Joystiq

Zynga East shuttered, studios in Texas and New York consolidated

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:15:00 EST

Zynga shut down its Baltimore studio, Zynga East, and planned to combine studios in Texas and New York, putting roughly 30 people out of work today. Zynga will consolidate its two studios in Austin, Texas, and relocate the studio in McKinney, Texas, to Dallas. Zynga's New York City offices will merge, transferring staff to the area's mobile studio.

"In an effort to leverage resources as we focus on creating franchises and driving profitability, Zynga has made changes to four of our US offices," Zynga COO David Ko told Joystiq. He concluded: "While these decisions are always difficult, these steps will affect approximately 1 percent of our workforce and enable us to focus our resources on the most significant growth opportunities."

Zynga lost chief game designer and head of Zynga East Brian Reynolds in January, and shut down CityVille 2 development. This continues a trend of financial problems, game closures and executive departures at Zynga.

Zynga East shuttered, studios in Texas and New York consolidated originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former Baltimore mayor's telltale Xbox 360 now on eBay

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:00:00 EST

Here's a bit of backstory for those of you who don't follow the hot Baltimore news scoops: Sheila Dixon, once mayor of Baltimore, became the former mayor Baltimore after being indicted for embezzlement earlier this year. One of the main pieces of evidence in her trial was an Xbox 360 prosecutors claimed she purchased with gift cards given to her by local developers, which were supposed to be given to various charities.

The telltale 360 recently appeared in an eBay listing, attracting a number of prospective buyers hoping to get their hands on the game console/slice of Baltimore history. If you're interested in owning a device which is capable of single-handedly ending someone's mayoral career, the auction is still running. Its price is significantly higher than a standard console, but you've got to pay a premium for all that history.

[Via Baltimore Sun]

Former Baltimore mayor's telltale Xbox 360 now on eBay originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baltimore mayor allegedly purchased consoles with gift cards for the needy

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:59:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PSP, Microsoft Xbox 360

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been indicted on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500, following a three-year probe by a state prosecutor into corruption at City Hall. According to the Baltimore Sun, among the laundry list of charges against Dixon, which cover awarding lucrative contracts to family members and general misconduct in office, she also allegedly stole from those most in need and went console shopping.

According to prosecutors, a few years back Dixon used Best Buy gift cards, intended for underprivileged families, to purchase a PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PSP -- along with other pieces of consumer electronics. Dixon says she has done nothing wrong and is confident she'll be found innocent. She better pray that Best Buy doesn't keep videos of transactions in some vault for years.

Update: Dixon resigns and pleads guilty.

[Via GamePolitics]

Baltimore mayor allegedly purchased consoles with gift cards for the needy originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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