Zynga Needs Another Hit

With the news that Zynga is laying off staff and closing offices, it speaks directly to the fickleness and changing interests of consumers.  Where once its games were the hot properties, from Farmville to Words With Friends, today it is Candy Crush Saga and Dots.  And tomorrow it will be something else.  The challenge for Zynga and every other company with a hot product or service is sustainability.  To be a one hit wonder is nice but it tends to rise too flash and drop just as sharply.  Companies that build a steady presence and look ahead at a pipeline of new ventures are the ones to stay relevant in the long run.

Zynga can survive if it can once again capture the hearts and minds of users with a next new game; otherwise, players will only continue to tire of the current games and seek out new challenges elsewhere.  It is happening to Zynga but it happens to every other company that seeks to stay competitive.  NBC for example saw its Must See TV on Thursday evaporate as show ratings declined and audiences didn't embrace the next series.  They fell from first to fourth place on Thursday nights.  Unlike Zynga, they have the advantage of other nights and other shows to keep surviving. Atari was once the king of TV gaming, but new products and new games changed the landscape.  And even Apple feels the pressure to keep innovating or to see product share decline. 

And so Zynga needs to cut costs while increasing its spend on new ideas.  Zynga needs another hit.  And for today's hot games; don't worry Zynga, they too will feel the same pressure you are feeling as the next new game hits the market.