Why settle for failure when you have the potential to make a colossal failure of it? Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) fell victim to a torrent of criticism when they ponied up $200 million for OMGPOP, the makers of DrawSomething. In an effort to make themselves a mobile giant nearly every tech and games writer felt the price tag was far too much for a game that had peaked in popularity.
I was quite surprised that the game enjoyed any success at the time. I thought “Pictionary” had run its course or blown its wad in the late 80’s or early 90’s. And let’s face it it wasn’t much more than the game that had run its course for mobile devices.
I was wrong, but so was Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA). Not only were people spending hours and hours with the game but they were also spending money on in-app purchases. Zynga wasn’t wrong in this understanding but rather its decision to purchase an ebbing game after it had reached its acme of popularity.
And now Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has launched a sequel, without former OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter, who recently left the company. Presumably, to spend a good chunk of the money he siphoned off Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA).
“Developing and launching games is a team effort, and we’re proud of the great work the Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) New York team has done with Draw Something 2,” Zynga COO DavidKo wrote, in a statement obtained by Polygon. “Our follow up to the original hit is even more social and engaging, and we’re excited to get it into the hands of our players globally. We thank Dan Porter for his efforts in making the Draw Something franchise a success and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
In addition to DrawSomething 2, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has sold licenses in order to produce television shows based on the game. CBS is presently in development on its version though no details have been disclosed.
On the other hand, UK Channel 4 has released details on the format for “Draw It.”
“Two teams, made up of one contestant and one celebrity, go head to head as they battle out three rounds of drawing challenges. Against the clock, teams will need to be quick and tactful as they play for the all-important gold coins – the contestant with the least amount of coins after three rounds will be eliminated.
To win the cash, the remaining contestant will join forces with both celebrities for the final round, which will test their sketching skills against a 90 second clock. If the celebrities identify five drawings correctly, we have a winner but if they fail, the cash is locked and rolls over to the next show.”
Whether this makes up for the ridiculous price tag of OMGPOP remains to be seen.
