You've tried the game, haven't you, and you have to ask yourself if you've reached the point where it's grown a bit dull.
| For the hard-core addict |
So how much is a digital game worth going forward?
The Swedish firm behind Candy Crush is going public, to make hay while the sun shines as the farmers might say. The game is still hot at the moment, but it's been around for a couple of years now and wise investors are not sure the game will keep on growing at the same pace. It's a game, after all, and people get bored with games after a time. When that time comes, do you want to be the one holding stock that is declining in value?
A figure of $5 billion has been suggested in some circles. If you're on the receiving end of that kind of money, you'd be hoping that investors will think of Facebook instead of Farmville as they consider making a purchase.
Will enough players continue to pony up their 99p for a set of extra lives? Can the game be as addictive in two years time as it is today, assuming that Candy Crush addiction hasn't already begun to wain as a distracted population with a short attention span notices some other shiny new object?
Games have a limited life online, with plenty of other developers hoping to cash in themselves with their own game. Competition is fierce out there. The King people will have shareholders breathing down their necks to develop new games or tweak existing games to stir up fresh interest and keep the pennies flowing in to the company's coffers. Those shareholders will be wanting a return on their investment and the inventors of Candy Crush could find themselves on the outside looking in if they do not produce the required dividends.
Of course, the outside would be far more pleasant with a few million in your pockets, assuming you could sell your shares before the bottom fully dropped out of the stock.
Facebook or Farmville? And wasn't Angry Birds all the rage not so long ago?
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