Zynga, the social gaming giant behind “FarmVille,” has just been valued at $5.5 billion by SharePost, the service which exchanges shares of privately held companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Zynga.
With a market cap that large, Zynga is now considered the second largest gaming publisher in the world, surpassing Electronic Arts (EA) which has a current market cap of $5.15 billion.
Nintendo remains the top publisher.
Zynga was launched four years ago and mainly uses Facebook to distribute games. With a built-in audience of 500 million, the company has ascended very quickly thanks to FarmVille, FrontierVille and others. The company makes money off virtual goods, like weapons and upgrades that advance in-game play.
The company has about 210 million monthly active users.
Result for: gaming giant
The DSi XL handheld goes on sale in North America tomorrow, but there appears to be one hitch for current DSi owners that are thinking of making the change to the larger-screened new addition to the handheld market.
DSiWare games, downloadable games that cost anywhere from $0.99 to $20, will not be available for instant transfer to the XL, even if you already purchased the games for your DSi.
Says Kotaku: As of now, a spokesperson for Nintendo confirmed to Kotaku, the gaming giant offers its consumers no ability to transfer their purchases from one DSi to the bigger screen XL. But the rep did give a sign that a change in policy could be coming: “We’re looking into that specific topic, but we don’t have anything to announce at this time.”
The problem stems from the fact that Nintendo does not have a sustainable account (such as XBL, or PSN) where user’s purchases are listed and are available for download again as long as you are signed in your own account.
The XL will cost $199 USD and has screens 93 percent larger than the DSi.
Result for: gaming giant
According to a new Nikkei business daily, gaming giant Nintendo is planning to release a new model of its popular DS handheld before the end of the year, one that has a built-in camera and a music player.
The price will be a bit more expensive than the current model, but will also come equipped with “advanced wireless communications functions.” The price is expected to be about $189 USD in Japan, according to the Nikkei. The console sells for much cheaper in the US, but there was no word on a NA release.
The official announcement is set for next week at a Tokyo press conference.
The DS is currently the most popular of all consoles and regularly outsells its main rival, the Sony PSP. The PSP however, has been outselling the DS in Japan for some time now, which is a potential sign that the current model’s sales growth is slowing.
