At this point the only question worth asking about this situation is whether anybody on Zynga's board has the balls and integrity to tell Pincus to go fuck himself.
They can't. Pincus isn't an obstacle in the way of the company. Pincus is the reason Zynga is successful.
Without the aversion of innovation, the complete disregard for ripping others off, and partnerships with incredibly shady companies, Zynga would not be anywhere close to where they are today.
A business in the theme of Zynga needs the unscrupulous head honcho who can't care less about what's right, only what's profitable. Get rid of Pincus and Zynga sinks like a rock.
Let's be honest, if you take Zynga's games, strip out the blatantly psychologically manipulative bits, inject some real fun into there, and actually spend some money on innovation... none of it would be profitable.
Lets not forget, the basis of their business is that they found a way to replicate the economics of a slot machine without falling under gambling regulation and without ever having to pay out real dollars.
It is still the same business though.
As a former game developer I am shocked by the fact that people buy their image as a gaming company. They have about as much to do with computer games as roulette has to do with Settlers of Catan.
IMO the more important question is: does Zynga need anybody worth their salt anymore?
I suspect the answer is no. The really hard scalability problems have been solved. There's not a creative bone in that company's body. The psychological tropes that they play with to reach that nirvana of inescapable treadmilling and spending is already determined - and given all the Zynga games I've seen, past and present, they don't seem very intent on changing the formula.
Not only that, social gaming of Zynga's variety is on the decline. There was a time when everybody and their grandma was playing FarmVille, but the world is quickly catching onto their addictive-but-empty nature. Not only that, but Facebook is moving in and slamming the door shut on the feed-spam that these games practically need to survive. I would not be surprised if these games' usage numbers have already peaked and are on the decline. Profitability is destined to follow player sentiment.
All in all, IMO Zynga's best days have come and gone. The world has its infatuation with that formula, and like the Tamagotchi and everything else that came before it, will tire of it soon enough. The only thing remaining now is for the execs to secure as much stock as they can and take it public, and let the general population ride the stock on its way down. They only need employees insofar as to keep the lights on and look alive - certainly nothing that calls for the tippy top talent.
Bingo. In the long run, this IPO is going to be as depressing and fruitless as Zynga's games.
What pisses me off is the collateral damage that Zynga has done to other entrepreneurs who will now have a harder time attracting talent and raising capital because of this idiocy. Pincus didn't just fuck over his employees; he fucked a technology startup ecosystem that is, after a decade-long slumber, trying to get on its feet again.
