Sure, some people think that former Xbox czar Don Mattrick isn’t going to turn Zynga’s miserable fortunes around. But other individuals — business-minded folk — think the exact opposite.
The most interesting thing about this clip is the perceptions being quickly flung around about the executive leaders of companies like Microsoft, Zynga, EA and Activision. It’s one thing to hear names like Riccitiello, Mattrick and Kotick being the subjects of internet commenter scorn when their decisions are unpopular.
But investors are the people that they have to actually answer to. All the gamer hate in the world can’t counter the fact that a company knows how to make money. And stock market guru Jim Cramer seems to think Don Mattrick can help Zynga get back to doing that.
Zynga’s stock launched at $10 per share but is at trading at $3.44 at the time of this writing, spiking sharply after Mattrick’s appointment was confirmed earlier this week.
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2 responses to “CNBC Calls Zynga A ‘Buy’ Now That Former Xbox Boss Is CEO”
“But investors are the people that they have to actually answer to. All the gamer hate in the world can’t counter the fact that a company knows how to make money.”
Then why the recent reversal of Xbox DRM policy? It might be the investors that decide the direction of a company, but gamer hate – if widespread enough – can weight heavily on their balance sheets and profit projections. The very same things that cause investors so much concern. Perhaps I’m reading too far into it, or overreacting, but there’s no sense in minimising the role the consumer has in the success of a company and their approach.
The point still stands that investors would have a better sense of how well Mattrick will do, despite the gamer hate. An interesting contrast.
Actually, it can. Since consumers are the ones who purchase the products and provide the general “feel” for whether a company is going to start making serious money or not, the reactions to a company matter. If Facebook started losing popularity because of the ill will towards its privacy problems, the stock price would start dropping because investors would lose faith in their ability to make money through advertising and other sources.