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| Zynga wins bidding war for makers of six-week-old Draw Something game | Zynga wins bidding war for makers of six-week-old Draw Something game |
| (7 months later) | |
| Social gaming firm Zynga has paid a reported $200m to the makers of Draw Something, an online drawing game that has attracted over 35 million players in its first six weeks. | Social gaming firm Zynga has paid a reported $200m to the makers of Draw Something, an online drawing game that has attracted over 35 million players in its first six weeks. |
| Zynga, the company behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, CityVille and the majority of the most popular online games, announced late Wednesday that it was buying OMGPOP, maker of Draw Something. | Zynga, the company behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, CityVille and the majority of the most popular online games, announced late Wednesday that it was buying OMGPOP, maker of Draw Something. |
| No price was announced, but according to Dow Jones newswire the figure was somewhere between $200m and $250m. Disney and Electronic Arts, the games company, were also believed to have made offers for the company. | No price was announced, but according to Dow Jones newswire the figure was somewhere between $200m and $250m. Disney and Electronic Arts, the games company, were also believed to have made offers for the company. |
| Over 35 million people worldwide have so far downloaded Draw Something, a game where players draw images based on selected words, from French dance pioneers Daft Punk to basketball sensation Jermy Lin, on their mobile devices and their friends guess what they are trying to depict. Zynga says it is already the top word game in 84 countries. In the last week, more than a billion drawings were made on the application. | Over 35 million people worldwide have so far downloaded Draw Something, a game where players draw images based on selected words, from French dance pioneers Daft Punk to basketball sensation Jermy Lin, on their mobile devices and their friends guess what they are trying to depict. Zynga says it is already the top word game in 84 countries. In the last week, more than a billion drawings were made on the application. |
| "The OMGPOP team has created a game that's fun, expressive and engenders real social interaction. Draw Something has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world," said Mark Pincus, founder and chief executive of Zynga. "We're honoured to have the opportunity to partner with and support such an innovative team of creative inventors." | "The OMGPOP team has created a game that's fun, expressive and engenders real social interaction. Draw Something has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world," said Mark Pincus, founder and chief executive of Zynga. "We're honoured to have the opportunity to partner with and support such an innovative team of creative inventors." |
| The purchase is the largest Zynga has made, dwarfing its previous big buy, Newtoy Inc, maker of Words With Friends. Zynga paid $53.3m for Newtoy in 2010. The game company made 22 deals in 2010 and 2011, spending $105.1m. | The purchase is the largest Zynga has made, dwarfing its previous big buy, Newtoy Inc, maker of Words With Friends. Zynga paid $53.3m for Newtoy in 2010. The game company made 22 deals in 2010 and 2011, spending $105.1m. |
| Analysts speculated that a bidding war drove up the price. "A reported $200 [million-plus] price tag for a six-week old game will justifiably raise eyebrows," Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter wrote in a note Thursday. | Analysts speculated that a bidding war drove up the price. "A reported $200 [million-plus] price tag for a six-week old game will justifiably raise eyebrows," Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter wrote in a note Thursday. |
| "Clearly, Zynga believes that this is a unique evergreen-type game that can become a long-term growth franchise. They are also focused on the cross-marketing potential between Draw Something and Zynga's players. Our initial reaction is that a bidding war likely led to too high of a price for the developer, but we really won't know if that price was justified for some time," he wrote. | "Clearly, Zynga believes that this is a unique evergreen-type game that can become a long-term growth franchise. They are also focused on the cross-marketing potential between Draw Something and Zynga's players. Our initial reaction is that a bidding war likely led to too high of a price for the developer, but we really won't know if that price was justified for some time," he wrote. |
| Comments | |
| 1 comment, displaying first | |
| 23 March 2012 1:01AM | |
| Don't buy anything from Zynga. They steal other people's games. | |
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| Comments on this page are now closed. | |
| Zynga unleashes new social network, partner programme and Farmville 2 | |
| 27 Jun 2012 | |
| Social games giant reveals Zynga With Friends network, The Ville simulation and a Farmville sequel for its 300m users. By Keith Stuart | |
| 2 Feb 2012 | |
| Zynga shares soar after Facebook IPO | |
| 5 Oct 2012 | |
| Zynga shares plunge after poor third quarter figures | |
| 11 Oct 2011 | |
| Zynga launches 10 new products in 'social gaming' push | |
| 16 Dec 2011 | |
| Zynga IPO fails to generate stock market 'pop' on disappointing debut | |
| FarmVille firm over the moon after Hasbro deal | |
| 10 Feb 2012 | |
| Zynga, whose games account for $445m of Facebook's $3.7bn revenue in 2011, to create FarmVille figurines with toy firm | |
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| Company behind Words With Friends and FarmVille buys game for estimated $200m after 35 million players sign up | |
| Social gaming firm Zynga has paid a reported $200m to the makers of Draw Something, an online drawing game that has attracted over 35 million players in its first six weeks. | |
| Zynga, the company behind Words With Friends, FarmVille, CityVille and the majority of the most popular online games, announced late Wednesday that it was buying OMGPOP, maker of Draw Something. | |
| No price was announced, but according to Dow Jones newswire the figure was somewhere between $200m and $250m. Disney and Electronic Arts, the games company, were also believed to have made offers for the company. | |
| Over 35 million people worldwide have so far downloaded Draw Something, a game where players draw images based on selected words, from French dance pioneers Daft Punk to basketball sensation Jermy Lin, on their mobile devices and their friends guess what they are trying to depict. Zynga says it is already the top word game in 84 countries. In the last week, more than a billion drawings were made on the application. | |
| "The OMGPOP team has created a game that's fun, expressive and engenders real social interaction. Draw Something has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world," said Mark Pincus, founder and chief executive of Zynga. "We're honoured to have the opportunity to partner with and support such an innovative team of creative inventors." | |
| The purchase is the largest Zynga has made, dwarfing its previous big buy, Newtoy Inc, maker of Words With Friends. Zynga paid $53.3m for Newtoy in 2010. The game company made 22 deals in 2010 and 2011, spending $105.1m. | |
| Analysts speculated that a bidding war drove up the price. "A reported $200 [million-plus] price tag for a six-week old game will justifiably raise eyebrows," Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter wrote in a note Thursday. | |
| "Clearly, Zynga believes that this is a unique evergreen-type game that can become a long-term growth franchise. They are also focused on the cross-marketing potential between Draw Something and Zynga's players. Our initial reaction is that a bidding war likely led to too high of a price for the developer, but we really won't know if that price was justified for some time," he wrote. |