Zynga says games have staying power
Zynga has updated its IPO filing with a breakdown of the sales contributions from its most popular games – FarmVille, FrontierVille, CityVille, Mafia Wars and Zynga Poker – as it faces questions on whether its games cannibalise one another and on how it will maintain its record of success.
The leading social gaming company also announced it would list on the Nasdaq rather than the New York Stock Exchange, with a ticker symbol of ZNGA, although the timing is still unknown.
VC gives Airbnb weekend break
In this fevered climate of big funding rounds and IPO plans for the hottest tech startups, allegations of founder greed have been flying around.
Airbnb’s founders, who recently suffered a PR disaster when thieves vandalised the apartment of a user of their holiday letting service, this weekend found themselves under fire from bloggers again – this time over their latest funding round.
Tech news from around the web:
Online games group PopCap could be getting ready to launch a series of casino-style games on Facebook according to GeekWire. New domain purchases, changes to a Facebook page and a recent trademark application for ‘Lucky GemCasino’ by PopCap have been cited by GeekWire as a shift to a casino offering.
Tech news from around the web:
Apple is expected to hold its next big media event on Tuesday October 4, where it will unveil the next iPhone model, according to AllThingsDigital. Meanwhile, Mashable reports that a remark made by Apple board member and former US Vice-President Al Gore at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in South Africa – “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.” – has sparked speculation of more than one iPhone5 model.
TechCrunch reports that a deleted tweet from Facebook creative director Ji Lee may point to a special feature in the social network’s long-anticipated music service. In a tweet that was deleted minutes after it was sent, Mr Lee wrote:
The “Listen with your friend” feature in ticker is blowing my mind. Listen to what your friends are listening. LIVE.
Zynga IPO odds lengthen as profits fall
Zynga reduced the odds of its IPO on Wednesday as it revealed worsening financial numbers and complained of market volatility.
The social gaming company is earning less but is still worth more, according to an amended IPO filing .
Tech news from around the web:
US prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether eBay employees took confidential information from classified ad website Craigslist as it sought to build a rival service, Reuters reports. The two companies have already been fighting in the civil courts over allegations that eBay took a stake in Craigslist and then misappropriated confidential information while it secretly planned its own classifieds site. An eBay spokeswoman told Reuters that the company would co-operate in any inquiry related to the disputes with Craigslist.
Tech news from around the web:
AOL has announced that Michael Arrington, founder and editor of the influential technology blog TechCrunch, has “decided to move on from TechCrunch and AOL to his newly formed venture fund”, Business Insider reports. Erick Schonfeld will take over as editor.
Startups battle to Disrupt
It’s a big week for tech startups as they compete for attention at the TechCrunch Disrupt and Fall Demo conferences in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
A “Startup Battlefield” has just begun at Disrupt with new companies given six minutes to pitch their services and applications. A look at the contenders from the first session, focussed on disrupting traditional markets, is after the jump.
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