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February 29 2012
Boom Headshot! Sony Sold 1.2M Vitas Worldwide Since Its Launch Two Months
scaledwm-img_5695 (1)
Apparently there are still dedicated gamers out there. Sony stated on Tuesday that the Vita is exceeding its expectations and over 1.2 million units have sold worldwide. The Vita hit the U.S. and European market last week after launching in Japan in the middle of December 2011. Sony announced in early January at CES that only 500k Vitas sold in its home market. Many pundits and outlet stated the Vita was dead on arrival, citing casual gaming on smartphones and tablets as the killer. But don't count the Vita out yet. It's alive and kicking.
scaledwm-img_5695 (1)
Apparently there are still dedicated gamers out there. Sony stated on Tuesday that the Vita is exceeding its expectations and over 1.2 million units have sold worldwide. The Vita hit the U.S. and European market last week after launching in Japan in the middle of December 2011. Sony announced in early January at CES that only 500k Vitas sold in its home market. Many pundits and outlet stated the Vita was dead on arrival, citing casual gaming on smartphones and tablets as the killer. But don't count the Vita out yet. It's alive and kicking.
February 13 2012
No Longer An Awkward Teenager? Gamification Grows Up
badges
Over the last year, you may have noticed that a once-niche trend not only crept into the mainstream, but is starting to really make a big splash. Gamification has become one of the hottest buzz words in the industry and is probably in the process of taking over a website or user experience near you. For the uninitiated, gamification, said simply, is the use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Over the last year, even large companies and enterprises are starting to get in on the game, with Gartner saying that all CIOs should have gamification on their radar, and M2 research predicting that the gamification market will reach 2.8 billion in direct spending by 2016.
badges
Over the last year, you may have noticed that a once-niche trend not only crept into the mainstream, but is starting to really make a big splash. Gamification has become one of the hottest buzz words in the industry and is probably in the process of taking over a website or user experience near you. For the uninitiated, gamification, said simply, is the use of game design techniques and mechanics to solve problems and engage audiences. Over the last year, even large companies and enterprises are starting to get in on the game, with Gartner saying that all CIOs should have gamification on their radar, and M2 research predicting that the gamification market will reach 2.8 billion in direct spending by 2016.
February 11 2012
Big Cuts at Airy Labs, Ex-Employees Blame Management
airy labs
Airy Labs, an educational gaming startup backed by Google Ventures and others, has cut the vast majority of its 20-person staff, leaving only a skeleton crew to keep the company going. That's what I've been told by former employees — Airy Labs did not respond to my requests for comment. There are, however, other signs that the company is having trouble. For one thing, the "team" page of the Airy Labs website seems to have been deleted, and now brings up a 404 error message. (There's still a link from the jobs page.) The Airy Labs Twitter account, which was previously tweeting several times a day, has been silent since Feb. 2.
airy labs
Airy Labs, an educational gaming startup backed by Google Ventures and others, has cut the vast majority of its 20-person staff, leaving only a skeleton crew to keep the company going. That's what I've been told by former employees — Airy Labs did not respond to my requests for comment. There are, however, other signs that the company is having trouble. For one thing, the "team" page of the Airy Labs website seems to have been deleted, and now brings up a 404 error message. (There's still a link from the jobs page.) The Airy Labs Twitter account, which was previously tweeting several times a day, has been silent since Feb. 2.
Whale Hunting: Facebook Hooks 1st-Time Buyers With $5 Of Game Credits For $1
Free Facebook Credits
Only about 5% Facebook gamers pay to play freemium games. If Facebook could up this percentage, it and its third-party app developers could make a lot more money. That's the idea behind a new promotion Facebook announced today where those who've never bought Facebook Credits virtual currency before will be offered $4 in free Credits when they buy $1. This gets users to set up their credit card and experience the rush of paying for an enhanced gaming experience.
Free Facebook Credits
Only about 5% Facebook gamers pay to play freemium games. If Facebook could up this percentage, it and its third-party app developers could make a lot more money. That's the idea behind a new promotion Facebook announced today where those who've never bought Facebook Credits virtual currency before will be offered $4 in free Credits when they buy $1. This gets users to set up their credit card and experience the rush of paying for an enhanced gaming experience.
February 10 2012
New Android App Lets You Flashback To The Arcades Of Yesteryear
cpsemu3
The arcade scene here in the United States is but a fraction of what it was back in its heyday, but that doesn't mean that the love for those classic games has just evaporated. Capcom's CPS2 arcade board has attained legend status in certain retro gaming circles because of its catalog of instant classics, and a developer named Cpasjuste has just given those games a new lease on life with a new CPS2 emulator for Android.
cpsemu3
The arcade scene here in the United States is but a fraction of what it was back in its heyday, but that doesn't mean that the love for those classic games has just evaporated. Capcom's CPS2 arcade board has attained legend status in certain retro gaming circles because of its catalog of instant classics, and a developer named Cpasjuste has just given those games a new lease on life with a new CPS2 emulator for Android.
February 09 2012
Click And Mortar: Zynga Signs Deal With Hasbro For Real-World Toys and Games
home-graphic2
Mobile app developer Rovio has famously turned its Angry Birds game into a popular toy franchise, but most other new-fangled gaming companies haven't spent much energy going this route. But now social gaming leader Zynga is, per a big licensing deal with Hasbro.
home-graphic2
Mobile app developer Rovio has famously turned its Angry Birds game into a popular toy franchise, but most other new-fangled gaming companies haven't spent much energy going this route. But now social gaming leader Zynga is, per a big licensing deal with Hasbro.
DeNA Has Big Quarter, Acquiree Ngmoco:( Has Layoffs
Screen Shot 2012-02-08 at 5.10.02 PM
Japanese mobile gaming giant DeNA bought mobile app developer Ngmoco last year for $400 million. Since then, the company has acquired a range of other outfits and worked to tie the San Francisco startup in with everything else it does. In general, things seem to be going well. The conglomerate just posted a strong third quarter, with net sales up 16%, which in turn boosted the stock price by more than 8% for a valuation of $4.8 billion. However, net income declined versus the same period the previous year, from $106 million to $79.2 million.
Screen Shot 2012-02-08 at 5.10.02 PM
Japanese mobile gaming giant DeNA bought mobile app developer Ngmoco last year for $400 million. Since then, the company has acquired a range of other outfits and worked to tie the San Francisco startup in with everything else it does. In general, things seem to be going well. The conglomerate just posted a strong third quarter, with net sales up 16%, which in turn boosted the stock price by more than 8% for a valuation of $4.8 billion. However, net income declined versus the same period the previous year, from $106 million to $79.2 million.
February 06 2012
To Heck With The Super Bowl: GOG Features Sierra Game Three-Packs For $5
Screen Shot 2012-02-05 at 7.40.02 PM
Good Old Games is running a $4.99 sale on multiple Sierra titles including Space Quest and Kings Quest. The games come in packages of three and are compatible with Windows (sorry, Mac users, but here's a consolation prize).
Screen Shot 2012-02-05 at 7.40.02 PM
Good Old Games is running a $4.99 sale on multiple Sierra titles including Space Quest and Kings Quest. The games come in packages of three and are compatible with Windows (sorry, Mac users, but here's a consolation prize).
February 05 2012
Facebook Could Jumpstart HTML5 Platform With App Bookmarks On News Feed
Facebook Mobile App Bookmarks Tall
Facebook's late-comer HTML5 mobile app platform lags way behind the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace. Yesterday I spotted Facebook's latest effort to catch up -- a test showing bookmarks for third-party applications at the top of the mobile news feed. Currently, Facebook buries HTML5 app bookmarks at the bottom of its mobile site's pull-out navigation menu, and only shows them in the iOS or Android Facebook app's search bar. Placing them much more prominently atop the mobile home page could increase engagement -- the first step in attracting developers to the platform and earning money on in-app purchases.
Facebook Mobile App Bookmarks Tall
Facebook's late-comer HTML5 mobile app platform lags way behind the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace. Yesterday I spotted Facebook's latest effort to catch up -- a test showing bookmarks for third-party applications at the top of the mobile news feed. Currently, Facebook buries HTML5 app bookmarks at the bottom of its mobile site's pull-out navigation menu, and only shows them in the iOS or Android Facebook app's search bar. Placing them much more prominently atop the mobile home page could increase engagement -- the first step in attracting developers to the platform and earning money on in-app purchases.
February 04 2012
Investors Drive $ZNGA Up 26% In Two Days Following Facebook IPO Filing
Screen Shot 2012-02-03 at 6.46.46 PM
Those of us who have been following the social gaming industry already know that Zynga has made up a big portion of Facebook's revenues. But lots of public investors only seem to have gotten the memo on Wednesday evening, when Facebook's S-1 filing revealed that the developer made up 12% of its total revenues, or $445 million. In the two days since, Zynga's stock has gone up more than 26%, to close at $13.39 this evening.
Screen Shot 2012-02-03 at 6.46.46 PM
Those of us who have been following the social gaming industry already know that Zynga has made up a big portion of Facebook's revenues. But lots of public investors only seem to have gotten the memo on Wednesday evening, when Facebook's S-1 filing revealed that the developer made up 12% of its total revenues, or $445 million. In the two days since, Zynga's stock has gone up more than 26%, to close at $13.39 this evening.
February 01 2012
Back To Basics: Sony Appoints Kazuo Hirai, Ousts Stringer
howard-stringer-sony
If there's been one complaint my contacts inside large CE companies have had, career-wise, it's been the inability to rise far in the hierarchy. While there are clear exceptions to this rule, the complaint has always been that succeeding in Asian companies has been contingent on (literally) speaking the language and knowing the rules of the road, as it were, culturally. When Sir Howard Stringer took the reins at Sony, it looked like this tendency had been bucked. However, with the appointment of Kazuo Hirai, it looks like Sony is going back to the old ways - but why?
howard-stringer-sony
If there's been one complaint my contacts inside large CE companies have had, career-wise, it's been the inability to rise far in the hierarchy. While there are clear exceptions to this rule, the complaint has always been that succeeding in Asian companies has been contingent on (literally) speaking the language and knowing the rules of the road, as it were, culturally. When Sir Howard Stringer took the reins at Sony, it looked like this tendency had been bucked. However, with the appointment of Kazuo Hirai, it looks like Sony is going back to the old ways - but why?
January 27 2012
Secret Windows 8 Weapon: Kinect Built Into Your Laptop
not_real_obviously
The Windows release of Kinect is coming up in a couple days, but for most people that won't be a major event: the Kinect they have is sitting on their TV or in a drawer, waiting to be taken out for an impromptu Dance Central 2 party. Of the 10 million Kinects out there, the only ones connected to computers are the ones being fiddled with by the various hackers and students making science projects out the things. But according to the Daily, Microsoft is hoping to remedy this particular situation by building Kinect sensors right into your laptops. TechCrunch alum Matt Hickey got to handle a pair of prototypes, which were confirmed to be official, not just one of the many experiments that hide within Microsoft's various lairs.
not_real_obviously
The Windows release of Kinect is coming up in a couple days, but for most people that won't be a major event: the Kinect they have is sitting on their TV or in a drawer, waiting to be taken out for an impromptu Dance Central 2 party. Of the 10 million Kinects out there, the only ones connected to computers are the ones being fiddled with by the various hackers and students making science projects out the things. But according to the Daily, Microsoft is hoping to remedy this particular situation by building Kinect sensors right into your laptops. TechCrunch alum Matt Hickey got to handle a pair of prototypes, which were confirmed to be official, not just one of the many experiments that hide within Microsoft's various lairs.
Playfish Product Leader John Earner Is Leaving To Be An EIR At Accel
1c46bcd
At this point in his career, it's safe to put John Earner in the "names as destiny" category. Following a hugely successful run with Playfish, he's leaving the social game developer today to start as an entrepreneur in residence at Accel, according to sources. A former naval officer, he joined as the company in 2008 as its first game producer, where he shepherded the development of its first big simulation game, Pet Society. Having figured out how to monetize virtual goods with it, he went on to launch the company's next big hit, Restaurant City.
1c46bcd
At this point in his career, it's safe to put John Earner in the "names as destiny" category. Following a hugely successful run with Playfish, he's leaving the social game developer today to start as an entrepreneur in residence at Accel, according to sources. A former naval officer, he joined as the company in 2008 as its first game producer, where he shepherded the development of its first big simulation game, Pet Society. Having figured out how to monetize virtual goods with it, he went on to launch the company's next big hit, Restaurant City.
January 21 2012
Analyst: All These Concerns Over EA And Star Wars Are “Overdone”
EA-Logo
So, there's been some hubbub around Electronic Arts over the last few days, as the company ramps up for the release of its third quarter earnings on February 1st. Yesterday, EA's stock closed at $17.54 per share, which, in context, meant that the gaming goliath's stock was down 30 percent since hitting its 52-week high in early November. This drop was mostly due to the collective shock relating to the news concerning its recently released title, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which now has a ridiculous price tag attached to it -- as Wall Street is estimating the cost to be between $150 and $200 million.
EA-Logo
So, there's been some hubbub around Electronic Arts over the last few days, as the company ramps up for the release of its third quarter earnings on February 1st. Yesterday, EA's stock closed at $17.54 per share, which, in context, meant that the gaming goliath's stock was down 30 percent since hitting its 52-week high in early November. This drop was mostly due to the collective shock relating to the news concerning its recently released title, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which now has a ridiculous price tag attached to it -- as Wall Street is estimating the cost to be between $150 and $200 million.
January 20 2012
Investors Bet On Social Gambling, $ZNGA Closes Up 6.57%, Now At $9.09 A Share
featured-games-380-226-zp-game-board-02
The social gaming industry has been getting more and more interested in a potentially big new way to make money: online gambling. And investors, who are now able to buy stock in market leader Zynga, are following suit. Today, Zynga told All Things D that it was considering how to approach the new opportunity: “We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than 7 million people playing every day and over 30 million each month. We know from listening to our players that there’s an interest in the real money gambling market. We’re in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity.”
featured-games-380-226-zp-game-board-02
The social gaming industry has been getting more and more interested in a potentially big new way to make money: online gambling. And investors, who are now able to buy stock in market leader Zynga, are following suit. Today, Zynga told All Things D that it was considering how to approach the new opportunity: “We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than 7 million people playing every day and over 30 million each month. We know from listening to our players that there’s an interest in the real money gambling market. We’re in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity.”
Heyzap Announces Mobile Gaming Partners: PocketGems And More
Heyzap partners logo Jan 2012
Gaming startup Heyzap first launched its social discovery service for mobile games nearly a year ago. Now it's unveiling the first list of partners who are using the service. Some of these partnerships weren't exactly a secret before — you could just open up the Heyzap app and see which games were available. But now the startup is really trumpeting those partnerships, in part to show off some of the big names who are buying into its vision.
Heyzap partners logo Jan 2012
Gaming startup Heyzap first launched its social discovery service for mobile games nearly a year ago. Now it's unveiling the first list of partners who are using the service. Some of these partnerships weren't exactly a secret before — you could just open up the Heyzap app and see which games were available. But now the startup is really trumpeting those partnerships, in part to show off some of the big names who are buying into its vision.
Snake Camouflage: Japan Gets Exclusive Metal Gear Solid 3DS System
mgs
Resident Evil isn’t the only big video game series that made the news in Nippon today: Konami announced [JP] the so-called METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D PREMIUM PACKAGE for the Japanese market. The set includes a special 3DS system, a copy of Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D, and two clear files in MGS design. Here’s the so-called “Snake Camouflage”-style 3DS:
mgs
Resident Evil isn’t the only big video game series that made the news in Nippon today: Konami announced [JP] the so-called METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D PREMIUM PACKAGE for the Japanese market. The set includes a special 3DS system, a copy of Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D, and two clear files in MGS design. Here’s the so-called “Snake Camouflage”-style 3DS:
Capcom Announces Surprising November Release For Resident Evil 6 (First Trailer)
Picture 2
One of the world's biggest video game franchises is getting a new title: Capcom today announced Resident Evil 6 [JP] for the Xbox 360, Sony PS3, and the PC. What's interesting is that the company also said when exactly the game will come out, namely on November 20 in North America and Europe, and two days later in Japan. Note that the release dates are for the console versions, the PC version hasn't been dated yet. By way of comparison: Resident Evil 5 was announced in 2005 and went on sale four years later.
Picture 2
One of the world's biggest video game franchises is getting a new title: Capcom today announced Resident Evil 6 [JP] for the Xbox 360, Sony PS3, and the PC. What's interesting is that the company also said when exactly the game will come out, namely on November 20 in North America and Europe, and two days later in Japan. Note that the release dates are for the console versions, the PC version hasn't been dated yet. By way of comparison: Resident Evil 5 was announced in 2005 and went on sale four years later.
January 19 2012
The Soul Still Burns: Classic Brawler Soul Calibur Lands On iOS
ios-soul
Ready for a blast of late 90's fighting game nostalgia? Well, get those thumbs ready, because Namco's arcade/Dreamcast classic Soul Calibur has just been released for iOS. I enjoyed a long-standing fling with Soul Calibur in my younger days, mostly because it was the only fighting game I was ever good at. My skills seem to have dulled considerably over the intervening years, though the touch controls probably don't help much.
ios-soul
Ready for a blast of late 90's fighting game nostalgia? Well, get those thumbs ready, because Namco's arcade/Dreamcast classic Soul Calibur has just been released for iOS. I enjoyed a long-standing fling with Soul Calibur in my younger days, mostly because it was the only fighting game I was ever good at. My skills seem to have dulled considerably over the intervening years, though the touch controls probably don't help much.
Brass Monkey Grabs $750K To Turn Your Smartphone Into A Wii Controller For Browser Games
Screen shot 2012-01-18 at 5.39.39 PM
Six months ago, Brass Monkey had built and released some well-developed software development kits (SDKs) for Android, iOS, and beyond that, simply put, enabled gamers to turn their mobile devices into remote controllers, with support for Flash, Unity3D, and desktop games and apps. The Brass Monkey team, CEO Chris Allen tells us, believed that bringing the functionality of a Wii controller to smart devices was something gamers could get excited about -- but, at the time, they were missing one important piece. Support that would allow gamers to play on the browser. So they went about acq-hiring Emotely and its Founder and CEO Francois Laberge, bringing him on as CTO.
Screen shot 2012-01-18 at 5.39.39 PM
Six months ago, Brass Monkey had built and released some well-developed software development kits (SDKs) for Android, iOS, and beyond that, simply put, enabled gamers to turn their mobile devices into remote controllers, with support for Flash, Unity3D, and desktop games and apps. The Brass Monkey team, CEO Chris Allen tells us, believed that bringing the functionality of a Wii controller to smart devices was something gamers could get excited about -- but, at the time, they were missing one important piece. Support that would allow gamers to play on the browser. So they went about acq-hiring Emotely and its Founder and CEO Francois Laberge, bringing him on as CTO.
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