Future of GaiaInteractive (what seems to be going on)

[Fire 0ak]

Lazarus Larkin

But Angry Birds was a fluke. There are way MORE games -- thousands of them -- that never take off. Zynga is apparently doing really badly financially now despite Farmville being so huge. It's not like developing app games is an instant sure success.

...but i downvoted this thread due to it being the OP's speculation treated as fact, which rubs me the wrong way.

I didnt know that Zynga was struggling. I guess the competition is
fierce for everyone.
A Side-scroller/platformer might be fun too it they apply some special Gaia-esque attributes. I've seen some amazing ones, 2-d art is really making a come back in gaming medium too, it just has to be layered with some subtle effects and viola~! A beautiful Game. For a vague example think, metal slug style would be a cool look to emulate.

Btw what do you feel is incorrect or assumption in OPs statement? Sorry a little tired atm. sweatdrop

[dreamsk]

talk2hand Gaia's gotten a slew of pretty pennies from the BFS. It would be like calling Gino Gambino poor when he has millions of gold in the bank.

But Gaia knows that they cant just rely on one grand sale of the year to support them the entire time, so they're trying to get more reliable and consistent revenue on the site via ads, which makes sisky's announcement sensible.

[Ridley Starsmore]

J 4 C K

Well, if they made apps for my phone...

To be fair...the only app I used on your phone got us lost.

Twice.

[HeIIraiser]

Another way for Gaia to take my money for wanting to enjoy a worthless feature?

No thanks.

[Krissim Klaw]

I hate to say, but your description makes Gaia Online's future look rather bleak. They are taking all of their innovation outside of Gaia Online and working on different platforms that in no way tie into the main site. Gaia interactive looks like it has a bright future, Gaia online, not so much. Its hay day has passed...

[meep12345meep12345]

...I'm rather taken back by the 'The-End-is-near~!' shrill of the OP... cat_eek

Still some points:

1) Gaia Online exists to fund/feed Gaia Interactive, NOT the other way around cat_rolleyes
2) Mobile Apps is a limited, quickly dying, format (I believe this was explained better by another GCD'r earlier in the thread) cat_confused
3) Aside from Gaia Online, zOMG is the only game owned by Gaia Interactive that I will spend IRL money on cat_3nodding
4) Since Rumble Kittens will not directly benefit me on Gaia Online, and there is no evidence to suggest any of Gaia Interactive ventures do (unless we get a crappy item from it), so I will not support it cat_neutral

...And that is all I have to say on the matter... cat_stare

[Miss-dark8607]

Kitty Gnar-Gnar

Mobile apps, much like facebook apps, are a dead-end platform for gaming. They're extra popular right now, but as the platform is inherently super limited, it's not going to last very long, and Gaia's late to the bandwagon as usual. The only way to make money off of them is to be a scumbag, and Gaia, with it's loud and highly present userbase, can't quite pull off scumbag and manage a net positive result.

Also I don't have a smartphone and I probably won't for a very long time. So yeah go ahead Gaia and keep pouring resources into a limited platform that is going to die sooner rather than later which also excludes a fair swath of your userbase from playing it at all. Good life choices.

They said the same thing about the home gaming systems and how nothing would ever compare the arcade experience here in the states. Now 30 years later I couldn't tell you were an arcade is in my area. Hell I don't even think the local laundry mat has one (and someone destroyed the pinball machine) emotion_eyebrow

Point is smartphones and tablets are taking over and pretty soon we aren't going to have the gaming systems, Desktops and such so it IS smart of Gaia to jump in while its still fresh and early into it.

[Chibi Halo]

Fire 0ak

Lazarus Larkin

But Angry Birds was a fluke. There are way MORE games -- thousands of them -- that never take off. Zynga is apparently doing really badly financially now despite Farmville being so huge. It's not like developing app games is an instant sure success.

...but i downvoted this thread due to it being the OP's speculation treated as fact, which rubs me the wrong way.

I didnt know that Zynga was struggling. I guess the competition is
fierce for everyone.
A Side-scroller/platformer might be fun too it they apply some special Gaia-esque attributes. I've seen some amazing ones, 2-d art is really making a come back in gaming medium too, it just has to be layered with some subtle effects and viola~! A beautiful Game. For a vague example think, metal slug style would be a cool look to emulate.

Btw what do you feel is incorrect or assumption in OPs statement? Sorry a little tired atm. sweatdrop

Last I read they pulled down eleven games to save money. The only thing doing well for them is Farmville 2. Their stock is going for less than three Dollars a share now. The 52 week high for them was nearly sixteen Dollars a share and since then it's been on a slow plummet into penny stock territory like fellow game developer THQ if it can't do something to get back into the thick of things. They've had a lot of board members leave within the last four or five months. Things for them never recovered from the very bad IPO they had so they're doing what they can to stay afloat.

(When you have a publicly traded company like that every little move you make gets recorded by the people who keep an eye on the NYSE and NASDQ)

[Praylaya]

meep12345

...I'm rather taken back by the 'The-End-is-near~!' shrill of the OP... cat_eek

No no, I'm not saying I think they're actually going under this very moment. I guess it does appear a bit on the negative end. I'll change that inna second.
I guess what I was originally trying to say is if Gaia was in the red, Gaia Interactive's purpose would be able to save it.

[meep12345meep12345]

TINSTAAFL

meep12345

...I'm rather taken back by the 'The-End-is-near~!' shrill of the OP... cat_eek

No no, I'm not saying I think they're actually going under this very moment. I guess it does appear a bit on the negative end. I'll change that inna second.
I guess what I was originally trying to say is if Gaia was in the red, Gaia Interactive's purpose would be able to save it.

While I'm glad you haven't fallen into a pit of despair 'bout Gaia's future, I'm afraid I disagree with you. Gaia Interactive's sole responsibility to Gaia Online is not to save it. In fact, like most parent companies, Gaia Interactive only needs Gaia Online till it strikes it rich on its own. Seriously, Gaia Interactive parades the success of Gaia Online as one of the reasons others should do business with them. Once Gaia Interactive succeeds, Gaia Online will become Gaia Interactive's "zOMG" - We'll be put on the backburner, more of our staff will get pulled to other projects, etc...

...However, despite the current CEO of Gaia Interactive being all pro-Social Media, and so very distant with regards to anything Gaia Online, I do not ever see Gaia Interactive succeeding with their various Johnny-come-lately-get-rich-quick-scheme-approach they seem to take with everything. So, if you really want to save help Gaia Online, you don't want to help Gaia Interactive in anyway that is not through Gaia Online. Think about... If you're off playing some iOS app by Gaia Interactive, you're not here on Gaia Online, potentially, seeing ads that generate revenue for Gaia Online... And what if you get hooked on one of Gaia Interactive's external ventures into realms with no connection to Gaia Online? I imagine if you're an AutoCa$h subscriber this may lead to a difficult question about where your money should go... Which generally is where one's time is spent... And if your time isn't on Gaia Online... You see what I'm getting at? I know, a tad slippery slopish, I'll admit, but nonetheless something to consider cat_confused

[II_Kisame_II]

Gaia Interactive is the parent company of GaiaOnline (this site) and GaiaSocial, which is in charge of developing all your favorite games that head straight to social media and mobile apps and are no where to be found on this site. I believe there was a third branch that operated in china, but it longer functions, although they did develop their own version of zOMG which incorporated towns with fishing and farming ability and was vastly more beautiful than what we have, but things always go to waste as usual with Gaia.

Essentially Gaia Interactive is only around not for the well being of GaiaOnline, but the financial greed of making money by venturing on other operations. GaiaOnline is merely good for cash flow and as someone else said, good for publicity. They like to boast high membership and forum post, but really how many are mules accounts and how many posts in Gaia are just spam? It may boast about its monthly unique visitors, but Gaia isn't as popular as before and rather than working to make this site more popular, it has fallen into the realms of boredom.