作者：James Brightman

Zynga已经经历了几个月的艰苦挣扎。不仅股票急剧下跌，许多员工也相继逃离这艘即将沉潜的“大船”。但是也有人认为这家社交巨头公司仍然有翻身的机会。为了能够更好地吸引玩家（和投资者），该公司必须彻底整修其发展策略和市场营销方法。

Mark Pincus(from gamesindustry)

 考虑到这点，GamesIndustry International专门为Zynga首席执行官马克·平克斯组织了一次“角色扮演”活动。多名游戏界人士针对以下问题依次阐述了自己的想法：

“你是马克·平克斯，你的公司正陷入困境中。你的股价一直徘徊在3美元线上，你的首席运营官离职了，你甚至还被指控操纵股票内部交易，你的竞争对手EA对你发起了侵犯版权的诉讼，你对于Facebook平台的依赖显然也是问题所在。此时的你将如何恢复公司的形象并延长它的寿命？你打算将怎么做？”

Scott Steinberg——商业咨询公司TechSavvy的首席执行官

Scott Steinberg(from gamesindustry)

你应该开始压缩开支，鼓舞团队士气，建造优秀的平台并制定产品策略—-专注于本质内容和交付结果是当前最重要的内容。从旁观者的角度来看，你下一步需要做的便是聘请出色的新员工或平息外界的种种质疑，并努力推动那些已经呈现在公众面前的业务的进一步发展，从而给公众留下积极的印象。但是度过这次难关的最有效的方法还是创造出全新的一流游戏和服务，并注重潜在平台，系统或初创性的发展（都是相互联系在一起的）。为了激发并影响公众的印象，你需要主动出击。而我说的主动出击是指：抓住重点，努力安抚投资者并告诉对方你们的公司具有投资价值。

Zynga已经意识到日趋严峻的挑战——从减轻对于Facebook的依赖到创建独立平台解决方法再到解决收益下降，公共关系日趋恶化以及媒体开始转向新游戏和新市场等。而他们现在必须做的便是明确地向公众呈现他们的规划，以及他们将执行何种生产线并采取何种投资组合战略去应对这些挑战。我们需要牢记的是：公司仍然具有巨大的潜能，资源和融资渠道—-这是赢取竞争的重要手段。而他们需要避免参和进各种不必要的诽谤中，但也不能让公众所忽视；所以他们就需要用创造性和实际行动大声地证明自己。对抗批评者的最佳方法便是：让他们知道这些问题已经得到了有效的控制，局势正朝着积极的一面而发展。不管怎样Zynga现在最需要做的便是让世人知道他们正在采取有效的策略创新——创造这种好印象应该作为他们总体规划中一重要部分。

Wesley Yin-Poole——Eurogamer.net新闻编辑

Zynga必须通过创造出更优秀的游戏并且远离Facebook而解决当前的困境。创造出更优秀的游戏并不容易，但是他们却必须这么做。当他们创造出更优秀的游戏时，不只负面新闻将逐渐淡去，其用户数量也将日渐增加，甚至连投资者也会主动向其靠拢。

而重要的还是Zynga必须摆脱对于Facebook的依赖。Zynga之所以会经历这种低潮主要是因为Facebook让玩家很难找到Zynga的游戏。而解决这一问题的最佳方法便是让自己的游戏能够醒目地突显于任何平台上。

Zynga必须做到让玩家能够随时在任何浏览器上玩到他们的游戏，同时还必须重视手机设备的利用。我的妻子非常喜欢《FarmVille》，但是她也表示非常讨厌在Facebook玩这款游戏时所接收到的各种骚扰。总之，Zynga必须尽可能地拓展自己的品牌，想办法扫除各种障碍。

Chris Grant——Polygon总编辑

Chris Grant(from gamesindustry)

如何才能恢复公司的形象？如果我是Zynga的首席执行官，我首先要做的便是改变人们对于Zynga游戏的看法。假设Polytron（游戏邦注：独立游戏公司）的Phil Fish是可信的，如果Zynga向Fish提出替他在iOS发布《Fez》的建议遭到拒绝，那么又有多少独立制作人会做出相同的决定呢。印象与策略总是随影随行。

我们认为社交游戏只是一时的兴起。但是在过去十几年时间里却有不少人愿意投资大把的钱于各种制作精良的游戏身上。如果Zynga能够为那些看重质量的用户创造出“优秀的”游戏，这便有可能修复其形象受损问题。而如果Zynga能将这样的游戏发行在热门的手机平台上，如iOS和Android，那么它不仅能够扭转形象，同时也能够有效地摆脱对于Facebook的依赖。而随着这些平台的不断发展（如iPad以及即将问世的Ouya），也许Zynga将成为这次激烈的电子战场上的一名猛将。

当然了，Zynga在Facebook上的游戏也仍然能够赚钱，或者再通过复制其它游戏而获益，但是这已经不再是Zynga的唯一追求了。如果由我来掌控Zynga，我便会更加重视手机市场和游戏质量，而以此扭转公司当前的局面。

Stephen Totilo——Kotaku总编辑

Stephen Totilo(from gamesindustry)

首先我会制作一款让玩家爱不释手的游戏。我该怎么做到这点呢？再次利用之前的游戏元素？也许吧。不过我想我会尝试一些新内容。也许我会创造一款一次性收费的“城镇”游戏。但是这时候我将会遇到另一个问题：我的玩家主要是来自Facebook，可是现在许多Facebook用户都选择用手机上网。但是用户却不能在Facebook手机应用上玩Zynga的游戏。所以我该怎么做？难道我该为Facebook创造一款与游戏兼容的应用？

我会先尝试这两种方法并观察最终结果。同时我也仍会努力创造一款具有创造性的游戏。从而向人们证实我们并不是只会复制别人的游戏。

Dan “Shoe” Hsu——GamesBeat总编辑

Dan “Shoe” Hsu(from gamesindustry)

我们的确创造了社交游戏领域的壮举，并获得了一些非常出色的成绩，但是却没人会关心这些内容。所以我们是时候重新考虑一切了。不管是游戏设计，公司理念，与Facebook的合作关系，还是手机策略等都是我们需要重新评估的内容。我们是否应该重新定义“社交游戏”的含义？我们是否应该创造一些更加新颖的传统游戏？我们是否应该将更多创造性理念带进游戏中？我们是否该转战手机领域？

我们有可能再次跌入谷底，所以现在不要轻易评判任何方法。不管我们选择哪个新方向，我们都不可能重新开始。不过我们仍然拥有一个知名品牌，一大批忠实的玩家以及一小队专业人士。不管我们决定做什么，我们总是比那些初进该领域的新公司更有优势。所以让我们别再浪费这些资产，努力去尝试一些全新的内容吧。

Tim Edwards——Network-N创意总监兼PCGamesN总编辑

Tim Edwards(from gamesindustry)

背景：在深夜的会议室里，整个桌子上摆满了空杯子。而在桌底下，马克·平克斯正趴在键盘上啜泣着。他正在写一封面向Zynga董事会的电子邮件。但是似乎写的不是很顺利。

致：board@zynga.com

主题：宙斯计划

我的朋友们，明年对于Zynga能否延续成功至关重要。所以我列出了以下策略希望能够最大化地提高公司的股价。

1）扑克游戏

这将是我们最大的赌注：美国政府将确保在线扑克游戏的合法化。我们拥有美国最受欢迎的在线扑克游戏，即《Zynga Poker》。基于一些未知原因，玩家将为获得一些虚拟筹码而支付给我们一定费用，并愿意在输掉游戏后让我们再次回收这些筹码。然后我们将把更多筹码出售给玩家。听起来多么荒谬啊。就好似我们在玩家的大脑中找到一个不断洒出钱币的洞口。让我们想象如果他们能够获得几美分的收益他们又会支付多少费用呢。

我们将把Facebook变成拉斯维加斯。

想到这，平克斯突然站了起来。扣压着自己的指关节。他似乎重新拾回了自信。

2）新的人口统计

数据表明我们去年的发展主要依靠于那些较悠闲的美国家庭主妇。除此之外还有其他悠闲的群体，并且其中有些玩家也拥有一定的资本。如：领退休金者——我们该如何做才能吸引他们为游戏花钱？如学生们——我们能否将Chatroulette（游戏邦注：被人们叫做“聊天轮盘”是由一个17岁俄国高中生创立的随机视频聊天网站）转变成Zynga的赚钱工具？我想这都是些可行的方法。

平克斯看着镜子说道，哦，上帝，我又收获了更多用户。

3）比特币（游戏邦注：一种开源的 P2P 虚拟货币，无法跟踪，牢不可破。有人用它贩卖毒品，有人用它支持自己喜欢的内容，还有人用它来玩扑克）

我们将使用比特币去运行公司。我们的员工和股东们都将进入物物交易经济中。这绝对是一种可行的方法。

（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）

Role-Playing: Mark Pincus

By James Brightman

To say that Zynga’s had a rough couple of months is putting it lightly. The company’s stock has tanked and numerous employees seem to be fleeing what some consider a sinking ship. That said, there’s still hope left for the social giant. The firm is ultimately going to have to overhaul its strategy and approach to the marketplace in order to gain better traction with players (and payers).

With this in mind, GamesIndustry International put Zynga CEO Mark Pincus in the spotlight in this month’s edition of Role-Playing. Our panel below shares its thoughts in response to the following:

“You’re Mark Pincus. Your company is getting hammered. The stock can barely stay above $3.00, your COO just resigned, you’re being accused of insider trading, you’re being sued by your bitter rival EA for copyright infringement, and your dependence on Facebook is clearly a concern. How can you restore your company’s image and bolster its fortunes? What do you do?”

Scott Steinberg, head of business consulting firm TechSavvy

Ideally, you start by retrenching, bolstering your team and crafting superior platform and product strategy – laser-focus on the bottom line and delivering results is currently vital. From an external-facing standpoint, next steps would include announcing key hires or promotions to assuage doubt, and promoting any successful corporate initiatives or areas of the business where heighted growth and performance have been exhibited to the public to generate positive impressions. But key to surviving these bumps in the road is going to be the creation and revelation of new premium first-rate games and services – as well as overall strategic expansion – and the underlying platforms, systems or initiatives that tie all together. Going on the offensive is crucial in order to galvanize momentum and influence public perception. But we’re not talking about going on the attack: We’re talking about addressing key pain points, reassuring investors and showing that the company has the goods to back it up.

Zynga’s not unawares of growing challenges, from the shift away from Facebook to platform-independent solutions to revenue declines, public relations concerns, and the pressing need to expand into new titles and markets. What it needs to do now is start showing what it’s been cooking up behind the scenes, and how it plans to address these challenges through evolutions to its product line and portfolio strategy. Keep in mind: The company still enjoys tremendous capabilities, resources and access to capital – it clearly has the tools it needs to make a fighting stand. But what it doesn’t want to do is get involved with needless mud-slinging, or remain static – rather, it needs to let its creations and actions speak for themselves. The savviest way to fight back against critics: Show that these issues are well in hand, and that change is coming. Whether or not it’s been planned or forced is less important than making the world aware that strategic innovation is in the offing – and creating the impression that it’s always been part of the master plan.

Wesley Yin-Poole, News Editor, Eurogamer.net

Zynga needs to play its way out of trouble with better games and expansion away from Facebook. There is no easy way to create better games, but it simply must be done. If it does, not only will all the bad press melt away, but user numbers should rise. As we say in the UK, do the talking on the pitch. Investors will respond to that.

Perhaps most important though is Zynga ends its reliance on Facebook. Zynga suffered because Facebook made it harder to find its games. The best way to counter this is to make them easier to find everywhere else.

Zynga needs to make it so we can play all its games in any browser at any time, and it needs to make a serious play for mobile devices. My wife loves Farmville, but often says she’s sick of all the superfluous nonsense she gets from it playing it on Facebook. In short, Zynga needs to make all its major brands as pervasive as possible. All barriers should be erased.

Chris Grant, Editor-in-Chief, Polygon

How do I restore my company’s image? Well, my first order of business as CEO of Zynga would be to challenge what people think of as a Zynga game. If Polytron’s Phil Fish is to be believed, Zynga has already approached him to deliver indie darling Fez to the iOS platform; while Fish said no, who knows how many other indies Zynga approached with a similar offer. Here is where perception and strategy overlap.

For all we know, social games are a fad; however, people have been spending good money on well-made games for decades. If Zynga delivers “good” games to an audience that cares about quality, it will go a long way towards repairing its image problem. If it delivers those games on the booming mobile platforms, notably iOS and Android, it could fix its image while diversifying its Facebook-heavy portfolio. As those platforms evolve beyond their phone origins – see the iPad and the upcoming Ouya – there’s an opportunity to be a major player on a still-contested digital battleground.

Zynga’s Facebook games can – and most likely probably will – still make money, cloned or otherwise, but that pursuit doesn’t have to be a solitary one. If I were running Zynga, I would say that increased focus on mobile and on quality should help cure what ails the company.

Stephen Totilo, Editor-in-Chief, Kotaku

The first thing I need to do is make a game that people don’t stop playing. Hmm. How to do that? The energy thing again? Maybe. But maybe try something new. Maybe I’ll let people pay for full, unfettered access to my next ‘Ville game. Yeah, I’ll try that.
But I’ve got this other problem: lots of people play my games on Facebook, but lots of people now go to Facebook on their cellphones. You can’t play Zynga games on a Facebook cellphone app. What to do… how about offer Facebook to make a gaming-compatible version of their app?

I’ll try those two things and see how I’m doing. Oh, and make an entirely original game. Just so people can’t accuse us of Samsunging other people’s games.

Dan “Shoe” Hsu, Editor-in-Chief, GamesBeat

Sure, we’ve made a big splash in social gaming, and we can throw some impressive numbers out there, but no one seems to give a crap. So it’s time to rethink everything. Game design, corporate philosophy, Facebook partnership, mobile strategy, top to bottom, left to right…everything’s fair game for reevaluation or the garbage chute. Do we reinvent what “social gaming” means? Do we make more traditional games that are less “spammy”? Do we invest in more creatives to bring more original ideas to our portfolio? Do we go all-in on mobile?

We might’ve hit rock-bottom, so nothing is sacred now. No matter what new direction we go in, we wouldn’t truly be starting over anyways. We still have a huge brand, a massive following, and a small army of talent. So whatever we decide to do, we’d have the upper hand over a new, unproven company entering the same space. So let’s not squander our assets (while they’re still assets), and let’s try something radically new.

Tim Edwards, creative director at Network-N and Editor-in-Chief of PCGamesN

Int: A conference room. Late night. Empty polystyrene cups are strewn across the table. At the foot of the table, we see Mark Pincus sobbing into a keyboard. He is composing an email to the Zynga board. It is not going well.

To: board@zynga.com

Subject: Project Zeus

Friends,

The next year will be critical to Zynga’s continued success. I therefore present the following strategies to maximise shareholder growth.

1) Poker

Our biggest bet: that the US government will legalise online poker. We already own the most popular online poker app and game in the US in Zynga Poker. For some unknown reason, saps are paying us for fake chips, and letting us take them off them when they lose. Then we sell them even more chips. Ridiculous. Even I can’t work that one out. It’s like we’ve found a hole in their brain where money falls out. Just imagine what they’ll pay when there’s a chance to actually win a few cents.

We’re going to turn Facebook into Vegas. Baby.

Pincus stands up. Clicks his knuckles. A fresh surge of confidence rolls through him.

2) New demographics

It’s well documented that our growth in the last few years has come from bored American housewives. But there are other bored demographics, and some of them have cash. Think: pensioners – how can we monetise their retirement. Think students: can we turn Chatroulette into a Zynga branded cash machine? This will work. I think.

Pincus looks into a mirror. Oh god. I’ve got more. Have I?

3) Bitcoins!

We float our company in Bitcoins. Our employees and shareholders can enter the barter economy. That’ll definitely work.

Pincus stands up. He walks across to the mirror. A single, solitary tear rolls down his cheek.

“I am a sad man now.” (source:gamesindustry)