There are 235 mn monthly users of Zynga games

What is the response that your offerings are receiving?



We commenced business in 2007 and from that day onwards, we have never

looked back. When we forayed into this business even we were amazed by the

response that we received for our offerings. Internationally, there are

approximately 235 mn monthly active users of Zynga games. FarmVille is one of

our very popular offerings. It was launched in Q2 09 and currently has 76 mn

monthly active users. Cafe World is our second popular game that was launched in

Q3 09 and currently has 30 mn monthly active users. One of our oldest

offerings, Zynga Poker that was launched in Q3 07 currently has 25 mn monthly

active users. Among the top ten games on Facebook, six games of Zynga find a

place. In India, 10% of the population is playing Zynga games.

Any remarkable facts about the gaming market that you would like to

highlight?



The gaming segment has undergone a whole 180 degree of transformation which

words fail to describe. In 2008, there were 300 mn gamers on the social network.

In 2010, the number of gamers in the western countries is expected to reach the

figure of 500 mn alone in the western countries. The market offers such

promising prospects that new entrants are expected to foray into the market to

capitalise on the prospects. In 2012, Yahoo, MSN, Google and Apple are expected

to enter this market. This itself highlights the importance the segment is

gaining. The attention that this segment is garnering is sure to translate into

good revenues in the future too. Even the investors are interested in huge deals

in the prospects that the Internet treasure holds for them.

What are the future plans of Zynga?



We plan to hire about 100 best-of-the-breed computer scientists and

engineers over the next one year. We also plan to set up one of our first and

largest centers outside the US in India. India is expected to become the third

largest online market in the next three years and we intend to capitalise on

these prospects. We intend to bring about 1.39 bn of Indias population under

our wings.

What is the future prospects that you foresee for this sector?



It is a great sector where leisure has been converted into mainstream

activity. Even 3-5% of our active users pay for extra turns which itself

highlights the seriousness of the social gaming market. Among the top twenty or

twenty-five applications on Facebook are games. Competition is expected to

increase with new players entering the market every month.

Shilpa Shanbhag



shilpas@cybermedia.co.in