5/1/2009

in

They thank you for your contribution!

Yong Lee

When Mark Pincus, Michael Luxton, Eric Shiermeyer, Justin Waldron, Andrew Trader, and Steve Schoettler started the video game development company, Zynga, in 2007, it's doubtful that any expected this type of success in such a brief amount of time. Zynga's games are featured on the popular social networking sites Facebook and MySpace. The company expects to earn $100 million in sales this year . . . proof that all those game credits add up.  
  
According to[Silicon Alley Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-games-maker-zynga-to-make-100-million-this-year-2009-5), most of that money comes from "the 2% to 10% of users who pay $1 an hour to play premium games or buy virtual goods." Their games, which include "Dope Wars," "Texas Hold 'Em," and "Gang Wars," have an estimated 71 million registered users, with 46 million monthly active users.  
  
*BusinessWeek*[reported](http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2009/tc20090429_963394_page_2.htm) that in April, Zynga passed widget maker RockYou to become Facebook's most popular application maker. Their customers make up one-fifth of Facebook's 200 million users.  
  
The San Francisco-based startup company has shaken off the disdain from "real" video game developers, reveling in the success of their simple but addictive games. Said Pincus, "A lot of people come to the game industry who aren't typical developers and they can unleash their creativity on these massive platforms without the constraints of cost and time to market."