Zynga founder Mark Pincus has responded to suggestions that he is fed up with the gaming industry by claiming he has been misquoted and taken out of context.
Pincus specifically took issue with an article from Yahoo editor Ben Silverman — which followed on from a Wall Street Journal report — in which it is stated that he is “not very interested in games these days”:
Pincus confessed his gaming malaise on Tuesday night during a visit to Israel. In a Q&A session following a meeting with local tech entrepreneurs in Tel Aviv, he was asked to name his favorite game.
“Right now, I’m pretty bored with all games,’’ he reportedly told the gathering.
As a half-hearted explanation, Pincus added that he simply longed for the days when he was crushingly addicted to games like — what else? — Farmville.
“I want that addiction again,” he said.
Based on Zynga’s ailing stock price, that’s not a shocker.
Pincus himself says he meant that he is bored with the current crop of games, and not anything more:
Ben silverman shows the power of omission in mis quoting me. I said i was bored with the *current* crop of games http://t.co/KEYMonGVq5 — mark pincus (@markpinc) October 4, 2013
That’s a big difference. The reports prompted some to speculate that Pincus — who gave up a large amount of influence following the arrival of Mattrick — might be on his way out of Zynga given his apparent disinterest in the industry.
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Instead, it seems the opposite is true. On the basis of his tweet, Pincus seems more focused than ever on finding a recipe to come up with games that will bring Zynga back to its past glory. Of course, that is no easy task.
Image via The Crunchies! / Flickr
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