Casual News – July 11, 2008

Yahoo! plans to roll out more than 400 free ad-supported games by the end of the year, Wadjet Eye Games announces a publishing deal with Lively Ivy Studios, and multiple casual gaming companies announce games for the new iPhone 3G. These headlines and more behind the cut.

News

• Yahoo! bolsters ad-supported games
• Midway’s casual portal goes live
• PopCap announces Bejeweled 2 game available on Apple App Store at launch
• I-play announces the debut of Numba on the Apple App Store
• EA announces game lineup for launch of App Store
• Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man chomp their way into Apple’s new App Store
• King.com launches skill version of Cake Mania 2
• Challenge Games Secures $4.5 million in financing from Sequoia Capital
• New casual games event hits U.K.
• Wadjet Eye Games announces publishing deal with Lively Ivy Studios
• Meez and FlashGameLicense launch flash game development contest
• PlayJam unveils social network for casual gamers
• Only casual games and blockbusters viable, claims BioShock dev
• Activision announces "Wee 1st" – new brand focused on titles designed specifically for Nintendo Wii
• Majesco Entertainment announces lineup for 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo
• 
  The Game Factory searches for "King of Cubicles" to join its executive team
• Level Up Charity Games Competition debuts during Austin Game Developer’s Conference

Features

• Flash in the pan?
• Atari creator says games fertile ground for marketers

Erin Bell