“It’s not a technology problem or a hardware problem or a business problem – it’s a design problem,” said Microsoft Game Studio’s business development manager Phil Waymouth today, when addressing the difficulties of moving from creating standalone console games to crafting cross-media IPs that spans platforms.
Zynga has been accused of using a competitor’s source code to create a number of popular Facebook games including FarmVille, FrontierVille, CityVille and FishVille.
myFarm developer SocialApps has sued Zynga for alleged copyright infringement, violation of trade secrets and breach of written contract, among other charges, Patent Arcade reports.
Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy, maker of web-based kids game Moshi Monsters, told the audience at Develop that games have an unexploited ability to produce the world’s leading entertainment brands.
Speaking to Edge, Bethesda vice president of marketing Pete Hines explains that the publisher and developer will continue to look for new developers to work with, but that acquisitions are not necessarily at the forefront of its mind.
"We're always talking to folks that we like and respect to see: should we be making a game together? What are your ideas? What do you guys wanna do? And wherever it makes sense, we will." he said during an interview published on the site today.
Speaking to Edge, Bethesda vice president of marketing Pete Hines explains that the publisher and developer will continue to look for new developers to work with, but that acquisitions are not necessarily at the forefront of its mind.
"We're always talking to folks that we like and respect to see: should we be making a game together? What are your ideas? What do you guys wanna do? And wherever it makes sense, we will." he said during an interview published on the site today.
Bethesda has been both a developer and a publisher since it established in 1986, but over the last few years, it’s moved to becoming one of the world’s leading gaming companies.
So innocuous, so unassuming, so all-encompassing, Tiny Tower is nearly brilliant. The most obvious attraction may well be the price – which is ostensibly nothing – but this game will eventually take your money, and there's simply no calculating how much time.
So innocuous, so unassuming, so all-encompassing, Tiny Tower is nearly brilliant. The most obvious attraction may well be the price – which is ostensibly nothing – but this game will eventually take your money, and there's simply no calculating how much time.
Speaking at this year's Develop conference today, EA sports worldwide development lead Andrew Wilson said that game retailers are facing a serious disruptive challenge from on-demand digital content.
Despite the continued growth of the game market, fewer players are choosing to visit specialist retailers, instead turning to Facebook games and download services such as Steam, Xbox Live and PSN. 45 per cent of game revenues in 2010 were digital, according to Wilson.
What’s the ultimate fate of a successful indie game? For Doodle Jump, it's being gobbled up by the Pac-Man brand. Pac'N-Jump is stuffed with Namco’s retro iconography – the later ‘stages’ are themed on Dig Dug, Rally-X and Galaga – and does a great job of turning them into mechanics, but at its core this is only a clone of a hit.
Cavorite’s bushy haired and bespectacled scientist looks familiar, and so do most of the things around him: crates, buttons, platforms, exits. That it manages to be original is surprising – and what lets it down is tragic.
Cavorite’s bushy haired and bespectacled scientist looks familiar, and so do most of the things around him: crates, buttons, platforms, exits. That it manages to be original is surprising – and what lets it down is tragic.
Following reports last month UTV Ignition has confirmed that it has made a number of job cuts at the Austin-based True Studios, which developed free-to-play MMOG Faxion Online and was working on FPS Reich.
UTV online vice president Don Choi issued a statement to Gamasutra saying that only a "fraction" of the studios staff had been laid off, though an affected employee, who wished to remain anonymous, contradicted the statement, claiming instead that the majority of employees at True had been let go.
According to a report from Gene Munster, analyst at investment bank and institutional securities firm Piper Jaffray, the amount of apps downloaded by the average Apple iOS device user in 2011 has seen a 61 per cent increase year-on-year (rising from 51 apps in 2010 to 83).
This boost comes in spite of an increased app ASP (average selling price), which has risen 14 per cent year-on-year in 2011 to $1.44, recovering from an 18 per cent decline in 2010.