Zynga Poker, one of Zynga’s most popular games on Facebook, has been failing to attract new players for months. Zynga’s CEO said recently that the company is working on a new version of the game that is “much more social” and that they are seeing “positive feedback” in early testing.
However, Zynga Poker’s problems go beyond mere tweaks to the game.
Poker is a social game, and Zynga has failed to capitalize on this fact. Players want to play with friends, and Zynga hasn’t made it easy for them to do so.
Zynga Poker relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to create opponents, but this technology is not as good as human players. In addition, Zynga does not allow players to chat with their opponents during the game, which diminishes the sense of community.
It’s possible that Zynga Poker will eventually overcome these obstacles and become a successful game on Facebook again. However, the company should focus more on making the game social and less on developing AI that is equal or inferior to human players.
