Casual News – Oct. 30, 2009

The iPhone version of Codeminion’s marble popper SoneLoops! of Jurassica is removed from the Apple App Store due to a copyright complaint; 1UP looks back on five years of the Nintendo DS; and a casual games panel concludes that the days of paying for games up front are numbered. These headlines and more below.

News

• StoneLoops! of Jurassica pulled from Apple App Store due to copyright complaint
• Big Fish Games announces new execs; restructuring
• CGF’09: Paying upfront for games has five years left
• Watercooler raises $5.5 million for fantasy sports, social games
• Diner Dash: Flo on the Go ships for Nintendo DS
• RealNetworks announces third quarter 2009 results
• eGames brights Age of Enlightenment to retail
• Nintendo confirms bigger-screen DSi for U.S, Japan, Europe
• Play Games. Make a Difference! — Hope Arcade Launches to Support March of Dimes
• New social game company Gravity Bear formed to ignite explosive casual games sector

Features

• Rise to Heaven: Five Years of Nintendo DS
• Interview: EA Casual’s Harvey Elliott
• Big Fish – Little Pond
• Broken Hearts: A Soldier’s Duty, Developer Diary
• Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch put the squeeze on Nintendo
• Riot Games: Devs can get "terrible end" of publisher deals
• Thriving In A Market That Rewards Quality And Volume
• Runic’s Schaefer: PC Game Market Hurt By ‘Speculative, Risky’ Projects

Erin Bell