Zynga has had a stunning fall from grace since its meteoric rise on the back of Facebook gaming. Now CEO Mark Pincus is reportedly so distressed by the company\u2019s worsening situation that he was \u201cclose to tears\u201d at a recent meeting.<\/p>\n
The meeting was set up by company investors, with an objective to make Pincus a better business leader and help turn the flagging company around. The meeting was attended by Apple director Bill Campbell, who has mentored a number of influential members of the industry including Steve Jobs and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.<\/p>\n
Campbell, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said Pincus is \u201cdiscouraged\u201d over the state of his company and was brought close to tears in the discussions.<\/p>\n
Zynga has been bleeding key executives recently, with COO John Schappert resigning in August, closely followed by CFO David Wehner who left to join Facebook.<\/p>\n
The company has had a horrible year; it was forced to close down its Boston studio, laying off hundred of staff, had publishing giant Electronic Arts file a major lawsuit against them, posted a quarterly loss of $52 million just a day after the Boston closure, and as if that wasn\u2019t enough hacker group Anonymous threatened to disclose confidential information about the company if they didn\u2019t cancel their proposed layoffs.<\/p>\n
In a separate Wall Street Journal interview, Pincus attributed the company\u2019s problems to a \u201crapid change in player habits.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Social technologies have dictated fundamental changes at Zynga. And when businesses change, it’s inevitable that some people will choose to leave,” he added.<\/p>\n
Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n Zynga discusses perceived lack of innovation in their games<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Zynga files a counter-suit against EA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Anonymous threatens Zynga with stupidest claims ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n EA: Tablet adoption to climb like never before<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Zynga sheds masses of employes, shuts studio<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Zynga settles PyramidVille name dispute<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n