As a company that's been variously described as "evil", "creatively and morally bankrupt", and everything in between, it's hardly surprising that its detractors were positively rubbing their hands with undisguised glee at last week's Q2 net loss of $22.8 million.
On the back of a decline in demand for the company's Facebook games and the slowing momentum of brief mobile sensation Draw Something has put a sizeable dent in Zynga's bottom line.
But the bad news for Zynga-haters everywhere is that there was plenty for the acquisitive company to feel positive about in its financials.
Numbers don't lie
The most obvious thing to shout about was the rise in the number of daily active users from 59 million a year ago, to 72 million in this year's second quarter.
Whichever way you stack it up, the stats are impressive.
Monthly active users rose 34 per cent year-on-year to 306 million, while daily active users on mobile rocketed fivefold to 33 million, making it the world's biggest mobile gaming network.
Even the most hardnosed opposition must acknowledge that these are impressive figures, and it's hard to see the growth halting in the short term.
Good game, good game
For most people in the mobile space, one of their issues is the way the company slavishly clones existing ideas, and then milks them for all that they're worth.
Few would dare credit many (any?) of its titles with any originality whatsoever, but as a business strategy, chasing after proven, addictive formulas with such dead-eyed conviction has been a winner - at least in terms of audience acquisition.
Most dyed-in-the-wool gamers would probably rather insert hot knitting needles under their finger nails than admit that some Zynga games are actually good, but let's give credit where it's due.
Drawing conclusions
Against my better judgement, Scramble With Friends and Words With Friends have clocked-up more of my gaming hours this year than any other.
Every morning over breakfast, and during every conceivable break time, I'm as guilty as anyone of sneaking a session on both.
Zynga hit Scramble With Friends
It's completely fair enough for people to moan that "It's just Boggle", or "it's just Scrabble".
Yes, they're massive rip-offs, but given that EA Mobile didn't pull its finger out and make proper social versions, you can't really blame the company that took the initiative.
On the other hand, I'm hardly surprised that demand for Draw Something dropped off quickly.
As someone who's crap at real-life Pictionary, there was never the allure to get involved, whereas Scramble and Words are games that you always feel compelled to get better at.
Draw Something saw OMGPOP acquired for $180 million
The same can't necessarily be said for one of its more recent efforts, Matching With Friends. On the surface, the idea of a turn-based Match-3 game sounds like it would have an instant broad appeal, but it doesn't quite have that X-factor to keep you coming back for more.
Time rich
But time is most definitely on Zynga's side.
With cash reserves reportedly at around $1.5 billion, the company can continue to keep throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, and cream off some of the best ideas in the process.
There's no doubt that the company could work on improving its image. As things stand, its cold ruthlessness puts it firmly at odds with many in the industry. Not only the independent, creative-spirited members of the development community, but a wide proportion of commentators.
Whether it has any intention of turning that around is unknown, but the company must surely be aware that being the Big Bad Wolf of the mobile sector won't help it in the long run.
Maybe it simply doesn't care. Maybe it really is content to make as much money as possible and to hell with the consequences. If so, the shareholders won't mind.
An eye on EA
Alternatively, it could take a leaf out of EA's book.
It wasn't that long ago that the entire gaming world despised its aggressive, acquisitive, win-at-all-costs mentality. Again and again, it bought talented developers, stripped them of creative soul, and eventually ground several brilliant IPs into the dust.
But it learned the hard way, and began to slowly change its ways. A friendlier face emerged from the corporate cloud, and home-grown originality, a dedication to quality and creativity was brought to the fore.
Most gamers would happily admit to actually liking what Electronic Arts stands for these days, and Zynga would do well to think about doing the same. It is possible to run a highly successful business that values creativity as much as the bottom line.
