You know things have gone bad for Zynga when the only way they can recoup the cost of the $183 million dollars they spent on DrawSomething a couple of weeks ago is to add even more advertisements to AdSomething the game.
In addition to the normal in-app advertisements that DrawSomething forces users to draw as part of the game to get their money, the company will now also be rolling out even more advertisements. In the future you’ll find yourself looking at banner ads, video trailers, and puzzle words for DreamWorks’ Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. The Wall Street Journal has pegged the value of that advertisment partnership somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000.
Maybe the plan was to introduce these ad models all along, but it’s hard not to think that Zynga is rushing to make coin while it can before gamers leave the game behind entirely. At its height, 14.5 million people were playing OMGPop’s DrawSomething, and it’s now rumored to be seeing only half of that number on a daily basis (7.6 million).
That $183 million dollars is starting to look a little ridiculous, isn’t it Zynga? Hats off to OMGPop for getting top dollar though, that was quite the coup.
