Online Game-Maker Zynga's Has Virtual Products, Real Profits - WSJ.com

Hi All,'
Back from summer fun, check this article out. Key point,"We're an analytics company masquerading as a games company," said Ken Rudin, a Zynga vice president in charge of its data-analysis team, in one of a series of interviews with Zynga executives prior to the company's July filing for an initial public offering.
An analytic s company, thats right, only 5% of users buy things, but out of a claimed 150m monthly users, that not a bad business is it.
How do you know what they will buy, simple you test market the thingy and if it sells you win, if not , you create another virtual cartoon.
It's all about the imagination thats what is being sold, imaginary friends, relationships, fun, stories. Use your imagination to create stories and if they are engaging others will inhabit the story with you, a sort of group hallucination, kind of like your facebook friendships, only actually completely made up, afterall their cartoons.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904823804576502442835413446.html#ixzz1XTfK9KYIint

By NICK WINGFIELD
To understand why Zynga Inc. is among the tech industry's hottest companies, consider how it gets people to buy a bunch of things that don't exist.
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Zynga
In Zynga's 'Empires & Allies' online game, players can buy better weapons to win military battles.

Last year, Zynga product managers for a videogame called "FishVille" discovered something intriguing while sifting data that Zynga collects when people play its online games. Players bought a translucent anglerfish at six times the rate of other sea creatures, using an imaginary currency people get by playing the game.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904823804576502442835413446.html#ixzz1XTebm4SX




Online Game-Maker Zynga's Has Virtual Products, Real Profits - WSJ.com:

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