Zynga went public today as you might have heard, raising one billion dollars in its public offering. There are mixed reviews on how trading is playing out for Zynga at this point. Regardless, the company is basically printing money at this point and may have a certain number of users to thank for it.
In this fascinating (and somewhat scary) interview with Bloomberg, the developer of Mafia Wars, Roger Dickey, reveals that some users have spent thousands of dollars playing and upgrading their way through Zynga’s games.
Dickey says:
You have some players that spend thousands, even north of $10,000 a month on the game. I’m not sure where those people get that money.
During a Black Friday sale for Mafia Wars in 2009, some users spent $50,000 in one day. A piece:
People were wiring money to Zynga. Not even spending it through PayPal because they were going over the spending limits that PayPal even allowed.
Watch the full interview below:
Some sources have told us that Zynga doesn’t release a game that costs less than $75,000 to beat if you were to pay your way through it. While most Zynga players opt to play for free by pestering their Facebook friends for interactions that allow them to water things, having some players who spend thousands on these games certainly doesn’t hurt the company.
Maybe some of those users should buy stock in Zynga, since they can now.


















this is the company that makes money on how much time we waste at work in the office, so our wasted time is worth 10 billion $? that's not a good sign for the economy, I doubt that in crisis these kind of startups will survive http://baretech.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/dear-mr-poland-yes-it-will-end-badly/
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LikeJunk journalism at it's "finest". How many are spending at these insane levels? "some". Anyway having no life is generally a thrifty mode of existence. I'd rather spend the money to fly business class someplace nice, sunny and warm. A real place, not some f'd up virtual doof-land.
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LikeConversation from Twitter
doransky greg76 mélyül a válság ;)
rickmans they are paying off Zynga for "protection" ;)
CollinKromke That is straight profit...
rickyleepotts It's great for Zynga. It's sad that people spend that much time and money on a game.
CollinKromke I complain about paying $59.99 for a new game!
srcasm Just because you can exploit people doesn't mean you should. :(
FotoVerite hey, I don't think it's right but they have made quite a business there.
srcasm never said you agreed with it. It just makes me sad that people are complicit in this.
srcasm My jaw just literally dropped.
MattHaze well pick it back up! Then continue to watch. :)
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Where does one find the time AND money to do something like that? Insane.
They must me celebrities because 99.8% of humanity don't have US$10,000 per month to spent.
£2.79
0 euros! These guys are not going to be rich with people like me...
I used to spend over $200 a month on Faunasphere...now I play Fiesta...
wow
They are are kids at the age of 60
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i think USD 5
That's just crazy
0.