Will the big show still go on? That's what many wonder, as Zynga just revealed in an updated regulatory filing that its profits dipped by 90 percent in the June quarter, thanks to increased spending and a lack of major game releases earlier this year, Reuters reports. According to the news service, this raises questions as to whether the company can sustain growth ahead of its long-awaited IPO (initial public offering).
Zynga's net income took a nose dive to $1.4 million from $14 million a year earlier, and its net profit plummeted over 90 percent in three months from $16.8 million in March of this year. Reuters chalks this up to the fact that the filing shows that the FarmVille maker's expenses rose $149 million compared to a year earlier, and $59 million alone from the previous financial quarter.
We'd imagine a major chunk of those expenses are thanks to the 14 companies Zynga gobbled up in the past year. It's also worth noting that the developer didn't really release any major Facebook games in 2011 prior to Empires & Allies. (And no, we're not counting FarmVille English Countryside.) Since then, however, the company has been on a frenzy, launching three more Facebook games this summer: Words With Friends, Pioneer Trail and recently Adventure World.
This news speaks volumes to the fact that Zynga has reached a point where it constantly needs to produce in order to sustain its meteoric growth, and more importantly for them right now, the faith of investors. Since the company's last filing, Zynga conducted a third-party analysis that estimated the probability of an IPO at 75 percent. This is down from the 80 percent probability reported in Zynga's previous filing.
In other words, it looks like the anticipated Zynga IPO could be delayed, just as previous reports suggested, to wait for improved market conditions. However, EA is gaining on the company with The Sims Social, and fast. According to AppData, EA and Playfish's game has just about 1.6 million fewer daily players than CityVille's 12.9 million.
Do you think Zynga has anything to worry about, given the news? Would you ever invest in Zynga if given the chance?
Monday, December 12, 2011
FarmVille Dairy Mystery Box brings re-released Cows to pasture
Even if you're dissatisfied with the release of the Cow Pasture animal habitat in FarmVille, that has, more or less, replaced the Dairy Farm on our farms, you still might be interested in adding some previously released cows to your collection for the sake of Animal Mastery. You're now allowed to do just that with the release of the Dairy Mystery Box in the game's store. This box contains six different cows, but remember - the cow you receive upon opening each box is random, and very well could give you duplicates if you purchase more than one.
For 20 Farm Cash, you'll be able to purchase a single Dairy Mystery Box containing one of the following:
Black Yak
Jersey Cow
New Year Cow
Panda Cow
Vineyard Cow
Welsh Black Cow
While it's great to see these cows make a comeback, they won't be here forever; you'll have just a week to purchase as many of these boxes as you like before these cows go back into retirement. Then again, it's always possible these cows will release yet again sometime in the future, so you'll just have to decide for yourself how important it is to have each one right now. Good luck with receiving the cow(s) you want most!
Which of these cows do you hope to win from the Dairy Mystery Box? Do you already have enough of these cows that it would make purchasing one of these boxes too big of a risk?
For 20 Farm Cash, you'll be able to purchase a single Dairy Mystery Box containing one of the following:
Black Yak
Jersey Cow
New Year Cow
Panda Cow
Vineyard Cow
Welsh Black Cow
While it's great to see these cows make a comeback, they won't be here forever; you'll have just a week to purchase as many of these boxes as you like before these cows go back into retirement. Then again, it's always possible these cows will release yet again sometime in the future, so you'll just have to decide for yourself how important it is to have each one right now. Good luck with receiving the cow(s) you want most!
Which of these cows do you hope to win from the Dairy Mystery Box? Do you already have enough of these cows that it would make purchasing one of these boxes too big of a risk?
FarmVille: 2x Mastery Statue comes back for 12 days only
While many users voiced their concerns upon the initial release of the 2x Mastery Statue in FarmVille (that Zynga had created the ultimate money-grabber), that didn't stop many other farmers from purchasing one for their farms. Apparently, the initial release was so successful that they've decided to bring the statue back around for another go. That's right, the 2x Mastery Statue is once again available to purchase in the store, but only for a limited time (12 days, to be exact).
As a reminder, this 2x Mastery Statue gives you double the amount of mastery points on all crops and trees harvested during a two-day period. A single statue costs 25 Farm Cash, and if you're already the owner of a Platinum Mastery Statue (which has the same effect, but permanently), you'll want to skip out on buying these re-released statues as the status effect doesn't stack.
Also, let me once again point out that this double mastery boost doesn't apply to animals, so if you've really taken to Animal Mastery, there's no reason to waste your Farm Cash on these statues either. Perhaps one day we'll see a double mastery statue released just for animals, but that still doesn't solve the conundrum of whether or not these items should exist to begin with. With enough hard work and some patience, you'll be able to earn dozens, if not hundreds of mastery signs for your farm. Do we really need to pay Farm Cash to speed up the process? We'll leave that up to you, farmers.
Will you purchase a 2x Mastery Statue? Did you purchase one of these statues upon their initial release, or did you splurge on the Platinum Mastery Statue instead?
As a reminder, this 2x Mastery Statue gives you double the amount of mastery points on all crops and trees harvested during a two-day period. A single statue costs 25 Farm Cash, and if you're already the owner of a Platinum Mastery Statue (which has the same effect, but permanently), you'll want to skip out on buying these re-released statues as the status effect doesn't stack.
Also, let me once again point out that this double mastery boost doesn't apply to animals, so if you've really taken to Animal Mastery, there's no reason to waste your Farm Cash on these statues either. Perhaps one day we'll see a double mastery statue released just for animals, but that still doesn't solve the conundrum of whether or not these items should exist to begin with. With enough hard work and some patience, you'll be able to earn dozens, if not hundreds of mastery signs for your farm. Do we really need to pay Farm Cash to speed up the process? We'll leave that up to you, farmers.
Will you purchase a 2x Mastery Statue? Did you purchase one of these statues upon their initial release, or did you splurge on the Platinum Mastery Statue instead?
Cafe World 2 Year Anniversary Manny's Journey Goals: Everything you need to know
After spending a few days in Great Britain, the Cafe World two-year anniversary extravaganza has moved onto the Philippines, where we'll meet Master Chef Manny in a new set of goals called "Manny's Journey." Through these goals, we'll be introduced to four new dishes, but of course, they won't simply be handed to you. You'll need to finish the Manny's Journey goals multiple times in order to unlock all of the prizes, which include a 50% Lightning Stove (that would reduce the time it takes your dishes to cook by 50%). Here's a complete guide to these new goals.
As a note, we weren't told by Zynga whether or not these goals contain the same dishes for all users across the entire game, or if they vary as in past goal sets. If you notice any differences in your own game, this will likely be the cause.
Manny's Journey 1
Ask for 3 Old Filipino Recipe Cards
Place the Roasting Pit
Serve 20 Fish n Chips
You'll start this goal series out serving Fish n Chips which takes two hours to prepare. You can wait for those to cook while asking your friends to send you the Old Filipino Recipe Cards, and can finish off this goal by placing the base to your new Roasting Pit. Yes, there's a building project to go along with these goals, and we'll bring you a guide to building the Roasting Pit as soon as we can you can check out our guide to building the Roasting Pit right here. Finishing this first goal gives you 15 Travel Passes. As a reminder, these Travel Passes work as contest entries of sorts, giving you a chance to win in-game prizes, along with real world trips to exotic locations.
Manny's Journey 2
Ask for 6 Filipino Postcards
Spice 6 Neighbors Dishes
Serve 20 Gnocchi Gianna
The Gnocchi Gianna takes six hours to prepare, and is unlocked while completing the Pasta Maker goals. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 20 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 3
Ask for 10 New Filipino Recipe Cards
Collect 4 Anniversary Collection items
Serve 30 Broiled Rainbow Trout
Anniversary Collection items are earned by using spices on your dishes, while Broiled Rainbow Trout takes 12 hours to cook (at the very least, this gives you plenty of time to collect spices if you don't earn the four Anniversary Collection items after running through your supply). Finish this goal to receive 25 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 4
Ask for 8 Filipino Postcards
Serve 12 Cafe Bombon
Serve 30 Osso Bucco
Osso Bucco takes 18 hours to prepare, giving you plenty of time to collect these Postcards from friends. As for the Cafe Bombon, this is a Specialty Coffee Drink that can only be served after you've hired Becky the Barista to work in your cafe. It costs 55 Energy for 10 Servings, so you'll need to prepare it twice in order to reach the total required number of 12 servings. You've almost reached the finale at this point, and finishing this particular goal gives you 30 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 5
Ask for 12 Dirty Filipino Recipe Cards
Serve 18 Acai Blueberry Juice
Complete the Roasting Pit
Once again, the Acai Blueberry Juice must be served from a machine - this time the Drink Bar. It's not available until after you've hired Beverly Bartender. Once you finish this goal, you'll have finished off Manny's Journey, and will receive 500 Travel Passes. You'll also receive one of four new dishes, from a selection of Beef Mechado, Filipino Paella, Lechon and Sisig.
To be especially clear, completing this goal series the first time only gives you a single recipe, and it looks like you'll need to complete the entirety of these goals another three times to unlock the remaining three recipes. These goals (along with your chance to repeat the British goals) will expire in 10 days, so you'll want to make sure and complete as many goals as quickly as possible to stand the biggest chance of unlocking everything in time.
What do you think of these Manny's Journey goals? Do you think they're easier, or more difficult than Winston's Royals goals?
As a note, we weren't told by Zynga whether or not these goals contain the same dishes for all users across the entire game, or if they vary as in past goal sets. If you notice any differences in your own game, this will likely be the cause.
Manny's Journey 1
Ask for 3 Old Filipino Recipe Cards
Place the Roasting Pit
Serve 20 Fish n Chips
You'll start this goal series out serving Fish n Chips which takes two hours to prepare. You can wait for those to cook while asking your friends to send you the Old Filipino Recipe Cards, and can finish off this goal by placing the base to your new Roasting Pit. Yes, there's a building project to go along with these goals, and we'll bring you a guide to building the Roasting Pit as soon as we can you can check out our guide to building the Roasting Pit right here. Finishing this first goal gives you 15 Travel Passes. As a reminder, these Travel Passes work as contest entries of sorts, giving you a chance to win in-game prizes, along with real world trips to exotic locations.
Manny's Journey 2
Ask for 6 Filipino Postcards
Spice 6 Neighbors Dishes
Serve 20 Gnocchi Gianna
The Gnocchi Gianna takes six hours to prepare, and is unlocked while completing the Pasta Maker goals. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 20 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 3
Ask for 10 New Filipino Recipe Cards
Collect 4 Anniversary Collection items
Serve 30 Broiled Rainbow Trout
Anniversary Collection items are earned by using spices on your dishes, while Broiled Rainbow Trout takes 12 hours to cook (at the very least, this gives you plenty of time to collect spices if you don't earn the four Anniversary Collection items after running through your supply). Finish this goal to receive 25 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 4
Ask for 8 Filipino Postcards
Serve 12 Cafe Bombon
Serve 30 Osso Bucco
Osso Bucco takes 18 hours to prepare, giving you plenty of time to collect these Postcards from friends. As for the Cafe Bombon, this is a Specialty Coffee Drink that can only be served after you've hired Becky the Barista to work in your cafe. It costs 55 Energy for 10 Servings, so you'll need to prepare it twice in order to reach the total required number of 12 servings. You've almost reached the finale at this point, and finishing this particular goal gives you 30 Travel Passes.
Manny's Journey 5
Ask for 12 Dirty Filipino Recipe Cards
Serve 18 Acai Blueberry Juice
Complete the Roasting Pit
Once again, the Acai Blueberry Juice must be served from a machine - this time the Drink Bar. It's not available until after you've hired Beverly Bartender. Once you finish this goal, you'll have finished off Manny's Journey, and will receive 500 Travel Passes. You'll also receive one of four new dishes, from a selection of Beef Mechado, Filipino Paella, Lechon and Sisig.
To be especially clear, completing this goal series the first time only gives you a single recipe, and it looks like you'll need to complete the entirety of these goals another three times to unlock the remaining three recipes. These goals (along with your chance to repeat the British goals) will expire in 10 days, so you'll want to make sure and complete as many goals as quickly as possible to stand the biggest chance of unlocking everything in time.
What do you think of these Manny's Journey goals? Do you think they're easier, or more difficult than Winston's Royals goals?
Cafe World Roasting Pit: Everything you need to know
On top of being required to complete five new goals in Cafe World's Manny's Journey set, the game's two-year anniversary event has received another building project as well. This "buildable" is the Roasting Pit, the base of which will be given to you for free when you start these Manny's Journeys goals. While you may think you can simply place the base and then forget about it, if you're interested in completing these goals, and subsequently unlocking any of the four recipes associated with them, you'll be required to complete its construction.
Once you place the Roasting Pit, you'll be able to begin the process of asking your friends for building materials. You'll need to collect eight Bags of Coal, 10 Steel Plates, six Roasting Sticks and six Roasting Pit Stones. The Bags of Coal are the only items you'll be able to ask for via a general post to your news feed / wall, while the other three items are earned via individual gift requests sent to those friends that you think would be the most likely to help you.
Once you finish this Roasting Pit, you'll not only have a new "decorative" machine in your cafe, but you'll also be able to earn a single bonus mastery point for each Filipino dish you serve while the Roasting Pit is displayed and therefore "active" in your cafe. That is, instead of earning a single point for each Filipino dish, this Roasting Pit will cause you to earn two points with every serving, well, served. Also, even if you don't manage to unlock all four recipes in the Manny's Journey goal set, this Roasting Pit will still have a purpose, as a single, pre-existing dish falls under the Filipino heading: Chicken Adobo.
Again, this machine must be built in order to complete the Manny's Journey goal set in Cafe World, so check out our guide to doing just that to have the best shot of earning some new dishes - and fast!
What do you think of the Roasting Pit? Do you like items like this that allow you to earn bonus dish mastery points?
Once you place the Roasting Pit, you'll be able to begin the process of asking your friends for building materials. You'll need to collect eight Bags of Coal, 10 Steel Plates, six Roasting Sticks and six Roasting Pit Stones. The Bags of Coal are the only items you'll be able to ask for via a general post to your news feed / wall, while the other three items are earned via individual gift requests sent to those friends that you think would be the most likely to help you.
Once you finish this Roasting Pit, you'll not only have a new "decorative" machine in your cafe, but you'll also be able to earn a single bonus mastery point for each Filipino dish you serve while the Roasting Pit is displayed and therefore "active" in your cafe. That is, instead of earning a single point for each Filipino dish, this Roasting Pit will cause you to earn two points with every serving, well, served. Also, even if you don't manage to unlock all four recipes in the Manny's Journey goal set, this Roasting Pit will still have a purpose, as a single, pre-existing dish falls under the Filipino heading: Chicken Adobo.
Again, this machine must be built in order to complete the Manny's Journey goal set in Cafe World, so check out our guide to doing just that to have the best shot of earning some new dishes - and fast!
What do you think of the Roasting Pit? Do you like items like this that allow you to earn bonus dish mastery points?
CityVille Executive Driving Range Attraction: Everything you need to know
It seems that just as quickly as we can finish the construction on an Attraction in CityVille, another one is released. Such is the case this week, as the Ferris Wheel has been followed up by the Executive Driving Range, or a golf range, if you prefer.
The base of the Executive Driving Range costs 10,000 coins, and it must be whacked eight times before the base is complete. From there, you'll need to collect various building materials, as you might have expected:
5 City Seals
5 Golf Balls
5 Buckets
5 Netting
5 Targets
If you're lucky, you'll already have the City Seals in your account waiting for you, and can then concentrate on gathering the other four items instead. Golf Balls and Buckets can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall, while Netting and Targets are earned via individual gift requests sent to friends.
Once the Executive Driving Range is complete, you can put it into operation for five minutes at a time. Once the five minutes has passed, you'll collect your profits just as you would any other business (your income ranges from 1,400 to 6,000 coins each cycle), but you can't restock it with Goods. Instead, you'll need to wait for a countdown timer to hit zero before you can restart it. You can collect Wrenches from your friends to speed up this timer, but remember - you can only post a single request for Wrenches, which are shared among all of the four available Attractions, so you won't be able to stock up as greatly as you might like.
Of course, building the Executive Driving Range is entirely voluntary, but if you like features such as this, why not give it a swing? Note: you must be at least level 25 to access the Executive Driving Range.
Will you build the Executive Driving Range in your town, or are three attractions enough?
The base of the Executive Driving Range costs 10,000 coins, and it must be whacked eight times before the base is complete. From there, you'll need to collect various building materials, as you might have expected:
5 City Seals
5 Golf Balls
5 Buckets
5 Netting
5 Targets
If you're lucky, you'll already have the City Seals in your account waiting for you, and can then concentrate on gathering the other four items instead. Golf Balls and Buckets can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall, while Netting and Targets are earned via individual gift requests sent to friends.
Once the Executive Driving Range is complete, you can put it into operation for five minutes at a time. Once the five minutes has passed, you'll collect your profits just as you would any other business (your income ranges from 1,400 to 6,000 coins each cycle), but you can't restock it with Goods. Instead, you'll need to wait for a countdown timer to hit zero before you can restart it. You can collect Wrenches from your friends to speed up this timer, but remember - you can only post a single request for Wrenches, which are shared among all of the four available Attractions, so you won't be able to stock up as greatly as you might like.
Of course, building the Executive Driving Range is entirely voluntary, but if you like features such as this, why not give it a swing? Note: you must be at least level 25 to access the Executive Driving Range.
Will you build the Executive Driving Range in your town, or are three attractions enough?
CityVille Reel World Timed Goal: Everything you need to know
A new timed goal has launched in CityVille this week, taking us back to the great outdoors for some fishing. If you're level 35 or above, you'll have access to this goal, which can be started at any point in your game - it's up to you when exactly you'll begin. Using our guide to the goal, you should be able to prepare yourself as much as possible before actually starting the goal, and that way you'll have a better chance of earning the gold trophy and the prizes that come with it.
The Reel World
Get 10 Fishing Lures
Harvest 30 Pumpkins
Collect 8 Times from a Seafood Restaurant
A Seafood Restaurant costs just 7,500 coins to purchase from the store, and if you're a veteran player in the game, it's highly unlikely that you don't already have at least one sitting in your town. It requires 140 Goods to operate, so your best bet to completing this particular task quickly would be to make it the only business that currently has Goods, so all citizens will flock to it, causing it to sell out much faster than normal. Pumpkins, meanwhile, take 18 hours to harvest, so unless you follow our suggestion of having pumpkins already to harvest before starting this goal, that's some serious time you'll spend (waste), waiting for them to grow.
If you can complete these three tasks within the first 24 hours of starting the goal, you'll receive the Gold Trophy, a Sailboat, 2,300 coins and 1,200 Goods. Unfortunately, you must complete this goal at this top level to receive the Sailboat. If you don't finish within the first day, but can complete the goal before the 72-hour mark has passed, you'll receive the Silver Trophy, 2,600 coins and 1,200 Goods, while finishing at any point after that cutoff gives you the Bronze Trophy and 1,200 Goods.
Luckily, it seems that these timed goals are becoming a bit easier with each one that's released. So long as you plan ahead with the pumpkin task, you should have no real trouble finishing this one off in 24 hours, but we still wish you good luck in your attempt!
What do you think of this latest timed goal? Have you received the Gold Trophy on any timed goals in the past?
The Reel World
Get 10 Fishing Lures
Harvest 30 Pumpkins
Collect 8 Times from a Seafood Restaurant
A Seafood Restaurant costs just 7,500 coins to purchase from the store, and if you're a veteran player in the game, it's highly unlikely that you don't already have at least one sitting in your town. It requires 140 Goods to operate, so your best bet to completing this particular task quickly would be to make it the only business that currently has Goods, so all citizens will flock to it, causing it to sell out much faster than normal. Pumpkins, meanwhile, take 18 hours to harvest, so unless you follow our suggestion of having pumpkins already to harvest before starting this goal, that's some serious time you'll spend (waste), waiting for them to grow.
If you can complete these three tasks within the first 24 hours of starting the goal, you'll receive the Gold Trophy, a Sailboat, 2,300 coins and 1,200 Goods. Unfortunately, you must complete this goal at this top level to receive the Sailboat. If you don't finish within the first day, but can complete the goal before the 72-hour mark has passed, you'll receive the Silver Trophy, 2,600 coins and 1,200 Goods, while finishing at any point after that cutoff gives you the Bronze Trophy and 1,200 Goods.
Luckily, it seems that these timed goals are becoming a bit easier with each one that's released. So long as you plan ahead with the pumpkin task, you should have no real trouble finishing this one off in 24 hours, but we still wish you good luck in your attempt!
What do you think of this latest timed goal? Have you received the Gold Trophy on any timed goals in the past?
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