Zynga, seeking salvation, names Microsoft Xbox head as CEO - Indian Express

Reuters : San Francisco, Tue Jul 02 2013, 12:11 hrs Zynga Inc's (ZNGA.O) decision to bring in the head of Microsoft Corp's (NSQ:MSFT) Xbox business to replace founder Mark Pincus is a bold stroke that was hailed on Wall Street, but it still leaves questions as to who is ultimately in charge at the troubled game-maker. Don Mattrick was personally recruited by Pincus. But Pincus holds on to 61 percent of the voting rights due to a two-tiered stock structure and will remain Zynga's chairman and its chief product officer. Mattrick, who is credited with building Microsoft's Xbox business into a gaming powerhouse, hesitated before agreeing to take the job, people with knowledge of the events said. His doubts finally faded during a grueling bike ride through the Santa Cruz mountains one recent weekend, when Pincus opened up to Mattrick about how he had come to terms emotionally with relinquishing the reins at the company he founded in 2007. While Wall Street cheered Mattrick's appointment, sending Zynga's shares up more than 10 percent and another 3 percent after hours, some analysts questioned whether the shake-up would change Zynga's performance in a significant way. "Bringing in someone who has worked at a larger company to assist in management duties I think is a relief right now," said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG Research. "But Pincus is still the chief product officer. So the question is, what's actually changed day to day in terms of making hit games?" Mattrick will hold the final say in day-to-day matters, including green-lighting new games, people familiar with the situation said. Zynga's business model, which relied heavily on selling virtual goods to gamers on Facebook Inc's (FB.O) platform, began to disintegrate in mid-2012 as users tired of Facebook games and shifted to playing on mobile devices. Pincus, who has long wanted to turn the firm he named after his pet bulldog into a large Internet company, privately acknowledged in recent months that he has lacked the ability to manage such a company, said a person familiar with his thinking. ... contd. ALSO READ Apple files for 'iWatch' trademark in Japan Now, flashlight powered by heat from your hand Sharpest ever images of the Sun's atmosphere captured Samsung launches new products including Ativ Q tablet in India Please read our terms of use before posting comments TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s). via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNELjd-Ce33qV8Lm6xSsqw2A_2wwAQ&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/zynga-seeking-salvation-names-microsoft-xbox-head-as-ceo/1136619/

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