As a journalist, you often hear that industry events are epicentres for networking, meeting developers, and hearing interesting stories. Never more has this proven true for me than during the day before this year’s Casual Connect, at a summit put on by the International Game Developer’s Association. I went into the morning’s first lecture - a unique one about learning from early failure - thinking I’d be covering the panel. Instead, I ended up digging deep with someone on it. 

I’ll be honest. There isn’t a whole lot at this year’s E3 that has blown me away. Or even impressed me for that matter. So when Andrew Goulding - founder of Australian developer Brawesome, and all around good guy - e-mailed me promising some interesting news from the indie front, I immediately reported for listening duty. Like many App Store developers, Brawesome will be tweaking the prices of their two major releases. Unlike many, however? They’re bumping them up.

You know the old adage, “addicted to videogames?” The one that parents like to bandy around when they want their kids to stop playing and do their homework, or when they’re cavorting with other baby-boomers about the ills of today’s media-driven society? Well it seems it carries a little more literal weight overseas, where the practices of some major social games in Japan have led to some absurd spending and - subsequently - recent litigation

As the old saying goes, the best things in life are free. Why empty your bank account for a new videogame when some of the best around don’t cost a dime? According to Flurry, the average iOS user owns 65 apps, and you can bet that a big chunk of that consists of glorious, “costless” apps.

Here’s something to think about. Video games have been around for decades, but their burst of mainstream popularity is only a few years old. Why is that? What is it about this generation of video games that gave rise to reams of casual fare? The answer is multi-tiered, but according to recent survey findings, the economic downturn of the late Aughts did a great deal to bring a much wider audience to the relatively cheap pastime of gaming. Moreover, the rise of the free-to-play market, its subsequent success, and the chilly economy all tie into each other in a big way.

I’m a big fan of having the chance to try things out before I buy them. Before you buy a new pair of shoes, you try them on right? You have to see if they fit, see if they’re your style. I feel the same way about Apps on my phone.

Gaming powerhouse Blizzard Entertainment may be about to completely rethink how it distributes and prices its games. According to industry buzz, the company is strongly considering adopting the free-to-play model for an upcoming, unannounced game.

"Gather 'round, family! The Simpsons are going freemium!" Regardless of whether or not you feel that The Simpsons are past their sell-by date (the show just recently aired its 500th episode), it's hard ignore the news that EA is developing a freemium Simpsons title for iOS. It's also hard not to immediately fall in love with the premise for the game.

A new study from research company Parks Associates shows that the amount of people playing videogames has risen 241 percent since 2008. The current number is estimated to be 135 million players, which is a huge increase from the 2008 number of 56 million.

Remember how it turned out that Temple Run had become the top game in the App Store? Well it turns out that the game's major success was due to Imangi Studios dropping the game's cost to the low, low price of absolutely nothing.