Going by initial reactions, Zynga’s stock market debut wasn’t exactly a breakout affair. But then, unless you’re a day trader, the stock market has never really been about the day-to-day ups and down, but rather steady growth. At least, this is how Zynga’s COO John Schappert feels about the IPO.
In an interview with TechCrunch, this is what he had to say:
We look at this for the long-term, we’re not making short-term decisions. It’s not single day or single hour. We’re looking at the long-term of play, the long-term of Zynga and connecting the world through games, and that’s hopefully what people are investing in — the future of social gaming and play.
If Schappert is being genuine — remember, assuring shareholders is now his number one concern — you have to wonder if the company has something up its sleeve that isn’t simply another “Ville”-style game. If it does, well, Schappert isn’t aware of it:
When we think of growth, there are a few different areas. We’re investing in existing games to drive bookings [revenue-generating events like the purchase of a virtual good]. We’re also working to create new franchises and genres, like Castleville, which we recently launched on Facebook.
That also means more international expansion. We’ve just started localising a year ago with CityVille.
Localising isn’t exactly the next bold frontier. Still, I can’t help but think back to CEO Mark Pincus’s famous quote from 2009:
So I funded the company myself but I did every horrible thing in the book to, just to get revenues right away.
Well, Mark, you’ve got the revenues. Time to put Mark “Command & Conquer” Skaggs to work.
Zynga COO John Schappert On Going Public, And What’s Coming Next [TechCrunch]
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