Even though February is always the shortest month of the year, this one brought us more amazing new games than we could possibly handle. With Valentine's Day sitting smack-dab in the middle of it all, we have a lot of love to share for some of the best games to capture our attention in all of their shiny new glory. And could that possibly be another early Game of the Year contender I see sitting at the top of the list?I know it must seem like I say this every time, but I really feel like February had some of the best new game releases that we've seen in quite a while. From a hopelessly addicting and charming number-based puzzler, to the most hilarious game you'll play in ages, to a breathtaking pop-up book world that you can play in real life, our top picks for the month are not only all innovative in their own unique ways, but they're all just a breath of fresh air for video games everywhere today (and the ongoing sea of Flappy Bird clones)."So did you happen to fall in love with any of the same games that we did this Valentine's Day? I know I'll personally be giving flowers and chocolate to all of our favorites. But be sure to hit the replies and let us know if you agree with our top gaming picks for the month of February, or if there were any other great games that managed to steal your heart away!
Android might be the #1 mobile platform in China, but Google Play sure isn't the #1 app market. According to our friends at Laohu.com, though, that might be about to change - or at the very least, Google is taking some steps that hint in that direction.This isn't the only interesting tidbit to come out of China this week, either. According to Laohu, their country might just be getting a mobile visit from the Avengers (in a game that sounds an awful lot like Avengers Alliance, but I'll let you be the judge of that).Thanks again to Laohu.com for sharing this weekly Chinese news roundup with the Gamezebo audience. If you're just as intrigued by the Chinese market as we are, be sure to give them a read.
Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like looking up great gaming deals online to help distract your mind from other things that might be going on. I'll be honest right now: about 10 minutes ago I saw this ENORMOUS centipede crawling on the wall right above my desk, and I don't know where it went, and that's all I can think about, and I'm kind of freaking out about it. I swear it had like 500 legs.But you know what? I'm not gonna think about that giant centipede anymore or what he might be up to, because now I have all of these amazing free games and sales to think about instead! While there may not have been too many new bundles to find this week, the iOS App Store sure made up for that in a big way, with an insane amount of acclaimed mobile titles going on sale all at the same time. And if that's not your thing, well there's also big savings on point-and-click adventures and indie darlings as well!"And as always, if I may have missed a great deal or two due to being distracted by things I don't need to mention here again, then be sure to hit the replies and let everyone know about them!
The reaction to free-to-play games that monetize by the use of in-app purchases (or IAPs, for short) depends on where you ask about them. They're a normal part of the gaming culture in Asia and looked upon with skepticism but warily accepted in North America.In Europe, though, they're now under the microscope. Eurogamer.net reported this morning that the European Commission is huddling with consumer protection groups in multiple nations to get some clarification on parts of the free-to-play model it finds troubling.The Commission's concerns include protecting children from IAPs (and preventing them from bugging parents to buy for them), games that opt-in players for IAPs without their consent, free games that aren't really free, and companies that don't provide a way for players to contact them by email for customer service purposes.
Late Thursday evening, Markus "Notch" Persson confirmed on his Twitter account that he has been discussing a potential Minecraft film with Warner Brothers."Someone is trying leak the fact that we're working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie," Persson posted. "I wanted to be the leak!"A movie about Minecraft? That'll never work! Well I'm sure plenty of people said the same about a movie based on LEGO, and now Warner Bros. is currently sitting atop $275,000,000 (and climbing) following the The LEGO Movie's release, earlier in the month.Details are still scarce, but Hollywood news and rumors website Deadline managed to confirm that Warner Bros. is putting The Lego Movie producer onboard for the Minecraft movie, and that it will be a live-action feature film.The news about the Warner Brothers deal comes days after Persson announced that Minecraft has surpassed 100 million registered users.Don't want to wait for a Minecraft movie? 2 Player Productions documentary Minecraft: The Story of Mojang is now available for free on YouTube. You can watch the whole thing in its entirety below:
"Why?," I asked my daughter. She's only six, and when these are the first words out of her mouth after returning home from school, you'd better believe my curiousity was piqued - especially considering how many countless hours she's spent with Outfit7's Talking games over the last few years."Because," she replied. "There are bad men that are using it to talk to kids, and they can even see you!"A bizarre schoolyard rumor, no doubt. I consider myself in-the-loop enough to know total hogwash when I hear it. But still, I'm always trying to instill a "safety first" attitude in my kids, and since she felt safer deleting, I didn't hesitate to let her. I explained how it's not true first, but hey - when a kid gets something in their head, it can stick there like glue.A few days passed and I thought nothing of it. Then last night I came across an article on the Vice tech site Motherboard: So a Paedophile Hoax Sent Your Kids' App to the Top of the App Store.
You might be able to indirectly learn something about physics by playing Angry Birds, but it's not exactly a learning game. That doesn't mean the company behind the unstoppable franchise can't try something a little more high-minded, which is exactly what Rovio is gearing up to do - with the help of some third-party developers.Rovio told PocketGamer that it is seeking educational games from other developers to publish as part of its new Rovio Jr line. The intended audience of these games would be kids from pre-school to middle school."Educational games can be a tricky field, but there's definite truth in the idea that Rovio can aid developers by promoting their products through its already successful brands. Teaming up would certainly help solve the discovery problem facing smaller studios, particularly since educational titles need to catch the eyes of both children and parents.In any case, we may not have to wait long to see an announcement about the first fruits of this new program. Rovio and PocketGamer are going to be holding Big Indie Pitch Jr at GDC next month, allowing developers to pitch games they think would be suited for the publishing initiative in person in San Francisco.
Free-to-play is the greatest thing to happen to the games industry (and gamers) since Pong. Here's the thing, though: it's common knowledge that only 1-3% of all gamers of free-to-play games pay, the rest don't. These gamers are commonly referred to as whales.According to a new survey by Swrve (pronounced, I have no clue), that 1 - 3% is a bit off, by a lot. Only .15% of mobile gamers are responsible for 50% of total mobile game revenues. In biological terms, these players are blue whales (the largest mammals on earth) of the mobile game world.As reported in VentureBeat, this is a classic good news/bad news story. These blue whales pay the bills for the mobile games industry and are helping to grow the market to astronomical heights. The bad news is that the vast majority (let's call them minnows) are becoming accustomed to playing games for free, and there is no clear path to turn a minnow into a blue whale.And what happens if these super whales get bored of playing and tired of paying? .15% is such a small number, just one small drop in this bucket could have a huge impact on the future of the global gaming industry.In Vegas, whales are comp'd with free hotel suites. How are these super blue whales rewarded in the games world?