SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc was hit by a pair of lawsuits from shareholders accusing the 'FarmVille' creator of failing to warn about declines in user and revenue growth before disastrous results sent its shares into a tailspin last week.
Two California law firms filed lawsuits seeking class-action status on behalf of stockholders this week, taking the company to task for allegedly concealing threats to its business and sales growth, such as Facebook platform changes that made it easier for users to find rival games.
The social gaming giant behind a plethora of Facebook games like 'Mafia Wars' last week stunned Wall Street by reporting quarterly results well below expectations and slashing its 2012 revenue forecast.
Its stock plummeted 42 percent to a record low and analysts cut their recommendations on the stock.
'Zynga misrepresented or failed to disclose material adverse facts about its business, operations, and growth prospects,' according to a lawsuit filed late on Monday by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP.
Zynga's results also cast a pall over Facebook because the No. 1 social network relies on Zynga for roughly 15 percent of its revenue.
The lawsuit accused Zynga of concealing declines in users and the sale of virtual goods -- such as a cow in 'FarmVille' -- the company's prime revenue source. A second lawsuit filed Tuesday by Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd LLP echoed many of the allegations.
Zynga declined to comment.
The company founded by Mark Pincus was among a crop of fast-growing consumer Internet companies, including Groupon Inc, that debuted in 2011 with much investor enthusiasm but have since lost vast amounts of market value as Wall Street questioned the sustainability of their growth trajectories.
Zynga shares fell 2 percent to finish Tuesday at $2.95, a far cry from their December $10 debut price.
(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, John Wallace, Andrew Hay and Chris Gallagher)
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Law firm accuses Zynga of failing to disclose key data
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California law firm sued Zynga Inc, accusing the game publisher of failing to disclose a rapid decline in users and revenue.
The social gaming giant behind 'Farmville' and a plethora of other Facebook games last week stunned Wall Street by reporting quarterly results well below expectations and slashing its 2012 revenue forecast. Its stock plummeted 42 percent to a record low and analysts cut their recommendations on the stock.
Zynga's results also cast a pall over Facebook Inc because the No. 1 social network relies on Zynga for roughly 15 percent of its revenue.
In its lawsuit, the law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP accused Zynga of concealing declines in users and the sale of virtual goods, the company's prime revenue source.
In its filing, submitted late on Monday, the San Francisco law firm sought class-action status for its lawsuit.
Zynga could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
Its shares fell 3 percent to $2.91 in morning trading.
(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The social gaming giant behind 'Farmville' and a plethora of other Facebook games last week stunned Wall Street by reporting quarterly results well below expectations and slashing its 2012 revenue forecast. Its stock plummeted 42 percent to a record low and analysts cut their recommendations on the stock.
Zynga's results also cast a pall over Facebook Inc because the No. 1 social network relies on Zynga for roughly 15 percent of its revenue.
In its lawsuit, the law firm Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP accused Zynga of concealing declines in users and the sale of virtual goods, the company's prime revenue source.
In its filing, submitted late on Monday, the San Francisco law firm sought class-action status for its lawsuit.
Zynga could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
Its shares fell 3 percent to $2.91 in morning trading.
(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Creating a video game "like the Olympics," says 'Metal Gear' director
Creating a video game can be 'like the Olympics,' wrote Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima just prior to London 2012.
'It's a big event every three or four years. Your goal is to compete on the world stage, you can't think about anything else,' he told his followers on Twitter.
'The last half is difficult and you think about retiring afterward. But when it's over, you start thinking about the next tournament.'
So what is Kojima's next main event? That's still under wraps, but the timing's right for a new announcement. Metal Gear Solid 4 was launched on PlayStation 3 a full four years ago in June 2008.
Portable Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was released on PSP in 2010, and HD reissues of earlier games were compiled for Xbox 360, PS3 and Vita in 2011 and 2012.
Kojima Productions is responsible for a new game engine, the Fox Engine, which will be powering FIFA rival Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 as well as new installments in the Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders series.
The technology is to be shown off at an official Metal Gear 25th Anniversary party in Japan on August 30.
Hideo Kojima on Twitter: @kojima_hideo [Japanese] / @hideo kojima_EN [excerpts in English]
Official Metal Gear 25th Anniversary site: konami.jp/mg25th
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'It's a big event every three or four years. Your goal is to compete on the world stage, you can't think about anything else,' he told his followers on Twitter.
'The last half is difficult and you think about retiring afterward. But when it's over, you start thinking about the next tournament.'
So what is Kojima's next main event? That's still under wraps, but the timing's right for a new announcement. Metal Gear Solid 4 was launched on PlayStation 3 a full four years ago in June 2008.
Portable Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was released on PSP in 2010, and HD reissues of earlier games were compiled for Xbox 360, PS3 and Vita in 2011 and 2012.
Kojima Productions is responsible for a new game engine, the Fox Engine, which will be powering FIFA rival Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 as well as new installments in the Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders series.
The technology is to be shown off at an official Metal Gear 25th Anniversary party in Japan on August 30.
Hideo Kojima on Twitter: @kojima_hideo [Japanese] / @hideo kojima_EN [excerpts in English]
Official Metal Gear 25th Anniversary site: konami.jp/mg25th
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Next-generation Xbox developer hardware leak may reveal Xbox 720 specs
This past weekend, a supposed Xbox 720 "Durango" developer kit was posted on an obscure developer forum and offered to the public for the price of $10,000. The device resembles a traditional PC tower running a regular debug launcher, leading many to be skeptical about the authenticity of the prototype, which was said to feature an Intel processor, NVIDIA graphics, and "more than 8GB of memory." EuroGamer's Digital Foundry reached out to the source of the leak and multiple developers, however, and determined that the system is in fact "genuine."
The man behind the leak, known only as DaE, revealed that Microsoft's next-generation gaming and home entertainment system will feature an eight-core CPU, confirming previous rumors that have suggested the future system would contain six to eight cores. The next-generation console is also rumored to include support for Blu-ray, true 1080p and native 3D output, and is expected to be six times more powerful than the current Xbox.
Earlier rumors have suggested Microsoft's Xbox 720 console will launch in November 2013.
Read
The man behind the leak, known only as DaE, revealed that Microsoft's next-generation gaming and home entertainment system will feature an eight-core CPU, confirming previous rumors that have suggested the future system would contain six to eight cores. The next-generation console is also rumored to include support for Blu-ray, true 1080p and native 3D output, and is expected to be six times more powerful than the current Xbox.
Earlier rumors have suggested Microsoft's Xbox 720 console will launch in November 2013.
Read
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Friday, July 27, 2012
Analysis: Internet stock collapse dents Silicon Valley
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Social media companies, once hailed by their Silicon Valley boosters as world-changing businesses with limitless potential, are instead proving a sobering reminder of how investors can be seduced by Internet hype.
With few exceptions, the first wave of social media firms to trade on the public markets has delivered a disastrous performance that conjures memories of the dot-com bust of 2000.
'Farmville' publisher Zynga, which went public in December at a valuation of $7 billion, is trading around $3.15 a share, more than 68 percent off its $10 IPO price.
Daily deals site Groupon, touted as the firm that could reinvent local commerce, has fallen from its $20 IPO price to about $7.15 in nearly nine months. Music service Pandora Media has dropped from $16 at its June 2011 IPO to around $9.50 on Friday.
And on Thursday, the 800-pound gorilla of the group, Facebook Inc, reported tepid results that shaved some $10 billion off the company's market cap. The stock has gone straight down since its botched May initial public offering and now trades at around one-third off its $38 IPO price.
'The VCs, the private equity guys at the early stages, already cashed out and made their fortunes,' said Peter Schiff, chief executive of Euro Pacific Capital. 'Everybody else who ran to buy the stock at the IPO at a sky-high valuation ended up holding the bag.'
'A lot of these companies are going to make a quick buck and flame out,' he added. 'Just look at 10 years ago.'
It's true that a few companies with more of a business focus -- notably LinkedIn -- have done much better. The jobs-networking site is trading at $100.82, well above its $45 IPO price from May 2011. Yelp Inc, the local reviews company, is holding above its $15 IPO price from March.
Startups in areas like data analytics and business software, such as Splunk Inc have also fared well.
But the wipe-out among consumer-oriented social media companies has raised concerns the entire sector is fad-driven. While the public companies are profitable and showing strong growth -- unlike the class of 1999 and 2000 -- it is not clear how sustainable that is.
'People just can't figure out how these companies are going to make money and justify these huge valuations,' said Michael Yoshikami, founder of Destination Wealth Management.
The euphoria around Internet stocks, Yoshikami added, has faded. 'It's different from six months ago,' he said.
In Silicon Valley, venture capitalists fear the high-profile stock busts will take a toll on the next wave of companies trying to go public. To some extent, they say, they already have.
'It's going to have a chilling, sobering effect,' said Tim Chang, managing partner at Mayfield Fund. 'It's especially hard to make the argument of why a company should be valued at $1 billion or more.'
MAKING GOOD
On Thursday, Facebook reported its first quarterly revenues of $1.18 billion, up 32 percent. But executives warned a quickening shift to its underperforming mobile app was eating into results, and user and revenue growth slowed for the fifth consecutive quarter. The stock was down 9 percent in afternoon trading on Friday.
It has not helped pacify Wall Street that the tech firms' venture capital backers on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, have enjoyed big paydays via IPOs. In the case of Facebook, Accel Partners sold 49 million shares at $38 apiece, reaping enormous profits.
Insiders have sold large chunks of their holdings in Zynga and Groupon, though the top executives still maintain enormous stakes in their companies. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and other insiders netted some $500 million when they sold a portion of their stock in April at $12 a share.
Others were less fortunate. T. Rowe Price lost $61.4 million in its Facebook and Zynga holdings over two days. Fidelity, the largest U.S. fund, saw $126 million of its on-paper holdings evaporate over the past two days.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who owns just north of half a billion shares, took his lumps as well, as more than $3 billion of his paper-weath evaporated Thursday.
'DOESN'T JIVE'
Zynga's stock went into free-fall after it slashed its 2012 outlook from 23 to 29 cents to 4 to 9 cents, blaming weakness in existing Facebook games and a delay in its pipeline.
The results widely missed expectations set by company management at the end of last quarter, when Chief Operating Officer John Schappert said the company was 'excited and comfortable raising guidance for the year.'
On a conference call, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield took Zynga executives to task for not warning investors. Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said it was company policy to only give guidance once a quarter.
But the earnings report 'doesn't jive' with executives' recently upbeat comments, Greenfield later told Reuters. A handful of plaintiffs' lawyers announced Thursday they had begun investigating Zynga for breach of fiduciary duty.
Meanwhile, Facebook's executives took a conservative approach on Thursday, declining to offer their own forward-looking predictions.
In light of Zynga's bad miss, Wall Street analysts said that the lack of forecasts sapped investor confidence.
'The entire social media space may seem like a disaster, but it's perhaps that public markets have yet to see the right stocks. Firms like Groupon, Facebook, and Zynga require very aggressive user acquisition and the Average Revenue Per User is much lower,' said Steve Place, a founder of options analytics firm investingwithoptions.com.
'However, if we look into different verticals of the social media space there are some decent ideas.'
He cited real-estate site Zillow Inc, now almost double its IPO price.
But on Sand Hill Road, the mood these days is decidedly more subdued, a focus on returning to fundamental value.
'We'll see more discipline on private investments,' with more focus on the sustainability of any competitive advantage a company has, said Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital.
'There are private companies that we are investors in that have underlying defensibility and business models for which you do want to stretch on valuation,' Botha added.
At Bay Partners in Palo Alto, partners have already noticed a certain dialing-back of the swagger with which some entrepreneurs walk into their office.
'I feel a little bit of humility, a little bit of reality creep in,' said partner Salil Deshpande, whose investments include Buddy Media, which was sold to Salesforce.com for $689 million earlier this year. Early-stage entrepreneurs who a few months ago might have argued their nascent companies were worth $5 million might today accept a valuation of $1 million, he said.
Mayfield's Chang expects a hit to companies with what he calls 'lumpy' business models -- less predictable, consumer-oriented businesses that rely on advertising and virtual goods, like Facebook and Zynga. Those businesses, he says, are reliant on their popularity with the public, a fickle group.
'The scariest is easy-come, easy-go revenue, kind of like Groupon,' he said. 'It can ramp up quick, but disappear quickly too.'
(Additional reporting by Angela Moon in New York; Editing By Edwin Chan, Jonathan Weber and Tim Dobbyn)
This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
With few exceptions, the first wave of social media firms to trade on the public markets has delivered a disastrous performance that conjures memories of the dot-com bust of 2000.
'Farmville' publisher Zynga, which went public in December at a valuation of $7 billion, is trading around $3.15 a share, more than 68 percent off its $10 IPO price.
Daily deals site Groupon, touted as the firm that could reinvent local commerce, has fallen from its $20 IPO price to about $7.15 in nearly nine months. Music service Pandora Media has dropped from $16 at its June 2011 IPO to around $9.50 on Friday.
And on Thursday, the 800-pound gorilla of the group, Facebook Inc, reported tepid results that shaved some $10 billion off the company's market cap. The stock has gone straight down since its botched May initial public offering and now trades at around one-third off its $38 IPO price.
'The VCs, the private equity guys at the early stages, already cashed out and made their fortunes,' said Peter Schiff, chief executive of Euro Pacific Capital. 'Everybody else who ran to buy the stock at the IPO at a sky-high valuation ended up holding the bag.'
'A lot of these companies are going to make a quick buck and flame out,' he added. 'Just look at 10 years ago.'
It's true that a few companies with more of a business focus -- notably LinkedIn -- have done much better. The jobs-networking site is trading at $100.82, well above its $45 IPO price from May 2011. Yelp Inc, the local reviews company, is holding above its $15 IPO price from March.
Startups in areas like data analytics and business software, such as Splunk Inc have also fared well.
But the wipe-out among consumer-oriented social media companies has raised concerns the entire sector is fad-driven. While the public companies are profitable and showing strong growth -- unlike the class of 1999 and 2000 -- it is not clear how sustainable that is.
'People just can't figure out how these companies are going to make money and justify these huge valuations,' said Michael Yoshikami, founder of Destination Wealth Management.
The euphoria around Internet stocks, Yoshikami added, has faded. 'It's different from six months ago,' he said.
In Silicon Valley, venture capitalists fear the high-profile stock busts will take a toll on the next wave of companies trying to go public. To some extent, they say, they already have.
'It's going to have a chilling, sobering effect,' said Tim Chang, managing partner at Mayfield Fund. 'It's especially hard to make the argument of why a company should be valued at $1 billion or more.'
MAKING GOOD
On Thursday, Facebook reported its first quarterly revenues of $1.18 billion, up 32 percent. But executives warned a quickening shift to its underperforming mobile app was eating into results, and user and revenue growth slowed for the fifth consecutive quarter. The stock was down 9 percent in afternoon trading on Friday.
It has not helped pacify Wall Street that the tech firms' venture capital backers on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California, have enjoyed big paydays via IPOs. In the case of Facebook, Accel Partners sold 49 million shares at $38 apiece, reaping enormous profits.
Insiders have sold large chunks of their holdings in Zynga and Groupon, though the top executives still maintain enormous stakes in their companies. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and other insiders netted some $500 million when they sold a portion of their stock in April at $12 a share.
Others were less fortunate. T. Rowe Price lost $61.4 million in its Facebook and Zynga holdings over two days. Fidelity, the largest U.S. fund, saw $126 million of its on-paper holdings evaporate over the past two days.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who owns just north of half a billion shares, took his lumps as well, as more than $3 billion of his paper-weath evaporated Thursday.
'DOESN'T JIVE'
Zynga's stock went into free-fall after it slashed its 2012 outlook from 23 to 29 cents to 4 to 9 cents, blaming weakness in existing Facebook games and a delay in its pipeline.
The results widely missed expectations set by company management at the end of last quarter, when Chief Operating Officer John Schappert said the company was 'excited and comfortable raising guidance for the year.'
On a conference call, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield took Zynga executives to task for not warning investors. Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said it was company policy to only give guidance once a quarter.
But the earnings report 'doesn't jive' with executives' recently upbeat comments, Greenfield later told Reuters. A handful of plaintiffs' lawyers announced Thursday they had begun investigating Zynga for breach of fiduciary duty.
Meanwhile, Facebook's executives took a conservative approach on Thursday, declining to offer their own forward-looking predictions.
In light of Zynga's bad miss, Wall Street analysts said that the lack of forecasts sapped investor confidence.
'The entire social media space may seem like a disaster, but it's perhaps that public markets have yet to see the right stocks. Firms like Groupon, Facebook, and Zynga require very aggressive user acquisition and the Average Revenue Per User is much lower,' said Steve Place, a founder of options analytics firm investingwithoptions.com.
'However, if we look into different verticals of the social media space there are some decent ideas.'
He cited real-estate site Zillow Inc, now almost double its IPO price.
But on Sand Hill Road, the mood these days is decidedly more subdued, a focus on returning to fundamental value.
'We'll see more discipline on private investments,' with more focus on the sustainability of any competitive advantage a company has, said Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital.
'There are private companies that we are investors in that have underlying defensibility and business models for which you do want to stretch on valuation,' Botha added.
At Bay Partners in Palo Alto, partners have already noticed a certain dialing-back of the swagger with which some entrepreneurs walk into their office.
'I feel a little bit of humility, a little bit of reality creep in,' said partner Salil Deshpande, whose investments include Buddy Media, which was sold to Salesforce.com for $689 million earlier this year. Early-stage entrepreneurs who a few months ago might have argued their nascent companies were worth $5 million might today accept a valuation of $1 million, he said.
Mayfield's Chang expects a hit to companies with what he calls 'lumpy' business models -- less predictable, consumer-oriented businesses that rely on advertising and virtual goods, like Facebook and Zynga. Those businesses, he says, are reliant on their popularity with the public, a fickle group.
'The scariest is easy-come, easy-go revenue, kind of like Groupon,' he said. 'It can ramp up quick, but disappear quickly too.'
(Additional reporting by Angela Moon in New York; Editing By Edwin Chan, Jonathan Weber and Tim Dobbyn)
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Zynga Is Dragging Facebook Down With It
Zynga's second-quarter earnings report didn't go very well today, and now the stock is plummeting in after hours trading. It's having an interesting side effect, though. Facebook's stock is going down with it.
RELATED: Facebook Apps Have Created 182,000 Jobs in U.S. Economy
The biggest problem for Zynga was their revenue was about $11 million below what analysts expected, and cut their expected revenue for 2012 from $1.47 billion to $1.15 billion. Revenue was down for a number of reasons. Games flopped, Facebook changed their algorithm, people realized spending money on tractors in Farmville was dumb. Despite being the main platform for their success, Zynga promptly blamed Facebook for their troubles:
RELATED: Zynga's $1 Billion IPO Will Serve as Facebook's Opening Act
RELATED: Zynga May Talk About Leaving, But It's Still Playing Games With Facebook
RELATED: Games in Google+ Should Scare Facebook
That doesn't even include the extra $2 after hour drop. Welp.
RELATED: Zynga's IPO: Virtual Goods, a Billion Dollars, and an SEC Problem
Facebook, presenting its first quarterly report since going public on Thursday, is getting taken to the cleaners in after hours trading, too. Facebook stock fell by $2.24 since the markets closed, which is a little over 7 percent of their stock price. They're going into arguably their biggest test since going public a full $10 dollars lower than their IPO price. Good luck!
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RELATED: Facebook Apps Have Created 182,000 Jobs in U.S. Economy
The biggest problem for Zynga was their revenue was about $11 million below what analysts expected, and cut their expected revenue for 2012 from $1.47 billion to $1.15 billion. Revenue was down for a number of reasons. Games flopped, Facebook changed their algorithm, people realized spending money on tractors in Farmville was dumb. Despite being the main platform for their success, Zynga promptly blamed Facebook for their troubles:
RELATED: Zynga's $1 Billion IPO Will Serve as Facebook's Opening Act
“Facebook made a number of changes in the quarter,” John Schappert, chief operating officer, said in a conference call with analysts. “These changes favored new games. Our users did not remain as engaged and did not come back as often.”The news sent Zynga's stock into a free fall, eventually. Zynga finished the day $0.16 above where they started this morning, but the stock dropped by $1.96 in after hours trading. Their stock price is currently $3.12, far away from the $10-$14 it commanded earlier in the year. If you want some nice "tech bubble" schadenfreude, we recommend Zynga's 6 month stock chart:
RELATED: Zynga May Talk About Leaving, But It's Still Playing Games With Facebook
RELATED: Games in Google+ Should Scare Facebook
That doesn't even include the extra $2 after hour drop. Welp.
RELATED: Zynga's IPO: Virtual Goods, a Billion Dollars, and an SEC Problem
Facebook, presenting its first quarterly report since going public on Thursday, is getting taken to the cleaners in after hours trading, too. Facebook stock fell by $2.24 since the markets closed, which is a little over 7 percent of their stock price. They're going into arguably their biggest test since going public a full $10 dollars lower than their IPO price. Good luck!
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Zynga takes axe to outlook, spooks Facebook investors
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Game provider Zynga Inc slashed its 2012 outlook and quarterly results badly missed Wall Street targets, sending its stock plunging 35 percent and casting a chill over Facebook Inc on the eve of the social network's inaugural results.
Investors now fear a larger-than-expected hit to Facebook's earnings, which relies on the 'FarmVille' creators for about 15 percent of its revenue. Shares in the No. 1 social network, which has yet to regain investor confidence since its botched May IPO, slid more than 7 percent to a new low of $27 in after-hours trading.
Blaming its poor performance on a steep drop-off in players for its core Facebook money-makers, Zynga took an axe to its earnings forecasts, predicting 4 to 9 cents a share, down from a previous 23 to 29 cents. Zynga shares tumbled to a record low of $3.00 after the bell.
That dim outlook highlights how dramatically the fortunes of consumer Internet stocks have turned in the past year.
Zynga was among a bevy of hot tech prospects going public in 2011 on the back of a renewed dot-com mania gripping Wall Street. But since its December IPO at $10 a share, Zynga has shed almost 70 percent of its value while peers like Groupon Inc and Facebook are down 65 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
'The quarter is a disaster,' said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia.
'It's looking more and more like this was a fad because they've introduced so many new games, yet EBITDA continues to come down,' he said, referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The number of monthly paying players, which rose to 4.1 million from 3.5 million, would in fact have declined were it not for an infusion of new players to 'Draw Something', a game Zynga purchased in March and which Zynga executives now admit has not lived up to expectations.
FarmVille, which represented 29 percent of Zynga's second-quarter revenues, has shrunk to just 20 million users this month from a high of about 80 million in March, according to Appdata.com, a Facebook tracking service.
'The company has been saying for some time that declining traffic doesn't matter and clearly it does,' Bhatia said.
OMG, WHAT A MISS
The company on Wednesday reported a quarterly net loss of $22.8 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.4 million a year ago. Excluding certain items, it reported a profit of 1 cent a share, below the 5 cents that Wall Street had expected.
Admitting that mobile titles failed to pick up the slack, it logged revenues of $332.4 million, below the average analyst estimate of $344.12 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company said CEO Mark Pincus had taken control of the company on or around Wednesday, with a rise in his voting stake to around 50.15 percent.
The increase in his stake follows a $500 million-plus payday via a choreographed private stock sale at $12 a share in April for Pincus, a small circle of top Zynga executives and investors but which many employees were excluded from.
That deal, explained as an effort to stagger the timing of when stockholders may cash out to avert a simultaneous sell-off at the expiration of a post-IPO lock-up period, now seems especially well-timed.
The increase in Pincus' voting power to over 50 percent was due to sales or transfers by other holders of Class B shares.
Zynga said daily active users rose by 23 percent to 72 million in the second quarter, but the company earned less revenue per subscriber. Average daily bookings per user dwindled to 4.6 cents in the quarter, down about 10 percent.
Pincus said a recent change to Facebook's algorithm spurred users toward new games, rather than repeatedly playing existing Zynga offerings.
Last month, Zynga unveiled zynga.com, an independent game-publishing platform, specifically to lessen its dependence on Facebook. But that service remains in beta after a multi-year development process, and executives declined to break out revenue for the platform when asked by analysts.
EXECUTIVES GRILLED
For the first time, Zynga executives acknowledged its acquisition for Draw Something developer, OMGPOP -- its costliest purchase at $183 million -- has not unfolded ideally. The gaming sensation fizzled out almost as soon as it was acquired.
'Draw Something under-performed versus our early expectations,' Pincus said.
The results jolted analysts including BTIG's Richard Greenfield, who pointedly asked Zynga's leadership to explain comments made in recent weeks by top executives that the company's performance will pick up in the second half of the year.
Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said the company's policy was to only revise its forecasts during quarterly earnings calls.
In an interview, Chief Operating Officer John Schappert told Reuters that the company's financial picture came into focus only late in the quarter.
'You see some data but it takes a while to collate that data together and paint the whole picture,' he said.
In a lone bright spot, Pincus said the company expects to launch its first, real-money gambling products in international markets in 2013. But Zynga will not likely pursue cash gambling in the United States, where gambling regulation remains an obstacle.
Zynga's results surprised investors especially because many analysts anticipated a bounce in its stock after expectations had been set low following a mediocre first quarter report.
'Everyone's going to reset their growth expectations to a far lower level,' said Mike Hickey, an analyst at National Alliance Capital Markets.
Shares in Zynga plummeted 35 percent to as low as $3.00 in after-hours trade, from a close of $5.08 on Nasdaq. Stock in Facebook slid almost 7 percent to $27.33, from a close on Nasdaq of $29.34.
(Additional reporting by Malathi Nayak and Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Edwin Chan and Edwina Gibbs)
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Investors now fear a larger-than-expected hit to Facebook's earnings, which relies on the 'FarmVille' creators for about 15 percent of its revenue. Shares in the No. 1 social network, which has yet to regain investor confidence since its botched May IPO, slid more than 7 percent to a new low of $27 in after-hours trading.
Blaming its poor performance on a steep drop-off in players for its core Facebook money-makers, Zynga took an axe to its earnings forecasts, predicting 4 to 9 cents a share, down from a previous 23 to 29 cents. Zynga shares tumbled to a record low of $3.00 after the bell.
That dim outlook highlights how dramatically the fortunes of consumer Internet stocks have turned in the past year.
Zynga was among a bevy of hot tech prospects going public in 2011 on the back of a renewed dot-com mania gripping Wall Street. But since its December IPO at $10 a share, Zynga has shed almost 70 percent of its value while peers like Groupon Inc and Facebook are down 65 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
'The quarter is a disaster,' said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia.
'It's looking more and more like this was a fad because they've introduced so many new games, yet EBITDA continues to come down,' he said, referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The number of monthly paying players, which rose to 4.1 million from 3.5 million, would in fact have declined were it not for an infusion of new players to 'Draw Something', a game Zynga purchased in March and which Zynga executives now admit has not lived up to expectations.
FarmVille, which represented 29 percent of Zynga's second-quarter revenues, has shrunk to just 20 million users this month from a high of about 80 million in March, according to Appdata.com, a Facebook tracking service.
'The company has been saying for some time that declining traffic doesn't matter and clearly it does,' Bhatia said.
OMG, WHAT A MISS
The company on Wednesday reported a quarterly net loss of $22.8 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.4 million a year ago. Excluding certain items, it reported a profit of 1 cent a share, below the 5 cents that Wall Street had expected.
Admitting that mobile titles failed to pick up the slack, it logged revenues of $332.4 million, below the average analyst estimate of $344.12 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company said CEO Mark Pincus had taken control of the company on or around Wednesday, with a rise in his voting stake to around 50.15 percent.
The increase in his stake follows a $500 million-plus payday via a choreographed private stock sale at $12 a share in April for Pincus, a small circle of top Zynga executives and investors but which many employees were excluded from.
That deal, explained as an effort to stagger the timing of when stockholders may cash out to avert a simultaneous sell-off at the expiration of a post-IPO lock-up period, now seems especially well-timed.
The increase in Pincus' voting power to over 50 percent was due to sales or transfers by other holders of Class B shares.
Zynga said daily active users rose by 23 percent to 72 million in the second quarter, but the company earned less revenue per subscriber. Average daily bookings per user dwindled to 4.6 cents in the quarter, down about 10 percent.
Pincus said a recent change to Facebook's algorithm spurred users toward new games, rather than repeatedly playing existing Zynga offerings.
Last month, Zynga unveiled zynga.com, an independent game-publishing platform, specifically to lessen its dependence on Facebook. But that service remains in beta after a multi-year development process, and executives declined to break out revenue for the platform when asked by analysts.
EXECUTIVES GRILLED
For the first time, Zynga executives acknowledged its acquisition for Draw Something developer, OMGPOP -- its costliest purchase at $183 million -- has not unfolded ideally. The gaming sensation fizzled out almost as soon as it was acquired.
'Draw Something under-performed versus our early expectations,' Pincus said.
The results jolted analysts including BTIG's Richard Greenfield, who pointedly asked Zynga's leadership to explain comments made in recent weeks by top executives that the company's performance will pick up in the second half of the year.
Chief Financial Officer Dave Wehner said the company's policy was to only revise its forecasts during quarterly earnings calls.
In an interview, Chief Operating Officer John Schappert told Reuters that the company's financial picture came into focus only late in the quarter.
'You see some data but it takes a while to collate that data together and paint the whole picture,' he said.
In a lone bright spot, Pincus said the company expects to launch its first, real-money gambling products in international markets in 2013. But Zynga will not likely pursue cash gambling in the United States, where gambling regulation remains an obstacle.
Zynga's results surprised investors especially because many analysts anticipated a bounce in its stock after expectations had been set low following a mediocre first quarter report.
'Everyone's going to reset their growth expectations to a far lower level,' said Mike Hickey, an analyst at National Alliance Capital Markets.
Shares in Zynga plummeted 35 percent to as low as $3.00 in after-hours trade, from a close of $5.08 on Nasdaq. Stock in Facebook slid almost 7 percent to $27.33, from a close on Nasdaq of $29.34.
(Additional reporting by Malathi Nayak and Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Edwin Chan and Edwina Gibbs)
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News Summary: Zynga stock tanks after weak 2Q
WHAT HAPPENED: Zynga's stock tanked after the online game maker reported a loss in the second quarter, with adjusted earnings and revenue below Wall Street's muted expectations.
WEAK OUTLOOK: The company also said it now expects adjusted earnings of 4 cents to 9 cents per share for all of 2012. In April, it had forecast adjusted earnings between 23 cents and 29 cents per share. Analysts had been expecting 26 cents.
FACEBOOK EFFECT? The results pulled Facebooks' stock lower in after-hours trading too, since Zynga's games are played mostly on Facebook. The social networking company reports its earnings on Thursday.
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WEAK OUTLOOK: The company also said it now expects adjusted earnings of 4 cents to 9 cents per share for all of 2012. In April, it had forecast adjusted earnings between 23 cents and 29 cents per share. Analysts had been expecting 26 cents.
FACEBOOK EFFECT? The results pulled Facebooks' stock lower in after-hours trading too, since Zynga's games are played mostly on Facebook. The social networking company reports its earnings on Thursday.
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Zynga slashes outlook as shares plunge
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc, the social gaming company, slashed its 2012 earnings outlook after its second-quarter results badly missed Wall Street's targets, sending its stock plunging more than 40 percent to a record low.
The huge miss for Zynga, creator of the 'Farmville and 'Hidden Chronicles' games, dragged down shares of Facebook Inc, which relies on the game publisher for some 15 percent of its revenue.
Zynga slashed its 2012 earnings outlook to 4 to 9 cents a share, down from a previously projected 23 to 29 cents.
Zynga was a star in the tech world when it debuted on public markets last December. But since then Wall Street has turned its back on the company as it has begun to flounder in the face of intense competition from rival casual games makers and users who have abandoned its predominantly Web-based games for mobile titles.
'The quarter is a disaster,' said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. 'I think that it's looking more and more like this was a fad because they've introduced so many new games, yet EBITDA continues to come down,' he said, referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
'The company has been saying for some time that declining traffic doesn't matter and clearly it does. The decline in some of their top games in terms of traffic has been huge.'
Zynga, founded by CEO Mark Pincus, reported quarterly revenues of $332.4 million, below the average analyst estimate of $344.12 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares in Zynga plummeted 35 percent to as low as $3.00 in after-hours trade, from a close of $5.078 on Nasdaq.
Shares of Facebook slid almost 7 percent to $27.33, from a close on the Nasdaq of $29.34. Zynga is the largest provider of games on Facebook, which is due to report quarterly results on Thursday .
On an adjusted basis, Zynga reported a loss of $22.8 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.3 million a year ago.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
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The huge miss for Zynga, creator of the 'Farmville and 'Hidden Chronicles' games, dragged down shares of Facebook Inc, which relies on the game publisher for some 15 percent of its revenue.
Zynga slashed its 2012 earnings outlook to 4 to 9 cents a share, down from a previously projected 23 to 29 cents.
Zynga was a star in the tech world when it debuted on public markets last December. But since then Wall Street has turned its back on the company as it has begun to flounder in the face of intense competition from rival casual games makers and users who have abandoned its predominantly Web-based games for mobile titles.
'The quarter is a disaster,' said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. 'I think that it's looking more and more like this was a fad because they've introduced so many new games, yet EBITDA continues to come down,' he said, referring to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
'The company has been saying for some time that declining traffic doesn't matter and clearly it does. The decline in some of their top games in terms of traffic has been huge.'
Zynga, founded by CEO Mark Pincus, reported quarterly revenues of $332.4 million, below the average analyst estimate of $344.12 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares in Zynga plummeted 35 percent to as low as $3.00 in after-hours trade, from a close of $5.078 on Nasdaq.
Shares of Facebook slid almost 7 percent to $27.33, from a close on the Nasdaq of $29.34. Zynga is the largest provider of games on Facebook, which is due to report quarterly results on Thursday .
On an adjusted basis, Zynga reported a loss of $22.8 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.3 million a year ago.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
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Ahead of the Bell: Zynga to report 2Q results
NEW YORK (AP) - Online game maker Zynga Inc. will face a "moment of truth" when it reports second-quarter results after the market closes Wednesday, according to Cowen & Co.
Zynga's stock has taken a beating in recent months over worries over the declining number active users. Anything but good news will likely pressure the stock further.
But Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter thinks Zynga's revenue will be better Wall Street expectats because it has been better at making money from its games, including "CityVille."
Zynga makes most of its money by charging for virtual items, such as poker chips or farm crops, in its games. Pachter believes that the number of users does not directly correlate to how much revenue Zynga can churn. That's because most people don't pay anything, and "the majority of gamers who discontinue playing Zynga titles are likely to be non-payers, with payers spending more as they make a greater investment of time in each game."
Analyst Doug Creutz, of Cowen, said that performance during this quarter will be a strong test of that thesis. The company's earnings call, he said, "will go a long way towards settling one of the key bull/bear debates on the stock: how important are daily active user measurements in projecting the company's financial performance."
He thinks that Web-based social gaming - Zynga's bread and butter - has passed its peak as people move on to mobile games. This, he added, could be a challenge for Zynga because it is so dependent on Facebook as its main source of revenue.
Analysts, on average are expecting earnings of 5 cents per share on revenue of $342.8 million, according to a poll by FactSet.
Shares edged lower in afterhours trading Tuesday.
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Zynga's stock has taken a beating in recent months over worries over the declining number active users. Anything but good news will likely pressure the stock further.
But Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter thinks Zynga's revenue will be better Wall Street expectats because it has been better at making money from its games, including "CityVille."
Zynga makes most of its money by charging for virtual items, such as poker chips or farm crops, in its games. Pachter believes that the number of users does not directly correlate to how much revenue Zynga can churn. That's because most people don't pay anything, and "the majority of gamers who discontinue playing Zynga titles are likely to be non-payers, with payers spending more as they make a greater investment of time in each game."
Analyst Doug Creutz, of Cowen, said that performance during this quarter will be a strong test of that thesis. The company's earnings call, he said, "will go a long way towards settling one of the key bull/bear debates on the stock: how important are daily active user measurements in projecting the company's financial performance."
He thinks that Web-based social gaming - Zynga's bread and butter - has passed its peak as people move on to mobile games. This, he added, could be a challenge for Zynga because it is so dependent on Facebook as its main source of revenue.
Analysts, on average are expecting earnings of 5 cents per share on revenue of $342.8 million, according to a poll by FactSet.
Shares edged lower in afterhours trading Tuesday.
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Nintendo Q1 loss shrinks to 17.23 bn yen
Japanese videogame giant Nintendo on Wednesday said its net loss for the April-June quarter shrank by about a third, but said it still hoped to return to profit in the current fiscal year.
The firm posted a net loss of 17.23 billion yen ($220 million) for the three months through June, compared with a loss of 25.51 billion yen a year earlier.
The maker of the 3DS and Wii games consoles said its operating loss also shrank to 10.33 billion yen from 37.71 billion yen for the same period last year, but sales fell 9.7 percent to 84.8 billion yen.
Nintendo has left its annual forecast unchanged, saying it would return to profit in the current fiscal year to March 2013, with a profit of 20.0 billion yen on sales of 820.0 billion yen.
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The firm posted a net loss of 17.23 billion yen ($220 million) for the three months through June, compared with a loss of 25.51 billion yen a year earlier.
The maker of the 3DS and Wii games consoles said its operating loss also shrank to 10.33 billion yen from 37.71 billion yen for the same period last year, but sales fell 9.7 percent to 84.8 billion yen.
Nintendo has left its annual forecast unchanged, saying it would return to profit in the current fiscal year to March 2013, with a profit of 20.0 billion yen on sales of 820.0 billion yen.
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Nintendo narrows loss in first quarter
TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd <7974.OS> said on Wednesday it posted a smaller first-quarter loss helped by income from software, although diminished sales of its games consoles weighed on results.
The creator of the Super Mario franchise posted an operating loss of 10.3 billion yen ($132 million) for the three months ended June 30 compared with a loss of 37.7 billion yen a year earlier. That was better than an average loss forecast of 20.6 billion yen from three analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For the full business year to next March, Nintendo stuck with a forecast for operating profit to rebound to 35 billion yen. The company expects sales of new software titles such as the latest version of Dragon Quest from Square Enix <9684.T> to underpin income.
That forecast compares with a consensus forecast of a 32 billion yen profit from 21 analysts.
($1 = 78.2200 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Chang-Ran Kim)
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The creator of the Super Mario franchise posted an operating loss of 10.3 billion yen ($132 million) for the three months ended June 30 compared with a loss of 37.7 billion yen a year earlier. That was better than an average loss forecast of 20.6 billion yen from three analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For the full business year to next March, Nintendo stuck with a forecast for operating profit to rebound to 35 billion yen. The company expects sales of new software titles such as the latest version of Dragon Quest from Square Enix <9684.T> to underpin income.
That forecast compares with a consensus forecast of a 32 billion yen profit from 21 analysts.
($1 = 78.2200 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Chang-Ran Kim)
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Seamus's Revenge: Dog Chases Romney in New Video Game
In one of the unlikelier pronouncements of this election cycle, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an interviewer in April, "I think this campaign is ultimately going to be about jobs, not dogs." He may have spoken too soon.
Scott Crider, the man behind Dogs Against Romney, announced on Tuesday the coming release of The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, a revenge fantasy in the form of a video game designed for mobile devices. In the game, Romney's pet dog escapes from his crate atop the family car and chases the former Massachusetts governor through a variety of landscapes.
Crider founded Dogs Against Romney in 2007 after hearing the story of a 1983 Romney vacation during which Romney's Irish setter, Seamus, was strapped to the roof of the car in a crate for a 12-hour drive to Canada. Crider said in an interview that the group, which has garnered significant media attention, represented his first foray into both politics and animal advocacy.
Crider also said he held no strong opinions about Romney before learning of Seamus's story. "I vote more for the person than I do the party," said Crider, a registered independent.
Despite the apparent whimsy of a cartoonish, dog-bites-man video game, Crider said he believes The Crate Escape could have an impact. With the flood of money pouring into the campaign, he said he believes a video game offers a "great way for us to cut through all the clutter and really engage in the message."
"It's a new medium," he said, "and it's a medium that millions of people carry around in their pockets."
And Crider, who has 25 years of experience in marketing, has a knack for timing. The game, being designed in conjunction with Censault, will be released on Aug. 26, which is both National Dog Day and the day before the Republican National Convention.
Click here for a video of Crider talking about the game.
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Scott Crider, the man behind Dogs Against Romney, announced on Tuesday the coming release of The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, a revenge fantasy in the form of a video game designed for mobile devices. In the game, Romney's pet dog escapes from his crate atop the family car and chases the former Massachusetts governor through a variety of landscapes.
Crider founded Dogs Against Romney in 2007 after hearing the story of a 1983 Romney vacation during which Romney's Irish setter, Seamus, was strapped to the roof of the car in a crate for a 12-hour drive to Canada. Crider said in an interview that the group, which has garnered significant media attention, represented his first foray into both politics and animal advocacy.
Crider also said he held no strong opinions about Romney before learning of Seamus's story. "I vote more for the person than I do the party," said Crider, a registered independent.
Despite the apparent whimsy of a cartoonish, dog-bites-man video game, Crider said he believes The Crate Escape could have an impact. With the flood of money pouring into the campaign, he said he believes a video game offers a "great way for us to cut through all the clutter and really engage in the message."
"It's a new medium," he said, "and it's a medium that millions of people carry around in their pockets."
And Crider, who has 25 years of experience in marketing, has a knack for timing. The game, being designed in conjunction with Censault, will be released on Aug. 26, which is both National Dog Day and the day before the Republican National Convention.
Click here for a video of Crider talking about the game.
This article is brought to you by BUY CHEAP COMPUTERS.
Seamus's Revenge: Dog Chases Romney in New Video Game
In one of the unlikelier pronouncements of this election cycle, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told an interviewer in April, "I think this campaign is ultimately going to be about jobs, not dogs." He may have spoken too soon.
Scott Crider, the man behind Dogs Against Romney, announced on Tuesday the coming release of The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, a revenge fantasy in the form of a video game designed for mobile devices. In the game, Romney's pet dog escapes from his crate atop the family car and chases the former Massachusetts governor through a variety of landscapes.
Crider founded Dogs Against Romney in 2007 after hearing the story of a 1983 Romney vacation during which Romney's Irish setter, Seamus, was strapped to the roof of the car in a crate for a 12-hour drive to Canada. Crider said in an interview that the group, which has garnered significant media attention, represented his first foray into both politics and animal advocacy.
Crider also said he held no strong opinions about Romney before learning of Seamus's story. "I vote more for the person than I do the party," said Crider, a registered independent.
Despite the apparent whimsy of a cartoonish, dog-bites-man video game, Crider said he believes The Crate Escape could have an impact. With the flood of money pouring into the campaign, he said he believes a video game offers a "great way for us to cut through all the clutter and really engage in the message."
"It's a new medium," he said, "and it's a medium that millions of people carry around in their pockets."
And Crider, who has 25 years of experience in marketing, has a knack for timing. The game, being designed in conjunction with Censault, will be released on Aug. 26, which is both National Dog Day and the day before the Republican National Convention.
Click here for a video of Crider talking about the game.
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Scott Crider, the man behind Dogs Against Romney, announced on Tuesday the coming release of The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, a revenge fantasy in the form of a video game designed for mobile devices. In the game, Romney's pet dog escapes from his crate atop the family car and chases the former Massachusetts governor through a variety of landscapes.
Crider founded Dogs Against Romney in 2007 after hearing the story of a 1983 Romney vacation during which Romney's Irish setter, Seamus, was strapped to the roof of the car in a crate for a 12-hour drive to Canada. Crider said in an interview that the group, which has garnered significant media attention, represented his first foray into both politics and animal advocacy.
Crider also said he held no strong opinions about Romney before learning of Seamus's story. "I vote more for the person than I do the party," said Crider, a registered independent.
Despite the apparent whimsy of a cartoonish, dog-bites-man video game, Crider said he believes The Crate Escape could have an impact. With the flood of money pouring into the campaign, he said he believes a video game offers a "great way for us to cut through all the clutter and really engage in the message."
"It's a new medium," he said, "and it's a medium that millions of people carry around in their pockets."
And Crider, who has 25 years of experience in marketing, has a knack for timing. The game, being designed in conjunction with Censault, will be released on Aug. 26, which is both National Dog Day and the day before the Republican National Convention.
Click here for a video of Crider talking about the game.
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Earnings Preview: Zynga 2Q to spotlight players
NEW YORK (AP) - Online game company Zynga Inc. is expected to post higher second-quarter revenue than it did a year ago, when it was still privately held, on Wednesday after the market closes. But worries about declining player numbers have cast a shadow on the stock in recent month.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Zynga's stock has been trading at its lowest levels recently since the company went public in December. Any bad news will likely pressure the stock further. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, however, expects some good news. The analyst thinks Zynga will post revenue above Wall Street's expectations because it's been better at making money from its games. Zynga's games are free to play, but the company charges for virtual items such as poker chips or cows in "FarmVille."
Investors will also looking for updates on user numbers. Pachter said the company's stock continues to be hurt by data saying the number of its users is declining. But he noted that the number of users does not directly correlate to how much money Zynga is able to make. That's because most people don't pay anything, and "the majority of gamers who discontinue playing Zynga titles are likely to be non-payers, with payers spending more as they make a greater investment of time in each game."
Any new details on Zynga's mobile games and how it is able to make money from them will also be closely watched.
WHY IT MATTERS: Zynga's games are played about 240 million people on Facebook each month, according to AppData, which tracks Facebook apps. Its business model - offering free games and making money on selling virtual goods - is new for a public U.S. company, so it is closely watched.
WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts, on average, are expecting earnings of 5 cents per share on revenue of $342.3 million, according to a poll by FactSet.
LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Zynga had net income of $1.4 million on revenue of $279.1 million in the second quarter of 2011, when it was still privately held.
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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Zynga's stock has been trading at its lowest levels recently since the company went public in December. Any bad news will likely pressure the stock further. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, however, expects some good news. The analyst thinks Zynga will post revenue above Wall Street's expectations because it's been better at making money from its games. Zynga's games are free to play, but the company charges for virtual items such as poker chips or cows in "FarmVille."
Investors will also looking for updates on user numbers. Pachter said the company's stock continues to be hurt by data saying the number of its users is declining. But he noted that the number of users does not directly correlate to how much money Zynga is able to make. That's because most people don't pay anything, and "the majority of gamers who discontinue playing Zynga titles are likely to be non-payers, with payers spending more as they make a greater investment of time in each game."
Any new details on Zynga's mobile games and how it is able to make money from them will also be closely watched.
WHY IT MATTERS: Zynga's games are played about 240 million people on Facebook each month, according to AppData, which tracks Facebook apps. Its business model - offering free games and making money on selling virtual goods - is new for a public U.S. company, so it is closely watched.
WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts, on average, are expecting earnings of 5 cents per share on revenue of $342.3 million, according to a poll by FactSet.
LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Zynga had net income of $1.4 million on revenue of $279.1 million in the second quarter of 2011, when it was still privately held.
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Friday, July 20, 2012
NJ Family Says Home was Targeted in Pipe Bomb Attack Because of Video Game Dispute
A New Jersey family says their home was targeted by three young neighbors in a pipe bomb attack that stems from an online video game dispute.
Boanerges Bezerra awoke early this past Saturday and quickly moved his wife and their three children out of the house after dialing for police. Luckily no one was hurt in the incident despite three homemade pipe bombs landing on the property in Monroe, N.J.
Police say Matthew Debski, 20, and brothers Michael Cavallo, 22 and Jonathan Cavallo, 18, are responsible for the attack and live in the same neighborhood as the Bezerras.
According to reports, the dispute began almost two years with a disagreement between the three men and Bezerra's son over an online video game.
'They have too much time on their hands,' said Bezerra. 'They don't work and that's a problem.'
Bezerra said he heard an explosion outside the house and dialed for police.
'Someone has just exploded things outside our house,' Bezerra is heard telling the police operator on a 911 call during the incident.
It was such a shocking 911 call that even the operator had to ask again to make sure she heard it right.
'There were explosions outside our house and something's burning. Please hurry,' says Bezerra.
One of the pipe bombs blasted through the bedroom of Bezerra's 14-year-old daughter, missing her by mere feet. Another pipe bomb started a fire in the attic. The family began to flee the house when a third pipe bomb was allegedly launched toward the home.
Debski and the Cavallos were arrested following the attack and face 21 charges - including arson, aggravated assault and trespassing, according to The Star-Ledger.
Bezerra says the three allegedly responsible for the attack have been terrorizing the family for years. Bezerra's wife Jeanne told the newspaper that the family started seeing 'escalating incidents' from Debski and the Cavallo brothers.
In recent months, Bezerra said fireworks were set off outside her bedroom window and car windows were broken.
Also Read
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Boanerges Bezerra awoke early this past Saturday and quickly moved his wife and their three children out of the house after dialing for police. Luckily no one was hurt in the incident despite three homemade pipe bombs landing on the property in Monroe, N.J.
Police say Matthew Debski, 20, and brothers Michael Cavallo, 22 and Jonathan Cavallo, 18, are responsible for the attack and live in the same neighborhood as the Bezerras.
According to reports, the dispute began almost two years with a disagreement between the three men and Bezerra's son over an online video game.
'They have too much time on their hands,' said Bezerra. 'They don't work and that's a problem.'
Bezerra said he heard an explosion outside the house and dialed for police.
'Someone has just exploded things outside our house,' Bezerra is heard telling the police operator on a 911 call during the incident.
It was such a shocking 911 call that even the operator had to ask again to make sure she heard it right.
'There were explosions outside our house and something's burning. Please hurry,' says Bezerra.
One of the pipe bombs blasted through the bedroom of Bezerra's 14-year-old daughter, missing her by mere feet. Another pipe bomb started a fire in the attic. The family began to flee the house when a third pipe bomb was allegedly launched toward the home.
Debski and the Cavallos were arrested following the attack and face 21 charges - including arson, aggravated assault and trespassing, according to The Star-Ledger.
Bezerra says the three allegedly responsible for the attack have been terrorizing the family for years. Bezerra's wife Jeanne told the newspaper that the family started seeing 'escalating incidents' from Debski and the Cavallo brothers.
In recent months, Bezerra said fireworks were set off outside her bedroom window and car windows were broken.
Also Read
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
Zynga appoints former Yahoo executive to board
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Zynga Inc has named former Yahoo executive Ellen Siminoff to its board of directors, the San Francisco-based social game publisher said on Thursday.
Siminoff, currently chief executive of education company Shmoop University Inc, will join a board that includes several early investors in Zynga and film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Siminoff previously helmed Efficient Frontier, an advertising technology company that was acquired by Adobe earlier this year.
'Ellen has great experience and insights operating Web businesses at scale and brings a passion for consumer Internet products,' said Zynga CEO Mark Pincus.
Other Zynga directors include venture capitalists Reid Hoffman, Bing Gordon and Sunil Paul; former Silicon Valley Graphics Inc executive Stanley Meresman; former Zynga business development chief Owen Van Natta; as well as Pincus and current Chief Operating Officer John Schappert.
(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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Siminoff, currently chief executive of education company Shmoop University Inc, will join a board that includes several early investors in Zynga and film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Siminoff previously helmed Efficient Frontier, an advertising technology company that was acquired by Adobe earlier this year.
'Ellen has great experience and insights operating Web businesses at scale and brings a passion for consumer Internet products,' said Zynga CEO Mark Pincus.
Other Zynga directors include venture capitalists Reid Hoffman, Bing Gordon and Sunil Paul; former Silicon Valley Graphics Inc executive Stanley Meresman; former Zynga business development chief Owen Van Natta; as well as Pincus and current Chief Operating Officer John Schappert.
(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE AND ASTRONOMY NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
For some Zynga games, mobile produces more revenues per user than Web: CEO
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Some of Zynga's most sophisticated games, including 'FarmVille,' generate greater revenue per user on smartphones than on Facebook's Web-based platform, the company's chief executive, Mark Pincus, said Wednesday.
Some of Zynga's deeper-engagement games -- titles like 'FarmVille' that falls into what the company calls its 'invest-and-express' category -- successfully generate revenues from smartphone users because of their mobile format as well as gamers' demographics, Pincus said.
'On mobile they actually monetize higher than on the Web,' Pincus said.
The comments came at a technology industry conference hosted by Fortune Magazine, where Pincus fielded questions about Zynga's sagging stock price and its closely watched mobile strategy. Zynga shares traded at $4.61 on mid-day Wednesday; the shares are down by more than 50 percent since going public at $10 a share last December.
The company, which makes 92 percent of its income from games on Facebook, has made a major push in recent months to expand its mobile offerings and lessen its dependence on the world's largest social network.
Pincus's comments provide a point of optimism for the company -- and a consumer Internet industry that has broadly struggled to squeeze revenues out of mobile users. Many companies serve ads to make money, but the smartphone screen offers a limited canvas to display ads.
The smartphone format, however, benefits games like 'FarmVille,' because mobile users are more inclined to make in-game purchases, Pincus suggested.
'The friction around spending -- the behavioral friction is much, much lower on mobile,' he said.
He also cited demographics as playing a role in the performance on mobile .
'Smartphones are more concentrated in North America and Western Europe,' he said. 'Facebook is more evenly dispersed.'
But he acknowledged that some of Zynga's most popular mobile games, casual titles like 'Draw Something' and 'Words with Friends,' do not 'monetize as well as our high-engagement games.'
Pincus spent more than $180 million earlier this year to acquire the game studio behind 'Draw Something,' which began to wane in popularity after the deal.
When Fortune Magazine writer Adam Lashinsky asked Pincus if he rejected the notion that the deal proved ill-advised in hindsight, Pincus demurred.
'It's too early to call it after one quarter,' Pincus said.
(This story corrected headline and paragraph one to show reference is to revenue per user)
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
This article is brought to you by BUY A USED COMPUTER.
Some of Zynga's deeper-engagement games -- titles like 'FarmVille' that falls into what the company calls its 'invest-and-express' category -- successfully generate revenues from smartphone users because of their mobile format as well as gamers' demographics, Pincus said.
'On mobile they actually monetize higher than on the Web,' Pincus said.
The comments came at a technology industry conference hosted by Fortune Magazine, where Pincus fielded questions about Zynga's sagging stock price and its closely watched mobile strategy. Zynga shares traded at $4.61 on mid-day Wednesday; the shares are down by more than 50 percent since going public at $10 a share last December.
The company, which makes 92 percent of its income from games on Facebook, has made a major push in recent months to expand its mobile offerings and lessen its dependence on the world's largest social network.
Pincus's comments provide a point of optimism for the company -- and a consumer Internet industry that has broadly struggled to squeeze revenues out of mobile users. Many companies serve ads to make money, but the smartphone screen offers a limited canvas to display ads.
The smartphone format, however, benefits games like 'FarmVille,' because mobile users are more inclined to make in-game purchases, Pincus suggested.
'The friction around spending -- the behavioral friction is much, much lower on mobile,' he said.
He also cited demographics as playing a role in the performance on mobile .
'Smartphones are more concentrated in North America and Western Europe,' he said. 'Facebook is more evenly dispersed.'
But he acknowledged that some of Zynga's most popular mobile games, casual titles like 'Draw Something' and 'Words with Friends,' do not 'monetize as well as our high-engagement games.'
Pincus spent more than $180 million earlier this year to acquire the game studio behind 'Draw Something,' which began to wane in popularity after the deal.
When Fortune Magazine writer Adam Lashinsky asked Pincus if he rejected the notion that the deal proved ill-advised in hindsight, Pincus demurred.
'It's too early to call it after one quarter,' Pincus said.
(This story corrected headline and paragraph one to show reference is to revenue per user)
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
This article is brought to you by BUY A USED COMPUTER.
For some Zynga games, mobile produces more revenues than Web: CEO
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Some of Zynga's most sophisticated games, including 'FarmVille,' generate greater revenues on smartphones than on Facebook's Web-based platform, the company's chief executive, Mark Pincus, said Wednesday.
Some of Zynga's deeper-engagement games -- titles like 'FarmVille' that falls into what the company calls its 'invest-and-express' category -- successfully generate revenues from smartphone users because of their mobile format as well as gamers' demographics, Pincus said.
'On mobile they actually monetize higher than on the Web,' Pincus said.
The comments came at a technology industry conference hosted by Fortune Magazine, where Pincus fielded questions about Zynga's sagging stock price and its closely watched mobile strategy. Zynga shares traded at $4.61 on mid-day Wednesday; the shares are down by more than 50 percent since going public at $10 a share last December.
The company, which makes 92 percent of its income from games on Facebook, has made a major push in recent months to expand its mobile offerings and lessen its dependence on the world's largest social network.
Pincus's comments provide a point of optimism for the company -- and a consumer Internet industry that has broadly struggled to squeeze revenues out of mobile users. Many companies serve ads to make money, but the smartphone screen offers a limited canvas to display ads.
The smartphone format, however, benefits games like 'FarmVille,' because mobile users are more inclined to make in-game purchases, Pincus suggested.
'The friction around spending -- the behavioral friction is much, much lower on mobile,' he said.
He also cited demographics as playing a role in the performance on mobile .
'Smartphones are more concentrated in North America and Western Europe,' he said. 'Facebook is more evenly dispersed.'
But he acknowledged that some of Zynga's most popular mobile games, casual titles like 'Draw Something' and 'Words with Friends,' do not 'monetize as well as our high-engagement games.'
Pincus spent more than $180 million earlier this year to acquire the game studio behind 'Draw Something,' which began to wane in popularity after the deal.
When Fortune Magazine writer Adam Lashinsky asked Pincus if he rejected the notion that the deal proved ill-advised in hindsight, Pincus demurred.
'It's too early to call it after one quarter,' Pincus said.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
This article is brought to you by BUY A NEW COMPUTER.
Some of Zynga's deeper-engagement games -- titles like 'FarmVille' that falls into what the company calls its 'invest-and-express' category -- successfully generate revenues from smartphone users because of their mobile format as well as gamers' demographics, Pincus said.
'On mobile they actually monetize higher than on the Web,' Pincus said.
The comments came at a technology industry conference hosted by Fortune Magazine, where Pincus fielded questions about Zynga's sagging stock price and its closely watched mobile strategy. Zynga shares traded at $4.61 on mid-day Wednesday; the shares are down by more than 50 percent since going public at $10 a share last December.
The company, which makes 92 percent of its income from games on Facebook, has made a major push in recent months to expand its mobile offerings and lessen its dependence on the world's largest social network.
Pincus's comments provide a point of optimism for the company -- and a consumer Internet industry that has broadly struggled to squeeze revenues out of mobile users. Many companies serve ads to make money, but the smartphone screen offers a limited canvas to display ads.
The smartphone format, however, benefits games like 'FarmVille,' because mobile users are more inclined to make in-game purchases, Pincus suggested.
'The friction around spending -- the behavioral friction is much, much lower on mobile,' he said.
He also cited demographics as playing a role in the performance on mobile .
'Smartphones are more concentrated in North America and Western Europe,' he said. 'Facebook is more evenly dispersed.'
But he acknowledged that some of Zynga's most popular mobile games, casual titles like 'Draw Something' and 'Words with Friends,' do not 'monetize as well as our high-engagement games.'
Pincus spent more than $180 million earlier this year to acquire the game studio behind 'Draw Something,' which began to wane in popularity after the deal.
When Fortune Magazine writer Adam Lashinsky asked Pincus if he rejected the notion that the deal proved ill-advised in hindsight, Pincus demurred.
'It's too early to call it after one quarter,' Pincus said.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
This article is brought to you by BUY A NEW COMPUTER.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Nintendo continues to dominate portable console gaming as U.S. 3DS sales top 5 million
Nintendo announced last week that sales of its 3DS portable gaming console surpassed 5 million units in the United States, a 500,000 device increase from March. The gaming company, which is attempting to recover from an annual loss, in June sold more than 155,000 3DS consoles, more than 150,000 original DS handhelds and almost 95,000 Wii consoles, Bloomberg reported. For the second consecutive month, Nintendo controlled 75% of portable-hardware sales. The company is predicting a 37% sales jump with the introduction of the 3DS XL, a new handheld that features a 90% larger viewing area, for $199 on August 19th. Nintendo will also launch its next-generation Wii U console ahead of the holidays, and both devices are expected to help the company return to profit this fiscal year.
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This news article is brought to you by RELATIONSHIPS ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
NASA Unveils Free 'Mars Rover Landing' Game for Xbox Live
NASA revealed a new video game today (July 16), one that celebrates the Aug. 5 landing of its huge Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars.
The game, called 'Mars Rover Landing,' is produced in collaboration with Microsoft and plays on the Xbox 360 system using the Kinect motion sensor. It's available free of charge in the Xbox Live Marketplace and Kinect Central, officials said.
'Mars Rover Landing' allows players to take control of Curiosity's spacecraft as it streaks through the Red Planet's atmosphere on a harrowing journey that mission engineers have dubbed 'seven minutes of terror.'
At the end, a rocket-powered sky crane lowers the rover to the Martian surface on cables, then flies off to crash-land intentionally a safe distance away.
'Families can get a taste of the daring that's involved in this, just landing this mission on the surface,' Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, told reporters today. 'It's going to be very similar to the way the team actually is going to do that.' [The Best (And Worst) Mars Landings in History]
The game is an outreach vehicle, McCuistion added, an attempt to raise awareness of Curiosity's mission and NASA's planetary exploration endeavors in a more general sense.
The 1-ton Curiosity rover is the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission. It blasted off in late November and is on schedule to touch down at Mars' Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5.
Curiosity's main goal is to determine if the Gale Crater area is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life. The rover sports 10 difference science instruments to help it in this task, including a rock-zapping laser and gear that can detect organic compounds - the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.
NASA's Mars program is in flux after President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 federal budget, which was released in February, cut the agency's planetary science efforts by more than 20 percent. NASA is reformulating its Mars exploration efforts, attempting to find ways to do the best science possible with its limited means.
Agency officials have said they hope Curiosity's performance excites the American public and the nation's politicians, perhaps sparking a chain of events that brings some money back to NASA's planetary science efforts in the future.
NASA is working hard to get the word out about Curiosity's upcoming touchdown, and it's hosting landing parties at multiple NASA centers.
The agency is also using the event as a teaching tool to engage people in science and planetary exploration. For example, NASA has produced 1,500 copies of a Mars-specific Braille book for the blind, McCuistion said.
Further, NASA has produced an app for mobile devices called 'Be A Martian,' which keeps users abreast of the latest Red Planet discoveries. Further information about how to follow Curiosity's landing and surface mission is available at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate
'Technology is making it possible for the public to participate in exploration as it never has before,' Michelle Viotti, JPL's Mars public engagement manager, said in a statement. 'Because Mars exploration is fundamentally a shared human endeavor, we want everyone around the globe to have the most immersive experience possible.'
Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
This article is brought to you by BUY AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
The game, called 'Mars Rover Landing,' is produced in collaboration with Microsoft and plays on the Xbox 360 system using the Kinect motion sensor. It's available free of charge in the Xbox Live Marketplace and Kinect Central, officials said.
'Mars Rover Landing' allows players to take control of Curiosity's spacecraft as it streaks through the Red Planet's atmosphere on a harrowing journey that mission engineers have dubbed 'seven minutes of terror.'
At the end, a rocket-powered sky crane lowers the rover to the Martian surface on cables, then flies off to crash-land intentionally a safe distance away.
'Families can get a taste of the daring that's involved in this, just landing this mission on the surface,' Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, told reporters today. 'It's going to be very similar to the way the team actually is going to do that.' [The Best (And Worst) Mars Landings in History]
The game is an outreach vehicle, McCuistion added, an attempt to raise awareness of Curiosity's mission and NASA's planetary exploration endeavors in a more general sense.
The 1-ton Curiosity rover is the centerpiece of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission. It blasted off in late November and is on schedule to touch down at Mars' Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5.
Curiosity's main goal is to determine if the Gale Crater area is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life. The rover sports 10 difference science instruments to help it in this task, including a rock-zapping laser and gear that can detect organic compounds - the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it.
NASA's Mars program is in flux after President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 federal budget, which was released in February, cut the agency's planetary science efforts by more than 20 percent. NASA is reformulating its Mars exploration efforts, attempting to find ways to do the best science possible with its limited means.
Agency officials have said they hope Curiosity's performance excites the American public and the nation's politicians, perhaps sparking a chain of events that brings some money back to NASA's planetary science efforts in the future.
NASA is working hard to get the word out about Curiosity's upcoming touchdown, and it's hosting landing parties at multiple NASA centers.
The agency is also using the event as a teaching tool to engage people in science and planetary exploration. For example, NASA has produced 1,500 copies of a Mars-specific Braille book for the blind, McCuistion said.
Further, NASA has produced an app for mobile devices called 'Be A Martian,' which keeps users abreast of the latest Red Planet discoveries. Further information about how to follow Curiosity's landing and surface mission is available at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate
'Technology is making it possible for the public to participate in exploration as it never has before,' Michelle Viotti, JPL's Mars public engagement manager, said in a statement. 'Because Mars exploration is fundamentally a shared human endeavor, we want everyone around the globe to have the most immersive experience possible.'
Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
- Mars Rover Landing: NASA's 1st Xbox Game Unveiled (Images)
- Mars Rover Xbox 360 Game Demo'd By Apollo 14 Granddaughter | Video
- How Mars Rover Curiosity's Nail-Biting Landing Works (Pictures)
This article is brought to you by BUY AFFORDABLE COMPUTERS.
Amazing Alex: A worthy follow-up to Angry Birds?
Tired of slinging Angry Birds? Then perhaps you'll like the newest mobile franchise from Rovio, the best-selling game's creator. Amazing Alex is another physics-centric puzzle stumper, and takes you inside the mind of a young boy (Alex) who lives in a messy house. Alex arranges household items in creative Mouse Trap-like ways using a plethora of blocks, ramps, skateboards, toy trucks, and spring-loaded boxing gloves; each level's goal is to manipulate these elements to move a given object from point A to point B. (Watch a trailer below.) The game is available for 99 cents on both Android and iOS smartphones. Rovio's Angry Birds franchise has already been downloaded more than a billion times, and singlehandedly turned the Finnish game developer into an industry powerhouse. Could Amazing Alex possibly live up to its pig-slaying predecessor's overwhelming success?
It's good solid fun: The premise, says Matt Peckham at TIME, in which a brainy kid "does battle with Rube Goldberg machines," is a "cool idea." And once you take "the training wheels off" and get past the first eight levels of "surprisingly bland tutorials," you'll find that the game supplies a steady dose of charming, creative fun. Unlike Angry Birds, you won't be able to "hand Amazing Alex off to your 6-your-old niece" and teach her to play in a few seconds. But "it's diverting enough if you're in the mood for a set-and-run puzzler."
"Is Rovio's Amazing Alex a worthy successor to Angry Birds?"
SEE MORE: Ouya: Can a $99 Android-powered gaming console topple Xbox?
But it's no Angry Birds: Amazing Alex isn't that hard, says Chelsea Stark at Mashable, and its "sandbox nature" probably won't satisfy many sophisticated gamers. Plus, you don't get rewarded for achievements. There are no bonuses for solving a puzzle right the first time, or for not using all your pieces, or even for solving a level within an allotted time. In the end, the game is creative fun, but fails to deliver in the same way that made Angry Birds so maddeningly addictive.
"Amazing Alex: Fun, but no Angry Birds"
The game needs bad guys: Sure, it's a "clever puzzle game with an intriguing setup," says Brad Reed at BGR, but it's missing "the visceral sense of immediacy that made Angry Birds so fun." Angry Birds has those "wicked pigs" and their "smug obnoxious smirks"; players want nothing more than to make them shut up. That's exactly what a puzzle game like Amazing Alex needs: An antagonist to keep gamers coming back for more.
"Amazing Alex first impressions: It's clever but it needs some bad guys"
SEE MORE: Is it time for trade shows to banish 'booth babes'?
View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week
Other stories from this topic:
This news article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
It's good solid fun: The premise, says Matt Peckham at TIME, in which a brainy kid "does battle with Rube Goldberg machines," is a "cool idea." And once you take "the training wheels off" and get past the first eight levels of "surprisingly bland tutorials," you'll find that the game supplies a steady dose of charming, creative fun. Unlike Angry Birds, you won't be able to "hand Amazing Alex off to your 6-your-old niece" and teach her to play in a few seconds. But "it's diverting enough if you're in the mood for a set-and-run puzzler."
"Is Rovio's Amazing Alex a worthy successor to Angry Birds?"
SEE MORE: Ouya: Can a $99 Android-powered gaming console topple Xbox?
But it's no Angry Birds: Amazing Alex isn't that hard, says Chelsea Stark at Mashable, and its "sandbox nature" probably won't satisfy many sophisticated gamers. Plus, you don't get rewarded for achievements. There are no bonuses for solving a puzzle right the first time, or for not using all your pieces, or even for solving a level within an allotted time. In the end, the game is creative fun, but fails to deliver in the same way that made Angry Birds so maddeningly addictive.
"Amazing Alex: Fun, but no Angry Birds"
The game needs bad guys: Sure, it's a "clever puzzle game with an intriguing setup," says Brad Reed at BGR, but it's missing "the visceral sense of immediacy that made Angry Birds so fun." Angry Birds has those "wicked pigs" and their "smug obnoxious smirks"; players want nothing more than to make them shut up. That's exactly what a puzzle game like Amazing Alex needs: An antagonist to keep gamers coming back for more.
"Amazing Alex first impressions: It's clever but it needs some bad guys"
SEE MORE: Is it time for trade shows to banish 'booth babes'?
View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week
Other stories from this topic:
- Fact Sheet: Ouya: Can a $99 Android-powered gaming console topple Xbox?
- Controversy: Rebooting Tomb Raiders' Lara Croft as a rape victim: Revolting?
- Burning Question: Is it time for trade shows to banish 'booth babes'?
This news article is brought to you by DATING ADVICE 201 - where latest news are our top priority.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Mysterious Photos of a Super Slim Playstation 3 Leaked [VIDEO]
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Friday, July 13, 2012
Could Wii nunchuks make screen time healthier?
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Active video games might help people burn more calories than couch-based screen time, but those who play active games tend to undo most of the difference if there's junk food available, says a new study.
Those active gamers tended to eat more calories than they spent dancing, playing hockey, and drumming. They took in an average of 376 more calories than they burned, compared to about a 650-calorie surplus among the inactive groups.
Although small, these differences can mean a lot in terms of energy balance when they are multiplied over days, weeks and years, Dr. Scott Leatherdale at the University of Waterloo in Canada who has studied the effects of video games on energy use but was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health in an email.
'There have been a couple of studies that have shown that TV watching and video playing increase eating, and they increase eating when compared to doing nothing,' said Dr. Elizabeth Lyons, who led the study at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
For the new study, Lyons and her team assigned 120 experienced gamers aged 18 to 35, randomly, to watch TV, or to play sedentary or active video games.
They asked them not to eat for 2 hours before the mealtime-scheduled appointments, recorded their appetite level before each session began, and then observed them playing games or watching TV for an hour.
Subjects could watch shows including 30 Rock and The Office, or play games such as Street Fighter IV to Dance Dance Revolution: Universe 2. Chocolate, chips, dried fruits and nuts and sodas were within easy reach.
There was reason to believe that people would eat less if they were playing active games, said Lyons, 'because it's physically difficult to eat while you're holding things, and while you're busier.'
Yet when Lyons and her team looked at the difference between the groups, they found that while sedentary video gamers ate the most, averaging more than 747 calories during the hour long session, active gamers ate only slightly less, eating 553 calories on average.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, surprised researchers.
'People will always find a way to eat,' said Lyons. 'No matter what group they were in they still ate a remarkable amount.'
Overall, study participants took in 672 calories during the one hour session, about a third of the daily intake recommended for women by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and just under a quarter of what's recommended for men.
Men tended to eat more than women, with some men eating in excess of 1000 calories as they played sedentary video games. Heavier gamers ate no more than lighter participants.
'NOT AN ADEQUATE SUBSTITUTE'
For Jacob Barkley, an exercise scientist at Kent State University, the findings still add to evidence that motion controlled games are not a fix for inactivity.
'It's not an adequate substitute for traditional physical activity, like a child going outside and playing in the yard, or an adult going to the gym, but it seems like a better alternative than watching TV or playing a traditional video.'
But the study did have some limitations, said Leatherdale.
Barkley agreed. 'If you're at home playing this game would you see the same kind of caloric intake? You wouldn't have the buffet of snacks available to you, which increases consumption.'
'What we're finding more and more is that TV is uniquely awful for you,' said Lyons. So even replacing a portion of your viewing time with an active game could be beneficial, she said.
'But the recommendation is: Get that food away from you! Don't have it on the couch with you, because you'll look up 10 minutes later and it'll be gone.'
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/MZYSIN American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online July 3, 2012.
This news article is brought to you by FASHION - where latest news are our top priority.
Those active gamers tended to eat more calories than they spent dancing, playing hockey, and drumming. They took in an average of 376 more calories than they burned, compared to about a 650-calorie surplus among the inactive groups.
Although small, these differences can mean a lot in terms of energy balance when they are multiplied over days, weeks and years, Dr. Scott Leatherdale at the University of Waterloo in Canada who has studied the effects of video games on energy use but was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health in an email.
'There have been a couple of studies that have shown that TV watching and video playing increase eating, and they increase eating when compared to doing nothing,' said Dr. Elizabeth Lyons, who led the study at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
For the new study, Lyons and her team assigned 120 experienced gamers aged 18 to 35, randomly, to watch TV, or to play sedentary or active video games.
They asked them not to eat for 2 hours before the mealtime-scheduled appointments, recorded their appetite level before each session began, and then observed them playing games or watching TV for an hour.
Subjects could watch shows including 30 Rock and The Office, or play games such as Street Fighter IV to Dance Dance Revolution: Universe 2. Chocolate, chips, dried fruits and nuts and sodas were within easy reach.
There was reason to believe that people would eat less if they were playing active games, said Lyons, 'because it's physically difficult to eat while you're holding things, and while you're busier.'
Yet when Lyons and her team looked at the difference between the groups, they found that while sedentary video gamers ate the most, averaging more than 747 calories during the hour long session, active gamers ate only slightly less, eating 553 calories on average.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, surprised researchers.
'People will always find a way to eat,' said Lyons. 'No matter what group they were in they still ate a remarkable amount.'
Overall, study participants took in 672 calories during the one hour session, about a third of the daily intake recommended for women by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and just under a quarter of what's recommended for men.
Men tended to eat more than women, with some men eating in excess of 1000 calories as they played sedentary video games. Heavier gamers ate no more than lighter participants.
'NOT AN ADEQUATE SUBSTITUTE'
For Jacob Barkley, an exercise scientist at Kent State University, the findings still add to evidence that motion controlled games are not a fix for inactivity.
'It's not an adequate substitute for traditional physical activity, like a child going outside and playing in the yard, or an adult going to the gym, but it seems like a better alternative than watching TV or playing a traditional video.'
But the study did have some limitations, said Leatherdale.
Barkley agreed. 'If you're at home playing this game would you see the same kind of caloric intake? You wouldn't have the buffet of snacks available to you, which increases consumption.'
'What we're finding more and more is that TV is uniquely awful for you,' said Lyons. So even replacing a portion of your viewing time with an active game could be beneficial, she said.
'But the recommendation is: Get that food away from you! Don't have it on the couch with you, because you'll look up 10 minutes later and it'll be gone.'
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/MZYSIN American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online July 3, 2012.
This news article is brought to you by FASHION - where latest news are our top priority.
'Lego Batman 2' tops video games titles in June
NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories fell 29 percent in June, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline.
Sales totaled $700 million. Sales of console and portable software - the video games themselves - fell 29 percent from a year earlier to $329 million. Sales of hardware fell 45 percent to $201 million. That was offset partly by a 4 percent increase in sales of accessories, to $170 million.
The study from NPD Group tracks sales of new physical products - about 50 percent to 60 percent of the total spending. Excluded are sales of used games and rentals as well as digital and social-network spending.
NPD also listed the top-selling games in June:
1. 'Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes,' Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive
2. 'Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier,' Ubisoft Group
3. 'Diablo III,' Activision Blizzard Inc.
4. 'Max Payne 3,' Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
5. 'NBA 2K12,' Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
6. 'Batman Arkham City,' Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive
7. 'Pokemon Conquest,' Nintendo Co.
8. 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,' Activision Blizzard Inc.
9. 'Battlefield 3,' Electronic Arts Inc.
10. 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' Activision Blizzard Inc.
This news article is brought to you by ECONOMY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Sales totaled $700 million. Sales of console and portable software - the video games themselves - fell 29 percent from a year earlier to $329 million. Sales of hardware fell 45 percent to $201 million. That was offset partly by a 4 percent increase in sales of accessories, to $170 million.
The study from NPD Group tracks sales of new physical products - about 50 percent to 60 percent of the total spending. Excluded are sales of used games and rentals as well as digital and social-network spending.
NPD also listed the top-selling games in June:
1. 'Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes,' Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive
2. 'Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier,' Ubisoft Group
3. 'Diablo III,' Activision Blizzard Inc.
4. 'Max Payne 3,' Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
5. 'NBA 2K12,' Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
6. 'Batman Arkham City,' Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive
7. 'Pokemon Conquest,' Nintendo Co.
8. 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,' Activision Blizzard Inc.
9. 'Battlefield 3,' Electronic Arts Inc.
10. 'The Amazing Spider-Man,' Activision Blizzard Inc.
This news article is brought to you by ECONOMY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
'Amazing Alex': Fun, But No Angry Birds' [REVIEW]
In Amazing Alex, you are given a goal each level you have to achieve: in the first levels, its getting a ball into a basket using ramps and a force called gravity.
[More from Mashable: ]
, Rovio's newest physics puzzle game is great for people of all ages, but you won't find yourself quite as addicted as Angry Birds. Rovio released its newest game franchise to the Apple App Store and Google Play on Thursday morning. It's a rebranded version of Casey's Contraptions, which was released last year for iPad and was well-reviewed then. It's interesting that Rovio decided to simply purchase and rebrand a game rather than coming up with their own new game ideas, but with the success of Angry Birds, they have cart blanche to do what they like. So this review is partially for a game that has been out a year, with some changes.
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Amazing Alex takes place in a young boy's messy house. Each level presents a different physics puzzle that involves cleaning up: you have to put balls in a bin, topple some books, or pop balloons. You then use the objects available to you to solve the puzzle, earning bonuses for each of the three stars you collect.
The physics puzzles are a little more clever than some games, because there isn't just one solution to every problem. You can place several pieces -- like shelves or pipes -- on a blank canvas to experiment with the game's physics. You don't also need every piece available to you (and they change every level) to solve a puzzle, meaning there is room fiddle with your designs.
This is where the game could have extra challenge, and it misses the boat. There are no time bonuses for solving a puzzle in one go, for not using all your pieces, or solving it an allotted time. The only achievement is collecting the three stars each level, which you'll have to do to unlock new sections of the game.
The game's difficulty isn't too challenging; the first few levels serve entirely as tutorial, and it won't be hard for you to breeze through the first couple of zones. The joy in the game lies more with its sandbox nature, and it challenges you to create whatever Rube Goldberg can most creatively solve the level. That might not satisfy the most achievement-hungry player, but it is far more creative and would be a great title to help kids' problem solving skills.
This is especially true in the section of the game that allows you to create your own levels with the same simple household objects. Players will be able to publish and share their own levels with friends, giving the game an extra creative level lost on many mobile titles.
Rovio says they will offer regular, free updates to the game, similar to their support for Angry Birds. The game is easily worth the 99 cents, but those looking for a serious challenge might not get into the game.
Check out screenshots from the game above, and let us know what you think in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable .
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS FOR SALE.
[More from Mashable: ]
, Rovio's newest physics puzzle game is great for people of all ages, but you won't find yourself quite as addicted as Angry Birds. Rovio released its newest game franchise to the Apple App Store and Google Play on Thursday morning. It's a rebranded version of Casey's Contraptions, which was released last year for iPad and was well-reviewed then. It's interesting that Rovio decided to simply purchase and rebrand a game rather than coming up with their own new game ideas, but with the success of Angry Birds, they have cart blanche to do what they like. So this review is partially for a game that has been out a year, with some changes.
[More from Mashable: ]
Amazing Alex takes place in a young boy's messy house. Each level presents a different physics puzzle that involves cleaning up: you have to put balls in a bin, topple some books, or pop balloons. You then use the objects available to you to solve the puzzle, earning bonuses for each of the three stars you collect.
The physics puzzles are a little more clever than some games, because there isn't just one solution to every problem. You can place several pieces -- like shelves or pipes -- on a blank canvas to experiment with the game's physics. You don't also need every piece available to you (and they change every level) to solve a puzzle, meaning there is room fiddle with your designs.
This is where the game could have extra challenge, and it misses the boat. There are no time bonuses for solving a puzzle in one go, for not using all your pieces, or solving it an allotted time. The only achievement is collecting the three stars each level, which you'll have to do to unlock new sections of the game.
The game's difficulty isn't too challenging; the first few levels serve entirely as tutorial, and it won't be hard for you to breeze through the first couple of zones. The joy in the game lies more with its sandbox nature, and it challenges you to create whatever Rube Goldberg can most creatively solve the level. That might not satisfy the most achievement-hungry player, but it is far more creative and would be a great title to help kids' problem solving skills.
This is especially true in the section of the game that allows you to create your own levels with the same simple household objects. Players will be able to publish and share their own levels with friends, giving the game an extra creative level lost on many mobile titles.
Rovio says they will offer regular, free updates to the game, similar to their support for Angry Birds. The game is easily worth the 99 cents, but those looking for a serious challenge might not get into the game.
Check out screenshots from the game above, and let us know what you think in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable .
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS FOR SALE.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
US retail sales of video games fell for 7th month
NEW YORK (AP) - A new report says U.S. retail sales of video-game hardware, software and accessories fell for a seventh consecutive month.
Sales declined 29 percent in June to $700 million.
Sales of console and portable software - the video games themselves - fell 29 percent from a year earlier to $329 million. Sales of hardware fell 45 percent to $201 million. That was offset partly by a 4 percent increase in sales of accessories, to $170 million.
Thursday's report by NPD Group tracks sales of new physical products - about 50 percent to 60 percent of the total spending. Excluded are sales of used games and rentals as well as digital and social-network spending.
The top-selling game was 'Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes,' from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive.
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS.
Sales declined 29 percent in June to $700 million.
Sales of console and portable software - the video games themselves - fell 29 percent from a year earlier to $329 million. Sales of hardware fell 45 percent to $201 million. That was offset partly by a 4 percent increase in sales of accessories, to $170 million.
Thursday's report by NPD Group tracks sales of new physical products - about 50 percent to 60 percent of the total spending. Excluded are sales of used games and rentals as well as digital and social-network spending.
The top-selling game was 'Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes,' from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Interactive.
This article is brought to you by COMPUTERS.
The BGR Show: Episode Six - Nintendo's Wii U and Leap Motion
This week on The BGR Show we spend some time checking out (more like playing, for hours) Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console including the much-hyped GamePad touchscreen controller. We also talk to Nintendo about how the Wii U is going to change gameplay by incorporating two screens, motion, accelerometers and even NFC into popular game titles. Since this episode is all about motion technology, we also caught up with Leap Motion, and went hands-on with their first peripheral - it's a total game-changer. Instead of using a mouse or even touch, you're able to manipulate on-screen elements and control your computer just by moving your finger in small motions in front of your monitor. It's multitouch without the touch, and it's one of the coolest pieces of technology we've seen in a while.
Touchscreens are everywhere since Apple launched the iPhone and started a touch craze, but the future is also hands-off. This week we take a look at the Leap motion controller, which adds shockingly accurate motion controls to any computer. We also stop by Nintendo's Wii U Experience to check out the next-generation Wii U video game console, which combines the Wii's traditional motion controls with an all new touchscreen-equipped GamePad.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
'Game of Thrones' and Other Prestige TV Video Games
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True Blood
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Guide hero Sookie Stackhouse through a backwoods swamp world of vampires, werewolves, and other spookies in the Grand Theft Auto-esque, action-packed True Blood: Bon Temps Blitzkrieg. Missions include rescuing Tara from Merlotte's, rescuing Tara from Fangtasia, and rescuing Tara from Eric's house. Much like the show, there is way too much Tara in the True Blood video game. Engage in as much graphic sex as possible to earn points and unlock other playable characters! Help Alcide flex his muscles in the side mission "Alcide's Abs Adventure." Try to keep Arlene crying in the restaurant kitchen for as long as possible in "This Is All Arlene Ever Does." And strip for points in "Jason Stackhouse's Saucy Saturday." Eventually the game gets too unnecessarily complicated and stops making sense altogether, but it's fun for a while in the beginning. And that Jason Stackhouse level is really great. (This one might actually happen, so beware.)
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Girls
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Guide Hannah Horvath through the confusing world of Brooklyn in this RPG that is either the most important game ever made or terrible garbage that only exists because its mom is a famous video game designer. Hannah is on a grand quest to find a respectable job, and on the way she must solve a hipster's riddles three, navigate the treacherous Gowanus Canal, and unlock the power of the mystical artisanal mayonnaise. Villainous, Manhattan-dwelling Sex and the City fans will try to thwart her, and of course her parents are big bosses, but through the power of complaining and, yes, graphic sex, you can guide Hannah to victory. Or some vague thing that's like victory. Or whatever. Something. A blog. It ends with a blog.
RELATED: What 'Game of Thrones' Did Best
Breaking Bad
In this first-person shooter, Walter White goes on a rip-roaring rampage in New Mexico, dispatching drug fiends and felons all while trying to rescue his not-so-trusty sidekick Jesse. The game starts kinda mild but then by the end it's crazy violent, full of shocking and explosive surprises and lots of black humor. One level has WW storming a Mexican hacienda, another takes place in a Los Pollos Hermanos processing plant. Morals and ethics quickly fly out the window as Walter (you) descends further and further into the world of crime. There's a secret bonus level where you can play as bad-ass Mike, but it's really hard to unlock; you have to collect all the blue meth crystals scattered around the lab in like 20 seconds. It's freaking impossible.
Downton Abbey
Quick! Lord Grantham needs his tea and it's already getting cold! In this fun side-scrolling title, you play as a downstairs maid who has to race against the clock, and avoid scheming Thomas and O'Brien, to carry out various tasks for the richies upstairs. Level bosses include a cane-hurling Lady Grantham, a mean Turkish lord who can only be killed one way, and a near-indestructible Vera Bates. Don't get influenza and don't speak out of turn, and you just might win a few pence raise at the end of the game.
The Newsroom
In this Dr. Mario-like game, stack up words and cliches to build the biggest, best Aaron Sorkin speech/lecture you can! Lazy media goes with Tea Party goes with informed electorate goes with integrity and so on. And on, and on. And on. And then on some more.
Any other ideas?
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Rovio teases Angry Birds Trilogy for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 3DS
The idea of flinging two-dimensional birds at towers full of pigs likely won't appeal to hardcore console gamers, but more casual Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo 3DS owners have something to look forward to this holiday season. Rovio on Wednesday teased its upcoming console title "Angry Birds Trilogy," which IGN reports will launch in the fourth quarter this year. While the mobile gaming market clearly shows promise, it remains minuscule compared to the console gaming industry. To put the two in perspective, Rovio's Angry Birds franchise made the company $106 million in all of 2011; when Activision launched Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 last year, it pulled in more than $1 billion in just 17 days. As such, it is understandable that Rovio would want to explore console gaming as it looks to further capitalize on its popular Angry Birds series.
Read [Rovio] Read [IGN]
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