Survey: Share your thoughts on Microsoft’s Xbox One
The web is abuzz with talk of Microsoft’s Xbox One, which was announced on Tuesday. Here’s a chance for GigaOM readers to share their own thoughts by taking our survey. Read more »
Google Glass minus glass: Dekko makes the world your OS
Dekko is debuting its augmented reality operating system that uses the camera on your mobile device and powerful computer vision algorithms, backed by new seed funding. Read more »
Games meet brains: the new immersive tech of gaming
Gaming has been downsizing the gadgets over the decades, and is getting close to tapping into the ultimate controller: your brain. The latest tech was on display at the NeuroGaming Conference. Read more »
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Where the next-generation console fits in today’s video game market
The console era is over — or so a growing number of game-industry executives would have us believe. While social and mobile gaming have taken a sizable share of the video games market, there is room for growth for hardware, particularly in streaming technology and the emergence of open-source platforms. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Former Zynga exec ‘Lo’ Toney lands at Khosla-backed learn-to-code startup LearnStreet as CEO
Laurence ‘Lo’ Toney has been named the new CEO of LearnStreet, a learn-to-code startup supported by Khosla Ventures. Previously, Toney was a general manager at Zynga, overseeing Poker and mobile publishing. Read more »
GigaOM Research highs and lows from CES 2013
Given how CES is now a barometer for such a wide array of technology segments, GigaOM Research decided to ask our readers which way the tech winds will blow over the next year based on what they saw in Las Vegas. (Subscription required) Read more »
Why your next game console ought to be Watson
photo: Shutterstock
Early attempts at cloud-based video gaming were a flop. Roy Bahat, of OUYA, says it’s still a worthy pursuit, but should be based on a new generation of games built specifically to take advantage of the cloud’s supercomputing strengths. Read more »
Facebook works on game quality, social to keep users from calling it quits
photo: GigaOM
For Facebook, the name of the game is getting more social gaming hits, using word of mouth and the new App Center to recommend games to friends that will turn users to players to payers, as company executives said Thursday to reporters in Menlo Park. Read more »
Nintendo’s Wii U bets big on second screen TV
Nintendo’s Wii U won’t just come with Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant video. It will also tap into your TiVo library and even deliver game stats, tweets and other info to the second screen while watching a sports event on live TV. Read more »
Valve Software makes hardware move
Frustrated by a lack of hardware innovation, gaming fan favorite Valve Software is taking matters into its own hands and is seeking industrial engineering expertise. That could mean that the rumored Valve Steambox is on its way. Read more »
The Apple Roundup: Secure passwords can create a false sense of security
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Mat Honan’s iCloud hack wasn’t preventable with a strong password, hints about a larger iPhone in iOS 6, the Apple TV moves beyond hobby stage, and more. Read more »
Social gambling could boost Facebook’s flagging Payments
As Facebook Payments revenue through Zynga games slows up, the social network is turning to gambling for more direct user money. How will the social network balance responsible behaviour with the need to impress investors? Read more at paidContent »
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Analyzing the wearable computing market
With the growth of sensors and microelectronics, the potential uses of wearable-computing technologies now reach to health and fitness, gaming, fashion, disabilities and augmented reality. Most importantly, the widespread adoption of wearables will drive the form function and market for mobiles in vital ways. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Takeaways from connected consumer’s second quarter
Tablets featured prominently in the connected consumer space, both as a product category and as a component of broader platform strategies by major OS providers Microsoft, Google and Apple. Meanwhile Facebook began laying the groundwork to add payment processing to its platform. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
GameFounders pushes deadline back after ‘big uptake’
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 »
Mind Candy on the hunt for more acquisitions
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 »
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The evolution of the virtual goods market
Social virtual goods revenues will grow from $2.1 billion in 2010 to $4.1 billion in 2016. Leading this growth are disruptive factors such as mobile, regulatory changes and alternatives to the traditional OS. But the most important disruption vector will be increasing the universality of virtual currencies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Tablet market to hit over 377 million units by 2016
Tablets represent the next evolution in the advancement of mobile computing, and by 2015 or 2016, the tablet will begin to replace the laptop and the desktop operating systems market will begin to level off or perhaps decline. Our latest forecast examines these trends in detail. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Ignite raises $5M to become the World of Warcraft of car racing
Ignite Game Technologies, the San Francisco-based online gaming startup that specializes in car racing games, has raised $5 million in new funding, bringing its total investment to $17.5 million. The company makes massive multi-player online racing games in which people compete in real time Read more »
Video: Cloud gaming on the iPad with OnLive
OnLive’s game service is already available for Android devices, but there’s an iOS version in the works. Here’s a hands on demo with the beta client on an iPad, along with the OnLive wireless controller, which I think brings a much better experience than the touchscreen. Read more »
Games for the weekend: Run Roo Run
Run Roo Run is a simple to learn, yet hard to master side-scrolling game that rewards accuracy. If you were a gamer that toiled over Mario to get the timing of jumping from pipe to pipe just right, then this is the game for you. Read more »
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NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout
The fourth quarter may have lacked a dominating big-event product announcement like Q3’s Facebook platform extension or Q2’s unveiling of Google+, but the NewNet world continued to buzz along. In the battle for mind share, everyone wanted to be a platform. Meanwhile, consumer and social technologies continued to gain momentum, and new vehicles for content and service discovery presented both challenges and opportunities for NewNet companies. And it is hard to ignore the overcrowded but growing world of daily deals. This quarterly report analyzes these trends and others, and it also provides a near-term outlook of trends, technologies and companies to watch in 2012. Companies mentioned in the report include Amazon, Facebook and Socialcast. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Games for the weekend: Trenches II
Trenches II is the latest in a lineup of World War I-themed games from Thunder Game Works. Falling somewhere between Plants vs. Zombies and Flight Control, Trenches II offers slightly more advanced, compelling gameplay, so much so that it approaches the realm of real-time strategy gaming. Read more »
Microsoft debuts official Xbox LIVE client for iOS devices
Microsoft may have launched its companion app for Xbox consoles on Windows Phone 7 devices exclusively, but it isn’t leaving iOS users completely out in the cold. The official My Xbox LIVE app, which works on both iPhone and iPad, is in the App Store now. Read more »
Looks like EA’s new Star Wars gamble is going to pay off
Video gamers and Star Wars fans are a match made in heaven, but can they justify the development of what may be the most expensive video game in history? According to new data from Electronic Arts, “Star Wars, The Old Republic” will be a blockbuster. Read more »
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Migrating media applications to the private cloud: best practices for businesses
If your company has a cloud application with a predictable audience size or one that is costing you more than $25,000 a month to host, you may want to consider maintaining a private cloud. This paper provides an overview of the factors that decision makers who are developing a public-to-private cloud-migration strategy should consider, recognizing that public versus private cloud strategy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It also details pitfalls that must be avoided along the way and provides a case study of Zynga, a company that has found a way to use both the private and public clouds to create a hybrid solution. Companies mentioned in this report include Akamai, Foursquare, Nimbula and ARM. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Games for the weekend: Rat on a Snowboard
There’s no real franchise character with the kind of repeated success of something like Sonic the Hedgehog on the the iOS platform, but one contender wants to change that. Enter the adventures of Ratty, a collection of fast-paced, side-scrolling games by Donut Games. Read more »
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Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
What Apple needs to provide users to make iTV successful
Apple’s television plans are the subject of plenty of recent speculation, and are raising a lot of questions in consumer minds. From the questions I’ve heard about the rumored iTV, here’s a list of five things Apple needs to do to shake up the space. Read more »
Tested: Windows gaming in OS X with Parallels 7
I last looked at Windows gaming options on OS X in 2010; the choices haven’t gotten any better. However, Parallels 7 was recently released and boasts improved Windows performance in a virtualized environment, so it’s time to take another look. Read more »
Tiger Woods, doublethink and failed startups
It’s become a piece of widely-accepted startup lore to say that failure is an important part of success. But this trio of examples highlight the fact that entrepreneurs have as much in common with Tiger Woods as they do with each other. Read more »
Shadow Cities finds that mobile gaming is surprisingly stationary
Grey Area co-founder and CEO Ville Vesterinen, at GigaOM’s Mobilize 2011 on Tuesday, discussed a growing trend: location-based gaming. One of the company’s most significant discoveries about mobile games has to do with how little they seem to actually be played on the run. Read more »
6waves Lolapps puts up $10M to fund the next big gaming app
6waves Lolapps, the newly-merged company that develops and publishes games for Facebook and other social networks, has launched a $10 million fund to invest in independent game developers. The 6L Fund is part of 6waves Lolapps’ play to become the”clear number two” to Zynga. Read more »
Adobe enables 3D gaming on updated Flash Player, Air
Adobe is looking to be the go-to resource for gaming with updated versions of Flash Player and AIR. Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 will be 3D enabled for the first time and will offer 1,000 times faster graphics rendering performance. Read more »
Gamification goes to war in a bitter battle of ideas
The rise of gamification has become an increasing point of contention over the past year. Now it seems a spat between two leading figures has left the movement facing a divisive split. The controversy centers on a new book by Gabe Zichermann called Gamification by Design. Read more »
Get Portal free on Steam until Sept. 20
This is a treat. Valve is offering hit first-person puzzle game Portal for free starting Friday, until Sept. 20. You can grab your copy of Portal for Mac (or PC) on Steam. If you haven’t played Portal, great. If you have, it’s worth playing again. Read more »
Apple’s iPad gaming future bright as Nintendo abstains
A new report finds that the iPad gaming community is big and getting bigger. IPad gaming shows lots of potential for growth, according to consumer data, but at least one game maker seems firmly committed to ignoring the opportunity inherent in that growth. Read more »
Please Stay Calm thinks location is key to mobile MMOs
New iPhone MMORPG Please Stay Calm takes a lot of what makes freemium gaming titles successful on the App Store, and adds in a dash of zombies, and a heaping helping of location services. It’s social survival horror in your backyard — and it’s pretty awesome. Read more »
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GigaOM Euro 20: the European startups to watch
Europe’s web scene is now thriving, and we’ve compiled a list featuring some of the best and brightest European web startups — what we’re dubbing the GigaOM Euro 20. Depending on how closely you watch Europe’s online scene, some of these companies may be familiar to you. Others you may not have heard of. But all of them are worth watching closely. In this report, we profile the 20 startups that we feel best represent Europe’s current tech scene. We have organized our list around perception, and as lists go, it is intended to be a guideline rather than a rule book. It’s not exhaustive, and clearly, with such a diverse and vibrant continent as our playing field, it never could be. Companies mentioned in this report include GetJar, Huddle, Made.com and Songkick. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Two-thirds of in-app game buys have fleeting value
Most of the money people spend within mobile games is on “consumable” items that have no lasting value once used. The most popular form of that is “premium” currency, which allows users to buy their way into advancing faster in a game, according to Flurry. Read more »
