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YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Zynga expands with acquisition of four mobile game companies

    Zynga, maker of hit games such as FarmVille and Words With Friends, told Reuters on Wednesday that it has bought four mobile game companies in recent months.

    The acquisitions include that of German company Gamedoctors last month, maker of the popular ZombieSmash game. It also bought Astro Ape Studios, located in New York, last August.

    Closer to its own Californian headquarters, Zynga also acquired San Francisco-based Page44 Studios, maker of World of Goo, and HipLogic, also working out of San Francisco. The cost to Zynga for each of the buyouts was not disclosed.

    While Zynga is currently the top maker of games for social networking site Facebook (it’s produced four of Facebook’s top five most used game applications), news of the recent takeovers indicates the company’s desire to increase its presence in the smartphone and tablet games market.

    Zynga emerged on the gaming scene just over four years ago and has since enjoyed tremendous success in the world of social gaming, with 232 million active monthly users of its games and as many as 60 million daily active users. The company went public in December last year, though its share value is currently languishing below its launch price.

    The company’s popular Words With Friends game hit the headlines twice recently, first when actor Alec Baldwin was thrown off a plane for refusing to stop playing it prior to take-off, and again when an Australian man claimed the game saved his life.

    This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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    5 comments

    • Brandon  •  4 mths ago
      I haven't played Farmville (or any Zynga games) in about two years.

      Do they still freeze up all the time?
    • Former LA Liver  •  4 mths ago
      Zynga didn't create Words with Friends. They bought the company. I used to play it before Zynga bought it.
    • Eve Winfield  •  Norfolk, Virginia  •  4 mths ago
      yes...they still do...I have just deleted all my Zynga games...don't miss them one bit...freedom!
    • Eagle  •  4 mths ago
      They could not do this, if Stupid people stopped buying virtual cows, vampire stuff and other game things that do not account for a bucket of beans....Wonder how many parents say no at Walmart when their cute little child say's oh please buy me a $25.00 Zynga card so I can buy a cow for farmville........
      • Leppy 4 mths ago
        I'm going to buy a cow on Farmville to DESTROY YOU.
    • CM  •  Los Angeles, California  •  4 mths ago
      Oh crap, there goes the neighborhood!! Before Zynga expands themselves they should work on improving their current games. I have played all the games at one time or another - and there are GLITCHES galore! Zynga can't be bothered to fix them - I guess they figure they are free, why bother. Some one needs to rattle their 'gilded cage' and let them know that GOOD word of mouth is worth a MILLION Dollars in free publicity; BAD word of mouth can sink a ship!!! Reality check Zynga - people are quitting your games in droves, and sure you'll find another sucker (or several) to take up the slack - for myself, there is NO WAY IN HELL I would EVER recommend your games to a friend - LOL - not even an enemy!!
      • Former LA Liver 4 mths ago
        agreed. but if you google zynga for news articles, you'll see some very interesting items. the developers are told to create more and more and not given enough time to work out the bugs. they are penalized financially or fired immediately if they don't make timelines that are not realistic. this is why the always have BETA on all its game titles.
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