So says a report by the Nielsen company (yes, the same one best known for giving the world TV ratings) released yesterday that tracks the habits of gamers in the U.S. ages 13 and up. It found that gaming on smartphones and tablets made serious strides between 2011 and 2013, which shouldn't surprise anyone. What was a little more eye-opening was the percentage of people who self-classify as console gamers who also report playing mobile games: 50 percent, up from 35 percent back in 2011.That doesn't mean that the negative stigma mobile games have in some corners of the overall gaming community has completely gone away. All it takes is a visit to the right comments section when a beloved console or PC franchise announces a mobile spin-off to prove that.
From the "it was bound to happen eventually" file comes this: a mobile games network that allows players to compete across a number of titles with real money at stake.Android gamers may know about Skillz already, since the service has already been live there for a while. The big announcement today is that the "world's premier cash tournament platform for mobile games" is now available on iOS, launching on the App Store with more than 150 games live right now. The company is promising thousands more from a wide variety of developers.In a system not unlike online poker in its heyday, Skillz allows players to compete for free using a virtual currency called Z (a letter the company obviously really likes). Anyone who wants to play for real stakes can deposit real money and use it to enter tournaments that award cash prizes to the winners.
It's been a busy week for MAG Interactive's Ruzzle series. First we saw the launch of Ruzzle Adventure - a game that scored both an iTunes Editor's Choice position and four stars in a Gamezebo review - and now they've announced the next Ruzzle project: dominating your television set.MAG Interactive has entered into a deal with High Noon Entertainment to turn the franchise into a television series.
If you're a fan of indie JRPG's - the kind with a classic old school vibe - there's a good chance that you know the name Kemco. They've been offering up all kinds of retro-inspired goodness on the App Store for some time.The only problem is that their games aren't cheap (well… by mobile gaming standards), often running $5.99-$7.99. For the next few days though, you can pick up nine different Kemco games for just 99 cents each.Here's the full list;
Return of the Obra Dinn sounds nothing like Papers, Please. Lucas Pope's empathetic masterpiece about immigration and war-torn countries was told from the perspective of a customs officer. Obra Dinn, by contrast, is a "3D first-person mystery game" with a 1-bit art style set in 1808.You are cast in a similarly menial position as Pope's previous game. You're the insurance adjustor for the East India Company's London Office. The company wants you to unravel the secrets behind the titular Obra ("pronounced like 'Cobra' without the C") Dinn, a merchant ship that disappeared on its way to the Orient and reappeared years later with no visible crew.
Want to make iOS games but don't know where to start? Gamezebo Deals is here to help. As of today, our newest offer delivers up 22+ hours of training to teach you the fundamentals of making games for the iPhone and iPad.A $499 value, GZ Deals has helped bring the price down to just $59 for propspective learners such as yourself.For full details, and to get in on this offer while you can, visit deals.gamezebo.com.
Let's face it: Star Fox should have stayed in his cockpit. His initial two titles pushed the technological limits for what home consoles could pump out for players to experience, but after that Nintendo decided to make the Star Fox games a blend of on-rails shooting and a third-person action adventure. Personally it never sat right with me. The Nintendo DS's Star Fox Command did see the return of pure on-rails gameplay, but the game itself felt (and looked) like a game that should have come out between the Super Nintendo and the Nintendo 64 releases rather than in 2006. People enjoyed it, but it wasn't really a step forward for the franchise.With no new Star Fox game in sight, fans of the series are left twiddling their thumbs. Fortunately, a game by the name of Perseus 230 is shaping up to be just the game to tide us all over until the next iteration of Star Fox is released.
The winners of April's Ludum Dare 29 game jam and competition have been announced. The winners are divided into two categories, with one batch having entered the 48-hour solo competition, and the other batch having participated in the 72-hour game jam event. The 2,497 games produced during the Ludum Dare 29 event were judged over by the game developers themselves.Winners for best overall game for the 48-hour competition and 72-hour jam respectively: The Sun and Moon by Managore and Scuba Bear by _Rilem.Winners for most fun game for the 48-hour competition and 72-hour jam respectively: Hot Diggity by DragonXVI and Yojimbrawl!by Black Ships Fill The Sky.Winners for best graphics for the 48-hour competition and 72-hour jam respectively: Beneath the Cave by Feiss and LAIR M.D. by RetroEpic.