UPDATED 16:29 EDT / AUGUST 17 2010

Zynga Powers Up with Localized China Launch, Conduit Labs Acquisition

Zynga powers ahead, expanding its social gaming front on a global scale. Today alone brought announcements of the social game developer’s acquisition of Boston-based Conduit Labs, as well as the launch of its first localized version of popular title Zynga Poker in China. The acquisition and extended portal launch further establishes Zynga in its social gaming initiative, marking its sights for worldwide domination.

Receiving a large amount of funding from investors that include Google and Japan’s Softbank, Zynga has been quick to continue the establishment of its empire. In Asian markets in particular, Zynga has been anxious to take advantage of the already flush gamer audience, where virtual markets have been popular for some time.

The inclusion of Boston’s Conduit Labs set another outpost for Zynga, bringing up a growing list of offices that litter the globe from Japan to Beijing to the Valley. Zynga’s quickening pace also brings attention to the growing market overall, as several developers, investors and social networks race to claim their niche piece of the virtualization pie.

From a platform perspective, Zynga has done well to leverage social networking platforms, from Facebook to My Yahoo!, though Zynga seems to be testing grounds for this specific type of expansion, having pulled back from certain platforms like MSN and Tagged.

The mobile front is particularly alluring, especially in Asia where mobile devices are already widely used for social and casual mobile gaming. In this regard, Zynga appears to be staying ahead of the curve, building up its own platform potential, which could bode well for both advertising and direct sales of virtual goods. Facebook is also looking towards rapid expansion in this arena, fleshing out its social network’s platform for social and casual gaming, targeted and localized advertising, and as a virtual goods market.


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