Friday Casual News Wrap-Up

It’s Friday, so that means its the day where we showcase all the casual game news fit to print. This week: more acquisitions, more studies that show casual games are good, and a Mossberg review of My Big Fish Games.

But the big news this week is Apple is releasing casual games for the iPod. Check out our full coverage.

But the big news this week is Apple is releasing casual games for the iPod. Check out our full coverage.

iPod Games Coverage

MacWorld

First Look: iPod games

Playfeed

Exclusive Reviews: iPod Games

Wired Blogs

iPod gets into the Game: Reactions

Kikizo

Apple Brings Games to iPod

More News

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

The Mossberg Solution: Online games appeal to ‘casual’ players. Walter Mossberg of Wall Street Journal reviews My Big Fish Games.

New York Times

Game Makers Court ‘Casual’ Players With Shorter, Less Lethal Fare. Good article about large media companies like Vivendi and Liberty Media who are discovering casual games. Free registration required.

Gameplanet

‘Casual games’ survey results surprise publisher. Another survey (this one from PopCap that suggests that casual games are replacing TV (nice) are healthy.

Gamespot

Casual gamer gets serious prize. Kavitha Yalavarthi of Odessa, Texas, was crowned World’s Best Casual Gamer and wins $1 million from Fun Technogies.

Gameindustry.biz

Vivendi acquires mobile games developer Centerscore

Yahoo! Finance

Got news? Tip us at [email protected]

Reviews
October 13, 2011
Triple Town Review
By Leif Johnson
I had to force myself to quit playing Triple Town in order to write this review, which might give you some idea of just how addicting it is. It's almost scary. One minute I was logging in with the intention of taking a few screenshots and verifying a few notes, and the next I was grumbling that an hour had gone by and I hadn't written a word. Triple Town was already incredible when it made its first appearance on the Kindle almost exactly a year ago, but this new Facebook release manages to improve on what even then seemed like an almost perfect puzzle strategy game. Combining challenge, fun, and gameplay that can last for hours or minutes, Triple Town is everything a casual game should be.
Upcoming
January 25, 2013
Dragon Bane Elite Preview
By Dant Rambo
Dragons have assumed a lot of different roles in fictional works. Sometimes they're good guys—Pete's Dragon, DragonHeart—and sometimes, such as in The Hobbit, they're downright malicious. The upcoming Dragon Bane for iOS resides in the latter camp, tossing players into a world filled with angry dragons and other dangers. Sounds like a great place to honeymoon.