GamesIndustry日前就社交游戏行业目前不断发生的并购案专访了BigPoint首席执行官Heiko Hubertz，后者表示并购价格高到令人难以置信。google收购slide耗资1亿8200万美元，EA收购playfish耗资3亿美元，而迪士尼并购playdom更是高达5亿6300万美元，如果zynga愿意出售的话，那么并购价估计就是个天文数字了。

social games

Heiko Hubertz表示，对于迪士尼收购playdom的股价太过于疯狂了，在过12个月或者18个月后对于社交游戏公司的估价会更加趋于理性，那时候整个市场的并购将会更加频繁。

美国在线旗下的games在评述该专访的时候认为社交游戏公司的估值应该是基于未来行业的发展战略而言的，据Screen Digest的估算社交游戏营收值将在2014年达到15亿美元，这样一来基于对社交游戏工业未来的认可而投入的数亿美元并不会被认为是不靠谱的。

当然，如果你认为社交游戏不过只是暂时的假性繁荣，那么你认为这数亿美元的投资不过是一堆废纸也不为过。

$182 million. $300 million. $563.2 million. These are the kind of numbers that are getting thrown around casually in social gaming acquisitions these days, and they could go even higher, especially if industry-leader Zynga decides to sell out. But are these companies really worth as much as their buyers think they are?

As far as BigPoint CEO Heiko Hubertz is concerned, the answer is a definite “No.” In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz the head of the online game publisher expressed extreme skepticism over the amount of money behind some recent high profile buyouts. “Just look at the Disney and Playdom acquisition,” Hubertz said. “That was a crazy valuation from my point of view. We’re also in the same segment and if you want to grow at the same speed as your competitors you cannot only grow organically, you have to buy other companies. In 12 months, maybe 18 months the prices will be more realistic and then we can look at buying more companies.”

But are the prices so unrealistic now? That largely depends on what you think of the future prospects of social gaming. If you agree with Screen Digest’s prediction that social gaming is going to be worth $1.5 billion a year by 2014, then investing millions for an established front-runner in the space doesn’t seem so ridiculous. On the other hand, if you think social games are a fad that most players will soon grow tired of, those millions of dollars might as well be toilet paper.

Hubertz, for his part, is looking to zig where others are zagging by scooping up what he sees as struggling, undervalued publishers in the traditional console market. “In the traditional games industry, in the boxed industry, there are developers who are really struggling and they are not asking for high valuation, they are just asking for survival,” he said. “We’re looking exactly for these kind of developers because when it comes to high quality 3D games they have the experience. We can just give them another engine, they don’t need to use the Xbox or PlayStation technology, they can use our web technology. They can still develop the same quality of game it’s just for a browser.” （source：games）