Two social gaming powerhouses joined forces today, as Facebook game developer Zynga bought out Newtoy, the developer of the popular Words With Friends iPhone app. We polled our Twitter-base to see what the teams can learn from each other.
After the major news broke this morning that Zynga had purchased Newtoy, we posted the following question on Twitter:
Zynga has bought Words With Friends developer Newtoy. What can the two companies learn from each other? Best answers posted, one wins swag.less than a minute ago via TweetDeck
GamePro
A majority of the responses seemed to believe that the two companies will attempt a fair bit of cross-branding with their respective popular IPs. Given the fact that Newtoy is now being dubbed "Zynga With Friends," it's very conceivable that the following prophecies could come to pass.
@GamePro Instead of spending hours a day harvesting virtual crops, now moms everywhere will spend hours a day playing Words.less than a minute ago via TweetDeck
A_Haar
@GamePro With this partnership, one could expect Zynga to share their "playbook" of "secret sauce" with Newtoy.less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone
Desolation33
@GamePro Wordville Wars?less than a minute ago via Digsby
hawk16zz
A few other respondents pointed out Zynga's less-than-stellar public image, which they believe could adversely effect Newtoy's reputation. Here are a few replies that don't think highly of this collaboration:
@GamePro Absolutely nothing. Zynga only take other people's ideas and re-skin them anyway, they've admitted that's their only strategy.less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone
jayc4life
@GamePro nothing. They already own the world. You can't go higher than the top.less than a minute ago via Twitterrific
AlmightyTooth
Our choice for the top tweet of the day goes to shawn_i, who provided the most concise description of what the two companies have to offer for each other. Congrats, Shawn--please send a direct message to GamePro on Twitter before the publication of tomorrow's "Tell us how you really feel" article to claim your swag. Here's Shawn's prediction:
@GamePro Newtoy will learn how to make a Facebook version of Words. Zynga will learn to make games that also appeal to hardcore gamers.less than a minute ago via Echofon
shawn_i
In the world of social and iPhone gaming, changes can happen very quickly. While it will be months (possibly even years) before we see the fruits of the Activision-Bungie partnership, we may start to see the effects of this teaming in short order. Given Newtoy... er, Zynga With Friends' hardcore pedigree, the team has the potential to really improve Zynga's public image while making plenty of money in the process.
What do you think of the responses above? Is there any suggestion you'd add? Please continue the conversation by commenting below or by replying to GamePro on Twitter.
Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Friday, December 3, 2010