据彭博社的报道，SharesPost对社交游戏开发商zynga的最新估值为55.1亿美元（3月份估值26.1亿美元），该估值一举超过了纳斯达克上市公司EA，后者的市值为51.6亿美元（曾经高达190亿美元）。

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zynga创建于2007年，在将近4年的时间内取得了突飞猛进的发展，成为facebook最大的社交游戏开发公司。zynga以社交游戏虚拟交易为主要营收方式，据Inside Network预估2010年虚拟交易的总额度达到了16亿美元，而zynga将瓜分走三分之一的份额。

ThinkEquity LLC的市场分析师ThinkEquity LLC认为虚拟交易的市场额度未来三年还有望达到36亿美元。

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现在facebook上最受欢迎的游戏应用当中有6个（ FarmVille、Texas HoldEm Poker、FrontierVille、Mafia Wars Game、Café World – the Restaurant Game以及Treasure Isle）是属于zynga的游戏，据appdata的数据，zynga的月活跃用户一般都超过了2亿1000万。

反观EA，在目前游戏软硬件的销售都处在下滑的阶段的时候并不被市场和玩家所看好，这直接导致了美国艺电需要依靠裁减员工和向外并购来维持增长。其股票从三月份到现在已经下跌了7.4%。（本文由游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）

Zynga Game Network Inc.’s estimated worth surpassed Electronic Arts Inc.’s stock-market value, a sign of the ascendance of social-networking entertainment at the expense of traditional video games.

Zynga, the maker of such games as “FarmVille” and “FrontierVille,” is valued at $5.51 billion, according to SharesPost Inc., an exchange for shares of privately held companies. Electronic Arts, the second-largest game publisher by sales, is worth $5.16 billion on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Started by Mark Pincus almost four years ago, Zynga has become one of the fastest-growing technology companies by using Facebook Inc.’s social network to distribute games. It makes money by selling virtual goods, such as vehicles and weapons that help players advance in games. The company has grabbed about a third of that market, which is worth $1.6 billion this year, according to Inside Network in Palo Alto, California.

“The valuation is not that crazy, given what’s going on in the market,” said Atul Bagga, an analyst at ThinkEquity LLC in San Francisco, who estimates the virtual goods market may reach $3.6 billion in three years. “It’s not that terribly expensive seeing the growth prospects.”

Electronic Arts, meanwhile, faces declining retail sales of gaming hardware and software. More consumers would rather play games within their social networks, rather than heading to a store to buy a shrink-wrapped program. That’s forced Electronic Arts to cut jobs and seek acquisitions for growth. Its shares have dropped 7.4 percent since March 1. Zynga’s estimated value has more than doubled over that timeframe.

Zynga is the largest maker of games on Facebook, with more than 210 million monthly active users, according to AppData.com, part of Inside Network, a research firm. Zynga, which has raised more than $350 million in private capital, has made six acquisitions since May and expanded its workforce by a third in the past quarter to 1,200 employees. （source：bloomberg）