Now that another successful year in the video game world has nearly come to a close, it's time we start looking ahead to 2014 and all of the potential the future can bring. So many big things have already happened in gaming throughout the course of 2013, so what could possibly be next for gaming staples like microtransactions and cross-platform experiences? While Gamezebo's predictions for 2014 are already on the way, we thought we'd get a real expert in the field to weigh in with some of his own predictions before then, and to let us gamers know just what might be in store for 2014. To that end, I recently had a chance to speak with Kenny Rosenblatt, the CEO of hugely successful game development studio Arkadium, and to find out just how he thinks the next year of gaming is going to pan out.For starters, Rosenblatt predicts that there will continue to be consolidations throughout the gaming industry in the forms of mergers and acquisitions, although nothing too crazy like we saw in the days back when Facebook gaming was really taking off. And while we're on that subject, he also feels that Facebook gaming will continue to stick around in 2014, although developers won't have big success unless they go cross-platform with a mobile release. But regardless of Facebook or mobile, Rosenblatt still predicts that casual games in general will begin to have similar marketing campaigns as some of today's biggest console game franchises like Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty, with big investments in both TV and print ads."According to Rosenblatt, a revamp of the Apple "Top Charts" is likely in order for 2014, specifically with the "Top Grossing Chart" either being heavily changed or removed altogether. The reason for this, Rosenblatt asserts, is that paid games are no longer on this list as they were in the days before the free-to-play model became cemented in the industry. And furthermore, in what could likely be a game-changing move in the mobile games business, Rosenblatt also thinks that one of the big players like Apple or Google will reduce the 30% fee or tax from game purchases on their respective platforms.
As a gamer today in 2013, there are now more ways to play our favorite games than ever before: whether on home consoles, mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, or even social media platforms like Facebook. So after popular games creator Arkadium recently announced that the company would be using their latest funds received through Series A financing (a cool $5 million) to invest in cross-platform game development, they decided to take a look at just how gamers habitually use cross-platform gaming capabilities today.Their findings, which encompass a survey through Peanut Labs of 1,500 U.S. gamers above the age of 18 in the second quarter of 2013, provide us with some insightful data about how we, as gamers, tend to play both our favorite mobile and Facebook games. For one thing, 43% of cross-platform gamers were more likely to make an in-app purchase when playing a mobile game, as opposed to the close 38% that made purchases in a Facebook game. It was also found that almost half of those surveyed played 3 or more different mobile games in a single week, while a whopping 56% of surveyed gamers would tend to play more than 3 different Facebook games in a single week's timeframe.The percentage ratios of male to female gamers were more or less equivalent for all categories investigated, and it's also interesting to note that 63% of these cross-platform gamers had been alerted to new Facebook games through a friend's invitation via the popular social network.So there you have it. Do any of these numbers speak to the very same patterns that you yourself tend to be playing in during your favorite mobile and Facebook games? And I guess if there's one thing that's for certain after reading this study, it's that those always "endearing" Facebook requests from friends who are playing games that you've never heard of before, or that you don't necessarily even care about, are going to be here to stay.
"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Mahjongg," Benjamin Franklin famously once said. At the time, no one knew what on Earth he was talking about. Many years later though, something incredible happened: Windows began packing in games with its OS releases, including - you won't believe this - Mahjongg, Solitaire, and Minesweeper.
There's no question of whether or not social games are big money, but breaking down the user demographic has been a long-time effort of many studios and research firms. Arkadium, a game development studio, has provided one of the latest dissections of which types of social gamers spend what.
Whether it's putting a new spin on Mahjong, getting charming with Bingo, or proving themselves the ultimate football fans, Arkadium is a studio that's been responsible for plenty of great casual experiences over the last few years. But enjoying the games can raise some very important questions - like where on earth are games like this made?
Casual game developer Arkadium has announced a new partnership with Microsoft Game Studios, in a deal that will see the two work together to create "casual and social games on multiple platforms."
The website for the Los Angeles Times is now home to more than two dozen games courtesy developer Arkadium, including hits like Mahjongg Dimensions and newspaper staples like sudoku and crossword puzzles.
Arkadium Stadium is an interesting experiment. It's a collection of small Facebook games that, in addition to being playable in an app, can also be played on a wall. It's a unique idea that piqued our interest when we previewed the game earlier this week, so we just had to find out more about it. Luckily we got a chance to speak with Arkadium president and co-founderJessica Rovello about "wall play" and why it might just be the next big thing for Facebook gaming.