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Zynga is a provider of social video game services founded in July 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.〔 The company develops social games that work stand-alone on mobile phone platforms such as Apple iOS, Android, Windows Phone and on the Internet through its website, Zynga.com, and social networking websites such as Facebook, Google+, and Tencent QQ. Zynga states its mission as "connecting the world through games."〔(Zynga offering sneak peek at next-gen games ). ABC7〕 The company was named in honor of Zinga, CEO Mark Pincus's deceased American bulldog.〔 Zynga launched what is considered its best-known game, ''FarmVille'', on Facebook in June 2009, reaching 10 million daily active users (DAU) within six weeks. As of early January 2013, Zynga games had over 265 million monthly active users (MAU), and three of the top five Facebook games (in terms of MAU, according to AppData) were Zynga titles: ''FarmVille 2'', ''Texas HoldEm Poker'' (now known as ''Zynga Poker''), and ''ChefVille''. According to the BBC, around 80 percent of Zynga's revenue comes from Facebook users, but its formal partnership with Facebook ended on March 31, 2013. Zynga began trading on NASDAQ December 16, 2011〔(Zynga IPO Goes SplatVille. What Went Wrong? ). Forbes〕 under the ticker ZNGA. Originally priced at $10, ZNGA shares reached a price of $14.50 in March 2012, but fell steadily after that point, hitting $2.09 in 2012.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=NASDAQ Summary Data )〕 Some analysts and journalists have questioned the long-term prospects of Zynga’s business model, especially after Zynga’s Q2 2012 earnings report failed to meet analyst projections for revenue and earnings. Zynga has been taking steps to cut expenses and expand its business into areas such as licensed board games, online gambling, its own gaming platform (Zynga.com), and mobile game apps. ==History== Mark Pincus,〔(CEO Mark Pincus elaborates on Zynga’s transition from web to mobile, announces today’s launch of Draw Something 2 ). Insidesocialgames.com (2013-04-24). Retrieved on 2013-08-16.〕 Eric Schiermeyer, Justin Waldron, Michael Luxton, Steve Schoettler, and Andrew Trader co-founded Zynga in April 2007 under the name Presidio Media; the company name changed to Zynga in July 2007. Zynga was named after an American bulldog named "Zinga" once owned by Mark Pincus. The company uses an image of a bulldog as its logo. Zynga's first game, ''Texas Hold'Em Poker'', now known as ''Zynga Poker'', was released on Facebook in July 2007. The company received US$10 million, led by venture capital firm Union Square Ventures, in its first round of funding in January 2008. In July of the same year, Zynga received US$29 million in venture finance from several firms, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in July 2008, at which time they appointed former Electronic Arts Chief Creative Officer Bing Gordon to the board.〔("Zynga Completes $29 million Financing, Led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers" press release ) from Zynga's blog (July 23, 2008)〕 During the same period, they also bought ''YoVille'', a large virtual world social network game.〔 Zynga became the Facebook app developer with the most monthly active users in April 2009, with 40 million people playing their games that month. Soon after, the company opened its first external game studio in Baltimore, Zynga East, led by Brian Reynolds.〔(on Businesswire.com ) Legendary Game Designer Brian Reynolds Joins Zynga as Chief Designer〕 In June of the same year, Zynga acquired MyMiniLife which then built and launched ''FarmVille'' on Facebook and by August it was the first game on Facebook to reach 10 million daily active users. It had 20 million daily active users by October. On November 23, 2009, FarmVille.com went live as Zynga’s first stand-alone game. On May 7, 2010, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington reported that Zynga was threatening to leave Facebook altogether in the wake of the website's requiring exclusive use of Facebook Credits for monetization in applications. On May 18, 2010, Facebook and Zynga entered into a five-year relationship to expand the use of Facebook Credits in Zynga's games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Facebook and Zynga Enter Into Long-Term Relationship )〕 In December 2010, Zynga's game ''CityVille'' surpassed ''FarmVille'' as its most popular game〔("CityVille" Is Now Bigger than "FarmVille" ). Mashable.com (2010-12-24). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.〕 with over 61 million monthly active users and a base of over 16 million daily active users.〔(CityVille Dethrones FarmVille As Biggest Game on Facebook: What's Next For Zynga? ). SocialTimes.com (2010-12-24). Retrieved on July 9, 2011.〕 Zynga filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering on July 1, 2011. At the time, the company had 2,000 employees. Zynga began trading on NASDAQ on December 16, 2011. On June 26, 2012, during the annual Zynga Unleashed conference, Zynga announced the "Zynga With Friends" network, aiming to connect players of Zynga game titles across multiple platforms. Zynga also announced the Zynga API, intended to help developers build social games. The company announced that three new partners were developing games for Zynga.com including 50 Cubes, Majesco Entertainment and Portalarium and unveiled the Zynga Partners for Mobile program to help increase Zynga’s presence on mobile devices. On October 14, 2012, Zynga filed a lawsuit against a former general manager for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets. The suit claims the ex-employee copied important confidential information from his computer before leaving Zynga to work for a rival social games maker. On July 1, 2013, Zynga confirmed that it had hired Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment President Don Mattrick as its new CEO. Zynga's press release announced that former CEO, Mark Pincus, would continue as Zynga’s chairman and chief product officer.〔"In Major Hire, Zynga Confirms Xbox Head Don Mattrick as New CEO, Taking Over From Mark Pincus". All Things D. 2013-07-01.〕 According to Zynga's 8-K regulatory filing, Mattrick would receive about $50 million in cash and stock compensation over several years.〔"The $50 Million Man: Mattrick Gets Hefty Cash and Stock Package From Zynga, Including $19.3 Million in the First Year". All Things D. 2013-07-03〕 In 2013, Zynga began shutting down some of its games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Zynga's Downward Spiral Continues as it Shutters Four More Games )〕 On June 3, 2013, Zynga announced that the company would be laying off 520 employees — roughly 18 percent of its workforce — and close offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. By July 2013, Zynga has reportedly lost nearly half of its user base from the previous year. Consequently, investors decreased Zynga's valuation by 400 million. On July 25, 2013, Zynga reported during their Q2 earnings that they would not be pursuing real money game production in the US. Following this announcement, shares dropped 13%. The same month, the three top Zynga executives had left the company: John Osvald, a senior vice president of games, Jesse Janosov, a vice president who ran Zynga’s casino division, and Nathan Etter, a vice president of games, all resigned.〔(Zynga Is Said to Lose Three Top Executives After CEO Change (2) ). Businessweek. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.〕 In January 2014, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by 15%, bringing its total number of employees down by 314.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/30/zynga-lay-offs-acquisition/5061763/ )〕 In April 2014, as part of the company's regular quarterly earnings report, founder & former CEO Pincus announced he would be stepping down from day-to-day operations in his role as Chief Product Officer, retaining his position as Chairman of the Board. Daily Active Users fell from 53 million to 28 million year over year for the same period. The company also announced its new hire of Alex Garden, co-founder of Relic Entertainment and former Microsoft Game Studios executive. In July 2014, Zynga announced they had leased office space and were hiring software engineers and technical designers for a new outfit in Orlando. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zynga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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