Video Gaming

Yes, Zynga has announced it's price-per share and it's $10.  This is a must-read article, though the basic summary is Zynga gets a huge load of cash that's record-setting.

So what's my takeaway here for us progeeks?

• This is a pretty reasonable stock price compared to everything else – but of course, expect it to go through the roof. Also I expect it to fall a few months later if it does rocket up.  They are big enough that what happens to the stock will affect other IPOs – except, maybe, Facebook.
• Zynga will raise a lot of money, and what they do next is going to be a big question.  The article jokes they could buy those who once mocked them, but if you think about it they really COULD.  Zynga could choose to radically change the game market merely by acquisition.
• I have doubts about Zynga successfully expanding/acquiring because their internal model of doing things – intense, statistic-driven – may not map well to other gaming ventures.  I can't, for instance, see them successfully entering the MMO market.  The question is if Zynga's management realizes their limits – and I'm not sure.
• They will do something with the money, and where that money goes, jobs will probably follow.
• Zynga's star has faded in the last few months, and in the gaming circles I sense less and less admiration and more dislike and annoyance.  There are people waiting to pounce on any errors made.

So now, we sit and wait and see what happens . . .

– Steven Savage