Zynga partners with toy maker Hasbro
Old school toy maker Hasbro and online social game star Zynga on Thursday announced a partnership to mesh the Internet firm's hits with real-world products.
The agreement lets Hasbro develop toys and games based on Zynga titles and stamped with the San Francisco company's brand -- the name and logo for which is a tribute to the dog of founder Mark Pincus.
"It's exciting to partner with Hasbro as we share a common vision for play and a mission to connect the world through games," Pincus said in a statement.
"This partnership is so special because it represents an exciting leap forward in enabling people to connect their virtual and real worlds," he said.
Zynga games are free to play but the company makes money by selling virtual in-game goods to players and serving up advertising.
San Francisco-based Zynga rose to global popularity tailoring games for friends to play at leading online social network Facebook and is building its own online community for players.
Zynga bills itself as the world's largest developer of social games and boasts more than 227 million monthly active users of its titles, which include FarmVille, CityVille, Mafia Wars, and Words With Friends.
"Zynga is redefining how people play," said Hasbro chief executive Brian Goldner.
"This strategic alliance plays off of both Hasbro's and Zynga's proven strengths and is emblematic of the new innovations and new platforms we are creating across our entire gaming portfolio."
In December, Zynga jumped into the stock market with a billion-dollar listing, seeing its opening stock price of $10 per share leap out of the gate and then drop.
The stock was trading at $13.33 a share after-hours on on Thursday.
(c) 2012 AFP
