Zynga's profit drops 95 percent in year-over-year Q2

So, it looks like casual gaming giants Zynga are in the red for Q2. In that case, what does that mean for casual gaming? Are people just not that interested in Zynga's repertoire of mindless time-wasters, or is this the start of a greater trend speaking to the entirety of casual gaming?

Break Man wrote:So, it looks like casual gaming giants Zynga are in the red for Q2. In that case, what does that mean for casual gaming? Are people just not that interested in Zynga's repertoire of mindless time-wasters, or is this the start of a greater trend speaking to the entirety of casual gaming?

They say it takes the brain 21 repetitions to learn an action. Took me about 21 visits to my FarmVille farm to get bored of it and move on.

I think the casual market is where normal people meet the gaming industry, like a "kiddie-pool" allows humans to meet swimming: it only takes a year or three for newfound freedom to become restrictive, as you've grown. When people find they've grown too old/large/mature/lonely for the kiddie-pool, they might decide to get out and visit a natatorium or waterpark.

They leave Zynga's FarmVille and PopCap's Bejeweled, move on to PopCap's Peggle or Plants Vs. Zombies, and slowly but surely climb the ladder to Halo, Gears, Mass Effect, and Super Meat Boy.

Although another important difference is the Free-To-Play constant of paying for in-game resources. People eventually see how much they've gambled and lost--essentially--to kick the habit.

I actually liked some of those games at first. They were simple, but fun, and there was satisfaction in building your little area up over time. A good time-waster.

With the growing dependence on friends and emphasis on their premium features, I just lost interest. I don't want to bombard my friends with messages begging for gifts, and I don't want to be bombarded with advertisements and quests I can't complete unless I pay. I would understand if it was something more in-depth, but... What's there that's worth paying for? A minute more of play time? A decoration? I don't think so.

It's no loss. There are plenty of more considerate time-wasting games on the internet.

Which, leads me to the main point of this: those games just aren't as satisfying as they could be.