the U.S.

Facebook is the big winner in eMarketer’s eyes, as the research firm projected that it will total $5.78 billion in advertising revenue in 2012, accounting for 72 percent of social network ad revenue and 6.1 percent of global online ad spending (7.9 percent in the United States).

Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst and author of new report, “Worldwide Social Network Ad Revenues: A $10 Billion Market by 2013,” added:

With $7 of every $10 in social network advertising flowing to the company, Facebook is taking not only a greater share than ever of social network ad spending, but also an increasing proportion of total online ad spending. Although its ad offerings and metrics aren’t perfect, marketers still feel they need to be there to reach their target audience.(source:allfacebook

3)DeNA’s Mobage Adds TinyCo to a Growing Stable of Games

Kathleen De Vere

International DeNA continues to aggressively expand its Mobage gaming network, announcing this week that it has inked a deal with TinyCo that would see the San Francisco based developer bring its popular iOS titles Tiny Chef and Tiny Nightclub to the company’s Android network of games.

The agreement, signed between DeNA subsidiary Ngmoco:) and TinyCo brings another developer to the quickly growing stable for Mobage’s Western-facing platform, which now includes some of the most popular games from NimbleBit, The Playforge, Backflip Studios, Uken Games, Rock You and Game Insight. TinyCo already has three of its games available for Android: VIP Poker, Tap Resort Party and Tiny Zoo Friends.

While the Mobage Network has 30 million users in its native Japan, its North American expansion hasn’t been entirely smooth. For one, the rollout of the platform built around Ngmoco’s ngCore technology, which makes it easier to deploy a single game across multiple operating systems and devices, took longer than expected.

There were also a few issues that Ngmoco had to fix during the beta period. At first, Mobage made users download the network’s primary app first before getting users to interact with the games, which meant that developers like PocketFrogs had trouble gaining traction on the network even though they’ve been extremely successful on iOS.

Ngmoco moved quickly to resolve these issues, allowing users to download the games first. But they also compel the user to download the Mobage client.

Since Mobage has come out of beta its performance has improved, especially as Ngmoco has stepped up its marketing spend. That prompted Ngmoco’s chief executive and DeNA director Neil Young to lash out at early critics, namely PapayaMobile last week. Zombie Farm is currently the #23 top grossing app on the Android charts, but many of the network’s other games are still lagging as compared to their iOS performance. Developers on the Mobage network gain access to a shared currency, a virtual goods bank system, a payment API, advertising management and analytics tools.

According to Ngmoco, Mobage has more than 100 different titles in development. A review of the Android marketplace shows 27 games in the Mobage network. The iOS version of Mobage is scheduled make its debut before the end of the year.(source:insidemobileapps

4)Could Disney’s Playdom be in worse shape than previously thought?

by Joe Osborne

That’s what a report by Business Insider looks to get to the bottom of, citing several anonymous sources. The report lists several bulleted claims by unnamed folks close to Playdom that range from a handful of high level execs have left the company recently to Playdom was forced to relinquish control over what games it made to Disney. And the House of Mouse is unsurprisingly reportedly not very happy about it.

“Six top executives at the VP level or above have moved on in the last three months including Playdom’s Co-COO,” one nameless source told Business Insider. Another source told the website that soon after Disney’s $400 million plus acquisition of Playdom, the new parent company quickly “started to come in and ask Playdom to work on certain games and drop others,” according to Business Insider.

Another notable takeaway from the report states that “voices within Playdom” said that they didn’t see a value in pursuing Disney’s lucrative brands within social games, because kids–Disney’s target audience–doesn’t pay up on Facebook. Other anonymous sources came to Playdom’s defense, claiming that the company “is making three or four times as much money off its users as other social gaming companies,” Business Insider reports.

Disney issued a response to Business Insider, reminding readers that Gardens of Time has been the company’s most successful Facebook game, reaching top five status at one point. More importantly, the company was keen on letting players know that the first social game based on a Disney brand is coming. (We guess this one doesn’t count then?)

This is certainly not the first time doomsayers have outed Disney and Playdom as headed for failure. There’s no doubt the two companies have dragged their feet ever since joining hands. We’ve reached out to Playdom for comment.(source:games

5)Analyst: Take-Two Bond Issuance Could Indicate Coming Mobile/Social Acquisition

by Kyle Orland

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter thinks Take-Two’s recent issuance of $200 million in debt securities may indicate a coming mobile or social acquisition.

Take-Two announced its issuance of the private, convertible senior notes this morning, and the publisher will be expected to pay off the bonds in June of 2016. While precise terms of the issuance weren’t discussed, Pachter said the particulars of the deal suggest a low interest rate.

Since the profitable Take-Two already has enough cash on hand to easily handle outstanding debt that’s not due until 2014, Pachter believes the proceeds from the note issuance “can only be intended for acquisitions or strategic investments,” likely in the growing mobile and social spaces.

In justifying the prediction, Pachter also notes that digital content accounted for a full 25 percent of Take-Two’s net revenue in its most recent fiscal quarter, and that the company has consistently considered digital a key area of growth.

Take-Two has already tested the waters of the social gaming space, as wholly-owned studio Firaxis launched CivWorld, which has seen declining numbers on Facebook. CEO and chairman Strauss Zelnick said during an earnings call this week, “Stay tuned, we have a lot more to say about social gaming in the coming months.”

Take-Two wouldn’t be the first major publisher to seek growth through digital acquisitions: EA’s recent purchases of Playfish and Popcap have led analysts to predict the company will beat projections of $1 billion in digital revenue this fiscal year.

The inflow of cash to Take-Two is not likely to affect the launch timing of Grand Theft Auto V, Pachter said, which he expects could come as early as next May.(source:gamasutra

6)Google+ Games sidebar rips another note from Facebook’s playbook

by Joe Osborne

Imitation is the finest form of flattery, but this is just getting ridiculous. Google has updated the home page of its Google+ social network with a sidebar that allows users to jump into the games they’ve played recently. In other words, Google+ has ripped Facebook once again. (But don’t think you’re off the hook either, Facebook.) Granted, this is a fundamental change.

But that still doesn’t explain why, after months of Google+ Games existing, that these incremental changes are introduced to the platform. Of course, it’s not as if Facebook had its “Apps” sidebar trademarked or patented, but these updates only serve to make it looks as if Google+ biting off of its number one competitor chunk by chunk. The comparisons are simply unavoidable.

However, the Google+ Games sidebar does have a one-up over its Facebook counterpart: You can actually remove it. We do have to admire Google+ for how it much it allows users to change about what’s displayed. That said, getting the Games sidebar back after removing it–aside from those fleeting moments in which you can click “Undo”–is currently unknown. Commenters are also clamoring for more games, which is something Google is taking very seriously … almost too seriously.

As Google continues to rip pages from Facebooks’ playbook (and Facebook does the same), it’ll be interesting to see how the company takes advantage of its unique position. Google has the chance to change how a social games platform is done. But not if it continues to entertain this slap fight with the gorilla.(source:games


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