Speaking at the GDC Europe in Cologne, VP of business development at social network gaming company Zynga Hugh De Loayza announced that the San Francisco-based company is now enjoying 15 to 20 million active daily users - around the same number of visitors that EA's Pgog.com sees every month.

He went on to explain that harnessing the "viral loop" of social networks is the reason behind Zynga's success. He also spoke of the difficulty he faced as a "game guy in a company largely comprised of Web 2.0 professionals", and the ensuing culture clash as he attempted to direct the firm toward social network gaming.

By combining aspects of gameplay with strong, yet simple social networking, while concentrating on typical Internet aspects such as traffic statistics, De Loayza helped to find a common focus that suited the company as a whole.

He also warned that although the entry barrier for making social network games is a low, the fact that "everybody can do it" is making success in this particular arena much more difficult.

He concluded on a high note, however, pointing out that changes currently happening in the social network arena are bringing greater quality, more opportunities and the potential for more innovation.

Gamasutra