Did you know that you can lose points, virtual weapons, virtual currencies and other items you’ve bought in an app or game if you buy a new iPhone or even back up and restore your device? Read more »
Valve, a big name among gamers, plans to use its Steam online distribution system to offer productivity applications as well. Developers can submit their titles to Steam Greenlight. The store goes live September 5. Read more »
China’s online games market is huge. Now some of its biggest publishers want to replicate that success in the west. Where does that leave Zynga and Playfish? Read more at paidContent »
Operating on the theory that there are better ways to find great iOS apps than skimming the “top downloaded” lists on the App Store, Appsfire has published its first-ever alternative rankings that highlight the best apps, not just the ones with the highest download count. Read more »
Rovio has finally released its next title after the smash hit Angry Birds — a physics puzzler called Amazing Alex that reworks an existing iPhone game with a few little extra touches. Will the Finnish company prove it’s not a one hit wonder? Read more »
Game-focused startup accelerator GameFounders has decided to knock back its deadline for applications by three days, in what the founders say is an attempt to accommodate a surge in submissions. Applicants will now have until Friday to apply for the Estonian-based program. Read more »
Moshi Monsters creator Mind Candy has announced the purchase of UK games studio Origami Blue to help lead its experimental labs project – but the company’s first acquisition is unlikely to be its last, with a new head of M&A joining. Read more »
An interactive education and books crossover started by some of the founders of Zynga’s main social gaming rival is taking on $4 million in venture funding. Read more at paidContent »
ISwifter is showing how it can create a full-fledged Facebook app that also includes Flash gaming. TheWorx iPad app, a Facebook application that is set to go live next month, will provide users with access to status updates, their news feed and photos and also gaming via an App Hub. Read more »
Statistics suggest that a third of Draw Something‘s active users have deserted the game in just a month — bringing into question Zynga’s actions and judgment since deciding to purchase maker OMGPOP for $200 million. Read more »
BBC Worldwide is making a strategic investment in a company whose technology will let it port its games to any mobile platform. The BBC’s commercial and overseas unit is investing an unspecified sum in Spaceport, whose technology leverages HTML5, Javascript and OpenGL to let creators convert […] Read more at paidContent »
What if a magazine publisher had devised Angry Birds? Time Inc’s UK publisher IPC Media is creating a new division to develop casual games. But this isn’t strictly a content play. The division, IPC Play, will create “advergames” – marketing game-candy designed as digital adjuncts to the space […] Read more at paidContent »
The video games industry has urged the new owner of Europe’s largest plastic-box video games retailer to develop a stronger digital distribu… Read more at paidContent »
Ticket to Ride was one of the earliest games we looked at for this weekly feature, and it’s still a favorite. An update released Thursday upgrades the graphics for the new iPad’s high-resolution display, and makes the game more accessible for color blind users. Read more »
After suspending shares last week, Europe’s largest plastic-box video games retailer, Game Group, called in administrators to run the compan… Read more at paidContent »
The BBC has overcome Microsoft’s wish for iPlayer to be bundled with its paid Xbox Live Gold subscriptions.
The catch-up TV service on Tues… Read more at paidContent »
Crazy Hedgy is a motion-based 3D platform game for iOS that plays more like a marble maze than that other hedgehog-themed console-based game. Only this gyro-controlled little Hedgy has some skills that no rolling marble can match. Read more »
When former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling moved his video game company 38 Studios to Rhode Island in 2010, the decision was not just a snub… Read more at paidContent »
Europe’s biggest plastic-box video game retailer Game Group has warned its shares may become worthless, as it struggles to avoid the same fa… Read more at paidContent »
New Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) CEO Scott Thompson’s upcoming turnaround may centre on mining Yahoo’s green plains for different prospects, including… Read more at paidContent »
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) will this week try to convince mobile game developers to adopt its improved in-app payments features, as it vies with Ap… Read more at paidContent »
Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard says it will launch further direct consumer premium digital channels after the success of its Call Of Duty… Read more at paidContent »
Don’t Run With a Plasma Sword is one of those games you just have to try out based on the title alone. With its straightforward gameplay and nearly endless level-ups, this game has more to offer than its modern update on that nostalgic alien soundtrack “Woo-EE-Euh.” Read more »
Shareholders in big Chinese online game developer Shanda Interactive Entertainment (NSDQ: SNDA) have voted in favour of a proposal by which… Read more at paidContent »
NBCUniversal (NSDQ: CMCSA) will once again use its Olympics coverage to search for what it calls the “holy grail” of audience measurement. T… Read more at paidContent »
Research In Motion is undeniably on the ropes at the moment, with the mobile handset maker weathering a decline in global market share, dela… Read more at paidContent »
Much has been made of the mobile risks that Facebook laid out in its S-1 IPO filing earlier this week. Essentially, it’s seeing/pushing mass… Read more at paidContent »
Two European companies are this week taking venture capital in the games space… Read more at paidContent »
Disney (NYSE: DIS) Mobile, the short-lived U.S. MVNO that found a new lease of life in Japan through a Softbank JV in 2008, has now launched… Read more at paidContent »
Angry game owners are demanding Google (NSDQ: GOOG) compensate them for wiping out their investments in online pets. The loss of a virtual k… Read more at paidContent »
– ESPN: The sports network is seeing a reorg: John Kosner has been promoted to EVP, digital and print media, from SVP and GM of the divisio… Read more at paidContent »
Browsing recent App Store releases, I came across Minecraft – Pocket Edition, with a version 1.0 update. Thinking it might be a major update to Mojang’s smash hit, I clicked through — only to find a completely different app trying to lure customers who aren’t paying attention. Read more »
Jon Miller, the chief digital officer for News Corporation (NSDQ: NWS), described his company’s digital strategy today as very “focused on v… Read more at paidContent »
Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings came in about where Wall Street had expected, but the decline of its Windows business continued during a… Read more at paidContent »
Now that it’s a public company, Zynga can start throwing more cash around. The online gaming company has recently acquired four small mobile… Read more at paidContent »
The consumer draw of free apps over paid apps has been well-documented, and so has the rise of in-app payments as a route to making money fr… Read more at paidContent »
Coliloquy, a Palo Alto-based publisher focusing on interactive fiction for adults, launches its first four serial titles today on Kindle. Th… Read more at paidContent »
Games rank as the most popular form of mobile content today — 68 percent of tablet and smartphone app users who downloaded an app in the pa… Read more at paidContent »
The UK’s leading video game retailer again finds itself looking forward to another console upgrade cycle, after Christmas sales came in 12.9… Read more at paidContent »
It is a busy week for digital media news in the Far East, ahead of the Chinese New Year on January 23. Notably, more new e-book services are… Read more at paidContent »
