UPDATED 08:11 EDT / DECEMBER 06 2011

Social Games on a Winning Streak: Zynga Faces Global Competition

My Facebook notifications typically comprise of 80% requests for tools, energy, armor, help and farm money. This is how social gaming has transformed my social network into a highly competitive interacting brood. And the fact mobility has become an integral influence as well, social gaming is a good avenue to bet your money in the next year or so. A few developments in the past week indicate a strong market for social gaming moving forward, with Zynga’s IPO setting the tone for an emerging industry.

Another recent testament to social gaming’s looming potential is the Series A round of funding for a neophyte game publisher, Rumble. The company secured an estimated sum of $15 million, with Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures leading the pack of investors.

Rumble CEO Greg Richardson could not hide his excitement about being backed by two prominent organizations, saying,

“Every early stage company with big ambitions needs great investors and we feel blessed to have added two world class organizations to the Rumble family. We have a shared belief that the future of games is in creating experiences as engaging and entertaining as the most beloved console franchises, delivered to fit the digital lifestyle of today’s consumers.”

On the other hand, Google Ventures’ representatives expressed confidence in their decision saying, “The gaming industry is undergoing a massive online transition and Rumble has a strong vision and team to deliver a unique blend of instantly accessible, high quality games that can be played anywhere. We’re looking forward to helping them grow the business.”

When we mention of online social games, we can’t leave out the creators of Farmville, Cityville, Castleville and Mafia Wars—Zynga. One of the hottest social media conglomerate, Zynga has been fuelling their engines to go public and assume a ballpark worth of $9 billion. The question is: are they really worth that much? The people behind Zynga’s IPO dreams has commenced marketing the company by carrying a “disruptive” business model that capitalizes on real-time human behavior that includes impulsive virtual buying to generate higher profits. While it may seem a dominating cluster of today’s market, Zynga is also in the middle of a labor battle that accuses them of mistreating employees.

A startup mobile social gaming that originated in Japan, Gumi has also snatched a whopping $26 million funding via Series F. At this point, any contention on social gaming’s as a revenue-generating body is already blurred. In fact, a recent study revealed that it has attracting a bigger crowd and social gaming is epidemic.  Japan is a particularly lucrative market, and even Zynga faces rivals in this region.  Nexon is on track to be one of the biggest IPOs for 2012, as the social gaming company seeks $1.2 billion in fresh funds.


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