King.com studio lead: 'If you make a good game, Zynga will copy it'

Should it be any surprise that folks are more frank in their opinions of Zynga, given its recent run-in with top dog publisher EA over The Ville? Probably not, but it might be for one of the FarmVille maker's most dangerous competitors to join in on the bash fest. Even recently-appointed King.com (creator of Bubble Witch Saga) London studio lead Catharina Lavers Mallet weighed in.

"Zynga is a very good fast follower. It seems to be one of the truisms of the space, I think," Lavers Mallet admitted to GamesIndustry. "If you make a good game, Zynga will copy it."

The new King.com studio head made the quip in response to a question regarding Zynga's answer to Bubble Witch Saga, Bubble Safari, which is currently 1.3 million daily players ahead of the former, thanks to the developer's massive player base. However, she did admit that it's generally good practice to pay attention to the competition, but not that it should go beyond that.

"I think that if you're an intelligent person, you're always paying attention to what your competition is doing. Good ideas come from all over the place - you're always learning from all from people who are good at what they do," Lavers Mallet said. "We have a well-deserved reputation for making really good quality games, we're good at that so we don't need to copy anyone."

Are you surprised by her blunt observation of Zynga's strategy? What do you make of Zynga's effects on the industry? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.