Joel Brodie

News
September 9, 2011
Introducing Gamezebo Deals Now!
By Joel Brodie
I want to to introduce you to our brand spanking new "Deals Now!" button in our Meebo Bar below. Every time we hear and report about an awesome game sale, highly rated games that drop in price, free game code giveaways, and beta test offers, we'll feature it here under "Deals Now!"The key is that it's deals now. All deals now are time limited. We may feature a sale that goes on for a weekend, or give away 5 free codes, or share an opportunity for 10 people to be first to beta test a game before everyone else. The game deals will always be changing, so be sure to click on the Deals Now button in the Meebo bar below to find out what's the games deal, right here, right now!
News
September 6, 2011
Watch out Disney! Angry Birds gets its own amusement park game in China
By Joel Brodie
Actually, I better say, watch out Rovio! Like the fake Apple Stores, Techcrunch is reporting that a Chinese amusement park has created an unauthorized and very authentic carnival-like attraction based on Angry Birds.Players shoot plush Angry Birds toys (authorized, probably made in China) with a giant sling into inflatable pig balloons. This puts Rovio in an interesting spot.
News
September 1, 2011
Maybe HTML5 is the Real Deal After All?
By Joel Brodie
During my panel Hype vs Reality at Casual Connect this year (where panelists debate whether a game trend is hype or the real deal, watch it here), everyone on the panel proclaimed HTML5 hype. It will be big because it is write once, play everywhere, but not now.Well, HTML5 may become big sooner than later. Techcrunch has an interesting write-up on the Game Closure, which provides technology and SDK for developers to create HTML5-based multiplayer games on iOS, Android, and Facebook.In other HTML 5 news, GameSalad, a leading platform enabling anyone to create their own HTML 5 games with little or no programming experience, has their first big viral hit on their hands. Angry Anna is an Angry Birds-inspired game which takes on the subject of corruption in Indian politics.
News
August 27, 2011
First Ever Big Fish Games Collector’s Edition Sale
By Joel Brodie
Well, this is kind of exciting. For the first time ever, Big Fish Games is offering a sales discounts on Collector's Edition games. This weekend, all Collector's Editions released before this month are $9.99. Go to Big Fish Games and type in Coupon Code: ONETIME. Sale runs from 8/27-8/28. Want to see more PC and Mac games on sale today? Our Price Drops engine reveals all! Go here to see all PC games on sale today and here to see all Mac games on sale.
News
August 26, 2011
Et tu, Slide?
By Joel Brodie
Last April, when Google bought Slide, I implied that it was a stupid acquisition (I'm a nice guy, so I nicely said they over-paid).The new bosses at Google must agree with me, because as of last night, Slide is no more. As reported to AllThingsD, Google has shut down Slide and its founder Max Levchin is leaving company, presumably to start his next company.Included in the list of shut down projects is the semi-popular game SuperPoke Friends as well as a bunch of non-related social app projects.
News
August 26, 2011
Papaya Mobile – Funny name, good Android business
By Joel Brodie
Who says you can't make money on Android? Papaya Mobile, a mobile social networking platform for Android phones, announced that it has grown to 25 million users, up 940% since January 2010.Of course, the majority of gamers for Papaya's social mobile games are not paying a penny, but the ones who are are paying relatively more than what one would see on other social networks such as Facebook.The average revenue per paying Papaya user is $22.60 a month and there have been 11 million transactions with Papaya's virtual currency.
News
August 25, 2011
Interview: wooga’s fun games make for fast growth
By Joel Brodie
Earlier this year wooga, the developer behind social games like Bubble Island and Magic Land, announced that it had become the fourth biggest game developer on Facebook. Currently wooga boasts more than 30 million monthly active users between all of its games. Not only that, but the developer was one of the launch partners with Google+ games and has plans to bring Diamond Dash to mobile phones, expanding its reach even further. Gamezebo spoke with wooga CEO Jens Begemann about the company's quick rise and where it hopes to move in the future.
News
August 24, 2011
Steve Jobs resigns (but don’t panic yet, Apple fan boys!)
By Joel Brodie
First, the Great East Coast Earthquake. And now, the Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple. What is creating the bigger tremors?Here in the Valley of the Geeks, it's the later. The sun shall rise again on Apple tomorrow morning, but the games business for Apple will be a-changing. . . regardless of what Steve Jobs does.