5 Winning Trends from GDC
The Games Developer Conference (GDC) has come and gone. Which top 5 game trends, as Charlie Sheen would say, are the #winners at GDC? And what game trends didn't make the cut? Click READ MORE to find out.
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The best hidden object game of the year maybe on Facebook
Like oil and water, hidden object games and Facebook are not supposed to mix. Facebook games are meant to be social and hidden object games are traditionally a solitary affair.Apparently, no one gave Playdom this memo. Playdom showed me a demo of their upcoming social hidden object game, Gardens of Time, at the Game Developer Conference this week.I don't have any screen shots to show you yet (it's still under embargo). But, I am allowed to share with you my impressions. I can fairly say, as the owner of a games site that has reviewed about 1000 hidden object games in the past 5 years, I am thoroughly impressed.
Talking SocioPath and SocioPay with Hi5’s Alex St. John
I dropped by Hi5's office last week before the madness that is called the Game Developer's Conference to meet with Alex St. John and get a sneak peak of their new monetization platform, SocioPay, and new features to their distribution channel, SocioPath. Though I still think the names and logos are gimmicky (sorry, call me a brand purist), the new features are legitimate. Hi5 claims that SocioPay can increase the revenues of social game developers by 200 - 300%. If it works as designed, SocioPay could be a huge revenue generator for social game companies.
TinyCo no longer tiny, raises $18 million from Andreessen Horowitz
Mirror mirror on the wall, who will be the Zynga of Mobile Social? Andreessen Horowitz, a reputable venture capital firm here in Silicon Valley, has placed their first set of bets on TinyCo, makers of Tap Resort Party and Tiny Chef.
The Looming Battle Between Facebook Credits and In-App Payments and why Apple is destined to drop HTML 5
Kim-Mai Cutler at Inside Mobile Apps has written an interesting piece that Facebook and Apple are on a collision course over payments. Facebook and Apple look like they are making moves out of each other's playbook. Both have announced that they will take a 30% cut of sales (virtual items and subscriptions) from apps distributed on their platforms. Where it gets interesting is where their platforms converge.
Small Finnish Company wants to turn any city into a RPG game with runaround mages
Grey Area, a smart-phone games developer based in Finland has raised $2.5 million, according to TechCrunch. Grey Area is the developer of the mobile alternative reality game called Shadow Cities, which turns real city streets into a virtual battle zone for players, with missions, casting spells, and mages. Think FourSquare if FourSquare was actually a game, and not some pointless app that you can only use to check-in real-world locations and nothing more. Nerdy, yes. Cool, indeed.
How does CityVille compare to Call of Duty: Black Ops?
We all know that CityVille is big (100 million users big). But, how do Facebook games stack up against the heavyweights in the core game space, such as Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops? I've often pondered this question, as have the fine folks at IGN who put together a chart comparing the top games on Facebook and in the retail video game space in 2010 by revenues and users.
The Weekend Deal: 50% off first month on any WildClub membership
Our last WildTangent deal went so well, we decided to do another one! Get 50% off the first month of any WildClub membership over at WildTangent. The coupon code isWILDCLUB50and is valid until the evening of Monday, Feb 21, 2011. With WildClub, you automatically receive a stack of WildCoins at a discount each month (up to 44% off the price) as well as have the option to purchase games with WildCoins instead of cash, saving even more money. Click READ MORE for details on how exactly to redeem your coupon code and get your 50% off WildClub discount.
