Japan’s DeNA rumored to be buying ngmoco. The hiniku of it all.
ngmoco may be for sale. . . or maybe not. According to Techcrunch, Japan's DeNA is considering acquiring ngmoco for $400 million.
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Moms who play Mafia Wars (and the game developers who love them)
Over at The Daily Beast, there is an article reporting on the phenomenon of women and moms playing evil social games like Mafia Wars. Women not only like to make cakes (Café World) and raise virtual families (FrontierVille). They also like to role-play Mafia-style.
Hi5 unveils SocioPath: horrible name, cool product
Hi5 unveiled a beta version and more details of its social games platform, SocioPath at the GDC conference in Austin yesterday. SocioPath may possibly be the worst name in the history of game platforms ever derived. I get it. It's "social" and it's a "path" to drive new players to your games. But when I hear the term, I think of Stalin or Charles Manson. Like getting half butt naked and wrestling a sumo wrestler at a games conference, it's hard to take Hi5's initiate seriously, as Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat notes. Having said that, once you get over the name and dive into the details, you have to take Hi5's social gaming plans seriously.
McDonalds gets down on the farm with FarmVille for one day only
Zynga can now add McDonald's as an advertising sponsor for FarmVille. For one day only (today), FarmVille players can inter-act with the McDonald's farmto earn unique rewards.
Smell this game and buy it
Mood Media has announced a partnership to launch a casual game offering through retail stores. Specifically, they are working with Big Fish Games to sell 10 of their games and target the elusive women 30 to 45 year old demographic at retail, including the Mystery Case Files series. That's nice but what I found interesting is what Mood Media does. Mood Media describes itself as "a leading in-store media specialist that uses a mix of music, visual, and scent media to help clients communicate with consumers with a view of driving incremental sales at the point of purchase." Sound, I get.But smell? Does that really make one want to buy a game?
Zynga buys Bonfire Studios: Another day, another purchase.
Zynga has bought another games studio, this time in the good old US of A. Zynga has acquired Bonfire Studios, a game development studio based in Texas. Bonfire actually has not released any social games so far. They are more known as being a veteran team that has been involved in development of PC and Xbox 360 titles Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and Halo Wars.
My Crazy Prediction: Zynga will launch Zynga Live with a Super Bowl Commercial
Between now and the end of the year, I will boldly make a series of predictions that will impact the world of casual games and everyday gamers. Today's crazy prediction: Zynga will launch Zynga Live by February 6 and announce it with a commercial during the Super Bowl.
Top 5 Games to Party to (and get your groove on!)
When I was seventeen, it was a very good year. To party that is. But now that I'm twenty years older, the only partying I'm doing is online. If I can't stay up all night and rave anymore, surely I can pretend to rock and roll all night and party every day. Here's our top 5 games to party like a rock star to online.
