Zynga vs. Astro Ape: CEO Chieh Huang says, 'we build a better product'

Astro Ape is beating its chest right out of the gate. The studio's CEO, Chieh Huang (pictured center), is already making claims that it builds a better product than the compeition, namely Zynga, Pocketgamer.biz reports. Astro Ape makes mobile social games like Dessert Heroes and Office Heroes, which Huang claims enjoy 70 percent retention, meaning 70 percent of its players are regular customers. Unlike Facebook, the mobile space has yet to find one dominant creator, so Astro Ape just might have a chance at becoming that company.

However, with Zynga laser-focused on mobile thanks to Newtoy and its improvements to Mafia Wars and FarmVile for iPhone, that window of opportunity is quite small. Astro Ape about to release Monsterz Revenge, its third game, doing the same thing it has always done: launch games with polish. That's exactly how the studio plans to defeat Zynga:

    It sounds like a basic concept, but I think it's getting lost a bit today in social gaming. Our users come into our apps because they want to play our games, not because we spam them with invites, requests and other offers. Monsterz Revenge is really a convergence of this new stream of talent that we've brought in, and the lessons we learned from Office Heroes and Dessert Heroes. It's definitely our best title to date.

Those sure sound like fighting words, but we'll see soon enough if Astro Ape has the oomph to back them up. Until then, mobile is fair game, so jump right in.

[Image Credit: NY Post]

Have tried either of Astro Ape's current games? Do you think this studio has a shot against Zynga and the other big developers?