PRLog (Press Release) -
May 28, 2012 - The American company behind social games FarmVille and CityVille is setting up its own gaming service. Zynga’s games are mostly played on Facebook are due to let go of Facebook with plans to set up their on gaming service. It publishes four of the top five games played on the social networking site. Zynga, whose titles have more than 200 million active monthly users, makes 95% of its money through Facebook. Keza MacDonald, UK games editor at IGN.com said “If Facebook games like Zynga launch their own platforms rather than hosting games exclusively on Facebook itself, it undermines Facebook's credibility as a gaming platform which could shift the emphasis on social gaming” She said “moving away from Facebook could have significant effects down the line.” A source for Dragao Porto said “The decision to break away from facebook could have harsh consequences for Zynga. The reason, Facebook is very popular and we have all played the games at on time or another. This will be something they will have to take into consideration.”
The San Francisco-based firm says its re-designed website, which will be launched later this month, will make it easier to play games more quickly with access to live chatting and message board features. Our Source from Dragao Porto has said “It appears a lot of decision making has gone into the re-design of the website. Zynga clearly know what is the best road for them to take. It will be interesting to see if it is the right choice.” Manuel Bronstein, general manager of Zynga.com, said the new website was not intended to move users away from Facebook but to “help users keep their Facebook profiles separate from their gaming habits”
Zynga's new website will also host games from other companies. Manuel Bronstein said “If they want to play on Facebook, if they play on mobile, if they play on the web, I want them to be connected to Zynga and it cannot be constrained to one single destination."
Our source for Dragao Porto said “Not all smartphones allow access to Zynga’s game services so we can understand their desire to make a websites that will allow various smartphone users access to their games.”
