Zynga’s Pincus fights back against copycat accusations
Mark Pincus, the CEO of Zynga, isn’t pleased with reports that Zynga is ripping off games from small developers so he is doing something about it–wielding his pen to write passionate manifestos to employees invoking Silicon Valley greats like Apple.
After a game developer accused Zynga of copying a game called “Tiny Tower”, Pincus sent a 60-line memo to employees to make sure his flock knows Zynga has done nothing wrong, (the memo was leaked to the blog VentureBeat and later obtained by Reuters).
“Google didn’t create the first search engine. Apple didn’t create the first mp3 player or tablet. And, Facebook didn’t create the first social network. But these companies have evolved products and categories in revolutionary ways.”
And just like tech heavyweights did not reinvent the wheel, neither does Zynga need to with its simple but addicting games.
“We don’t need to be first to market. We need to be the best in market … Zynga Poker, FarmVille, CityVille and Words with Friends, none of these games were the first to market in their category but we made them the most fun and social,” he said.
Pincus also shows reverence to video game history involving games where players build towers-”it’s important to note that this category has existed since 1994 with games like Sim Tower.”
His arguments are perfectly valid. It is just amusing that he is getting so worked up about claims his company is stealing ideas from a game called ”Tiny Tower,” and then later defending the authenticity of Zynga’s new Bingo game to VentureBeat.
Is Siemens coming after Zynga?
Zynga better brace for its newest rival, the German manufacturing behemoth Siemens, which is reinventing itself as a social gaming startup with its first title out today, “Plantville.”
While Zynga makes money by selling virtual items in their games, say tractors, Siemens won’t charge for any items and just wants to muster up interest in “math, science and technology while inspiring the next generation of plant managers.” Siemens, keep in mind, has the edge of having sold tractors in real life.
And just because Plantville is an educational game, which could scare away users, it doesn’t mean Zynga shouldn’t be shaking in its boots.
The game, which launched this morning, has already spread to 27 countries and has more than 1,000 players, says Tom Varney, head of marketing communications for Siemens Industry.
Zynga might think it’s big, with 1500 employees and a $9 billion valuation, but it’s dwarfed by Siemens, which has a whopping 420,000 employees (who are allowed to play the game at work) and pulled in $75 billion in sales last year. While Zynga is known for acquiring competitors, this might just be one company that’s too rich for it.
Worse yet, there may be no relief in sight since Siemens has no plans of backing down any time soon with its social gaming experiment, Plantville.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” Varney says.
