By March 2012, Zynga’s stock was flying high and the…
““By March 2012, Zynga’s stock was flying high and the company was valued at over $10 billion. But by November of that same year, the stock was down over 80 percent. It turned out that Zynga’s new games were not really new at all. The company had simply re-skinned FarmVille, and soon players had lost interest and investors followed suit. What was once novel and intriguing became rote and boring. The “Villes” had lost their variability, and with it, their viability. As the Zynga story demonstrates, an element of mystery is an important component of continued user interest. Online games like FarmVille suffer from what I call “finite variability” — an experience that becomes predictable after use.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
User interest wanes when experiences become predictable and lack novelty, leading to disengagement.
In simple terms: Predictable games lose players.
Key Takeaway
Keep experiences fresh and unpredictable.
Themes
engagement
novelty
product design
Mood
concerned
analytical
Type
observational
cautionary
When to use this quote
- mobile gaming
- app launches
- feature updates
- marketing campaigns
Key Concepts
habit formation
finite variability
user psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- How can designers balance novelty with development costs?
- What signals indicate a product is becoming too predictable?
A Different Perspective
If novelty is costly, sustaining it may be impractical.