Posts Tagged ‘GamesBeat’
Aurora Feint launches its platform to socialize Android games
has made iPhone games much more social — and therefore easier to spread and monetize — with its social game platform. Now it intends to do the same for Android-based mobile games.
The Burlingame, Calif. company announced that the OpenFeint platform is available for Android games beginning today. In the next month, more than 20 games will launch on Android with OpenFeint. The platform makes games more social, adding leaderboards, achievements, friend requests, and multiplayer gaming. On top of that, Aurora Feint is launching a new Feint Spotlight App, which helps draw more attention to a game.
The discovery of games by top developers is important, since there is a flood of titles available by the tens of thousands. With so much clutter, users are having trouble finding quality apps and developers are having an equally tough time getting their content noticed.
Jason Citron, chief executive of Aurora Feint, said in an interview that Android’s rapid growth made this a good time to create a cross-platform version of OpenFeint, which now is used in games that have reached 37 million players on the iPhone. But Android, the mobile operating system created by Google, is growing fast with more than 200,000 phone activations every day.
Aurora Feint’s initial set of Android games will include Dot (by developer Ustwo), Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick Studios), MiniSquadron (Supermono), Super Slyder (Sandlot Games), The Moron Test (DistinctDev, Inc.), and Tic Tac Toe (Posimotion). Aurora Feint will offer these games to major wireless carriers as part of a partnership where OpenFeint will regularly bring high-quality games to Android as candidates for featuring. So far, more than 3,000 games are using OpenFeint, which launched 18 months ago on the iPhone. Developers create their games using Aurora Feint’s software development kit; that allows them to tap the OpenFeint cross-promotion network.
“We’re partnering with developers and wireless carriers to bring the best iPhone games to Android,” said Jason Citron, CEO of Aurora Feint. Citron said OpenFeint will help fix the Android system, improving the viral spread of games from friend to friend as well as the ability to make money from games through Aurora Feint’s own monetization system. He said his company would add seven to nine games a week to its roster of Android titles.
While Apple has a lot of smartphone market share now and has an even larger share of app revenues, that won’t last as operating systems such as Android and Windows Mobile 7 and Palm WebOS catch on.
As previously announced, gamers will now be able to , so that an iPhone gamer can play in the same game as an Android gamer.
Aurora Feint is backed by investors DeNA and The9. Rivals include Scoreloop and PapayaMobile.
Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. We’ll cover the topic at . Startups and big companies alike should consider entering our . Early bird discounts are available until September 15. Sponsors can contact us at sponsors@venturebeat.com. To buy tickets, .
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Japan’s DeNA buys mobile social game developer Gameview
Japan’s mobile gaming powerhouse is moving deeper into the U.S. today with the announcement that it has acquired mobile social game developer Gameview for an undisclosed price.
DeNA isn’t a household name, but the company, which operates the Mobage-Town mobile social gaming portal in Japan, says it is on track to . That means it will likely generate more social game revenues than Zynga this year. DeNA says it has more than 20 million subscribers.
Gameview, formerly known as Bayview Labs, has made social games such as Tap Fish: Sharks (pictured) and Tap Birds. Based in Mountain View, Calif., Gameview has created apps for Apple’s iPhone and related devices. Now it is moving into the Android cell phone market.
DeNA has also made other investments in U.S. companies. It acquired U.S. game studio IceBreaker in August of last year, and it made a 20 percent investment in mobile social game platform firm Aurora Feint in October of last year. Earlier this year, it announced it would create a and announced a . It also formed a strategic partnership with Namco Bandai and said it would generate $1 billion in revenue this year.
DeNA’s strategy is “X-device, X-border.” That means that it wants to create apps that run on any device in any region of the world. The deal today is consistent with the company’s mission of expanding its mobile reach, said Tomoko Namba, chief executive of DeNA. DeNA will promote an alliance between Gameview and DeNA’s smartphone subsdiary, MiniNation.
Gameview’s first three games alone have been downloaded more than 10 million times. The company is self-funded.
Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. We’ll cover the topic at . Startups and big companies alike should consider entering our . Early bird discounts are available until September 15. Sponsors can contact us at sponsors@venturebeat.com. To buy tickets, .
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Apple closes in on Nintendo with 40 million iPod, iPhone gamers
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ bold that Apple owns 50 percent of the mobile gaming market might not actually be a part of his reality distortion field, according to a recent survey of gamers.
40.1 million of the 77 million Americans playing games on mobile devices play them on the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad — nearly catching Nintendo’s 41 million gamers playing the DS and DSi and blowing well past Sony’s 18 million gamers on its Playstation Portable device — according to the Newzoo International Gamers Survey 2010.
Jobs’ announcement came at an Apple unveiling its new line of iPods, an updated operating system and a new model of the Apple TV. The new lineup included a revamped iPod Touch sporting Apple’s A4 processor that Apple is seemingly embracing as a gaming platform with the unveil of an Unreal 3 engine-powered game from Epic Games, the creators of the Gears of War series.
Sales of Apple’s iPods have been slipping as of late — in its most recent , sales of iPods were down 8 percent from a year earlier despite posting blowout numbers in its other sales categories. The outlook for mobile games, though, looks good, as NPD group that it would soon count sales of mobile games as a growing part of the market.
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in3Depth Systems grabs $10M funding for gesture-control systems
Gesture controls — where you wave your hands in the air and make something happen on a display — are coming on strong as a new way to control game machines, TVs, and computers.
The latest proof is $10 million in funding for , a holding company with gesture-control subsidiaries. in3Depth is the parent company for Brussels-based , which makes software for gesture-control systems, and , a maker of . And gesture-control video games.
The point is to create a one-stop shop to jumpstart a gesture-control business. In time, gesture-control technology will become as pervasive in user interfaces as the touchscreen and accelerometer have become in smartphones, said Michel Tombroff, chief executive of Softkinetic.
Optrima makes 3D camera sensors that can detect how far away an object is from a camera. The sensors can detect 3D space and anything moving within it. So it can detect whether you are standing still or waving your hands at the camera. Softkinetic takes input from the cameras and turns it into controls for electronic devices.
With 3D gesture controls, you can control something without using a remote control or game controller. You just wave your hands. Microsoft is using such as system — with technology from 3DV Systems and PrimeSense — for its Kinect gesture control system for the Xbox 360. Kinect will sell for $149 and will launch in November. You can use it to control everything from fighting games, in which you act out the punches, to sports games, in which you mimic sports moves.
In software, Microsoft is a rival of Softkinetics. The in3Depth technology is being targeted at a variety of applications, including set-top boxes, TVs, game consoles and computers. It is also being pitched to clients in interactive marketing and advertising, digital signs, healthcare and the military. Partners include Texas Instruments, Belgian telecommunications operator , Internet TV provider Metrological, and .
While the technology has been in development for some time, the funding is encouraging, as are the new partnerships the company has announced.
The $10 million is the first part of a second round of funding from Belgacom, and . The company will use the financing to expand its technology development and commercialization. Softkinetic was founded in 2007 while Optrima was started in 2009. Altogether, in3Depth has 45 employees. Hardware rivals include Canesta and PrimeSense.
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Video game sales fall 10 percent in August
It must have been too sunny in August to stay indoors and play video games. Overall U.S. console game sales fell 10 percent in August, continuing the trend of weakness for the industry once described as “recession proof.”
The sales for the month amounted to the worst August on record since 2006, said Anita Frazier, analyst at market researcher . The blame falls squarely on portable hardware, software and accessories — which were collectively down 25 percent, compared to a 6 percent drop for console games.
You might think that the game industry is dying from these lackluster reports. But the weakness is more with the physical retail sale of brand new games. NPD will soon count the growing parts of the industry, which include online game subscriptions, rentals, mobile games, social games and other categories.
The core console retail weakness also was due in part to the dearth of new titles introduced during the month. Take-Two Interactive’s Mafia II sold a disappointing 121,000 units. And sales of Electronic Arts’ staple Madden NFL Football game were also relatively weak compared to past seasons — despite taking the No. 1 and No. 2 slots in top 10 game sales, according to market researcher. Square Enix’s new release, Kane & Lynch 2, didn’t even show up in the top 10 chart.
In July, console game sales fell 1 percent, but PC game sales soared 103 percent because of strong sales of StarCraft II. Blizzard Entertainment said that StarCraft II sold 3 million units in its first month. Game industry sales once defied the economic downturn in late 2008 and early 2009. But for more than a year, sales have been disappointing. Part of the reason may the explosive growth of free games on the iPhone and Facebook. Thanks to StarCraft II, PC game sales were up 35 percent compared to a year ago.
Year to date, overall console game sales are down 8 percent to $8.37 billion. Console game hardware, software and accessory sales were $818.9 million in August, down 10 percent from $910.3 million a year ago. Game hardware sales were $282.9 million, down 5 percent from $297.6 million a year ago. Console game sales plummeted to $403.5 million, down 8 percent from $471.2 million a year ago. Accessories for consoles sold $132.4 million, down 6 percent from $141.6 million a year ago.
For the third month in a row, the Xbox 360 was the top-selling console at 356,700 units sold. The Nintendo Wii sold 244,300 units, while the PlayStation 3 sold 226,000 units. The Nintendo DS sold 342,700 units, and the PlayStation Portable sold 79,400 units. The Wii had its lowest month ever in hardware sales in the U.S.
Electronic Arts had the top two positions in the top games of the month on consoles, with Madden NFL Football 11 on the Xbox 360 at No. 1 and on the PS 3 at No. 2. Combined, Madden sold a respectable 1.8 million units.
Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii ranked third, selling 124,600 units, while Mafia II was fourth at 121,600. New Super Mario Bros. for the DS was fifth at 110,400 units sold. In September, Microsoft could rescue the market as it launches Halo: Reach, the latest in a blockbuster sci-fi shooting series that has sold more than 30 million units.
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Scoreloop adds payments to its Android social gaming suite
Android phone users are downloading lots of apps. But app developers would be happier if those users would pay for them. To help make that happen, is adding the ability to make payments for Android apps to its suite of social gaming tools for Google’s Android operating system.
Scoreloop started on the iPhone, providing social features for iPhone games. But in a diversification move it is spreading to Android, which isn’t as mature as the iPhone. Google still hasn’t fixed payment problems on the Android Market, so developers have had to focus on making money from advertising on free apps, said Marc Gumpinger, chief executive of Scoreloop. The company already lets developers add ads to their games, and it is getting 100,000 new users per day on Android. But with this new method, developers can enable a secure payment system on their own. Users can buy virtual currency with real money to get virtual items in games.
The company, based in Munich, Germany, now provides every part of the equation for helping Android apps make money. It has its own discovery mechanisms for getting apps noticed through friend networks. And now it is adding PayPal and other ways to generate revenue from apps. Game developers no longer have to create their own merchant account to enable the secure payment system.
Hubert Sliwka, head of Gamesoul Studios, said PayPal is the best way to buy content inside games and that he is relieved Scoreloop is now taking care of everything.
Rivals include Aurora Feint and PapayaMobile. Scoreloop is getting more active on Android in part because Apple has made its own move to set up a social gaming network on the iPhone. But Scoreloop believes that Apple’s effort is complementary, as Apple is focused on the front-end interaction with consumers while Scoreloop focuses on the back-end infrastructure. Meanwhile, Google is leaving the territory wide open for companies like Scoreloop on Android.
Scoreloop says it has 200 million users of games that tap its software. The company was founded in 2008.
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Applifier fuels a “rebel alliance” against the evil social game empire on Facebook
In Facebook games, the big three rule. Zynga, Electronic Arts-Playfish, and Disney-Playdom have more than 331 million monthly active users on the social network, according to . That’s why a group of smaller, independent developers have banded together to use a cross-promotional game network called Applifier. They have nicknamed themselves the Rebel Alliance, after the heroes that struggled against the evil Galactic Empire in Star Wars.
Applifier draws attention to smaller games on Facebook by adding a “cross-promotion” bar to the top of each game that recommends games from other independent developers. Users can click on the recommended games to see if they want to play them. If the action leads to real business, then Applifier gets some kind of cut, said , head of Applifier in Helsinki, Finland, in an interview.
Since its launch in April, there are more than 100 applications in the network with 55 million users. Members of the non-exclusive network include Booyah’s Nightclub City, with 8 million users; Digital Chocolate’s Millionaire City and MMA Pro Fighter, with 8.5 million users; ZipZapPlay’s Baking Life with 6.1 million users; Ninja Saga’s Ninja Saga with 5.1 million users; GameHouse’s Scrabble Worldwide and Uno with 2.6 million users; Wooga’s Brain Buddies with 2.5 million users; Icebreaker Games’ Cafe Life with 2.3 million users; Free Lunch Design’s Icy Tower with 1.3 million users; King.com’s Funflow with 1.3 million users; iWin’s Party Resort and JewelQuest with 900,000 users; and Playfirst’s Chocolatier with 700,000 users.
Those are great numbers and they make Applifier’s network second in size only to Zynga on Facebook. Laakkonen said the inspiration for Applifier came from the need to fix his own game’s problems. As the chief executive of , Laakkonen was looking for ways to boost the company’s social games. The company was launching one of its games, , in mid-March, right at the time when Facebook decided to crack down on game-related messages in its communications. Facebook concluded that users who didn’t play games were getting too much spam and put restrictions in place that resulted in a loss of millions of users for social games. At the same time, advertising costs on Facebook rose rapidly to more than 50 cents per user acquired.
“We had our games in place and the viral channel was disappearing,” Laakkonen said. “We didn’t have the funding to heavily advertise our games. And we didn’t have enough games to cross promote them within our own network.”
Laakkonen brainstormed with the team and came up with the Applifier cross-promotion bar, which developers can add to their games with the addition of five lines of HTML code. He enlisted Nabeel Hyatt, a social game entrepreneur and head of (which has since been ) to help spread the word about it. At the outset, Applifier had some key partners in place such as Booyah. The cross promotion began on April 6 with seven apps and it quickly grew to 3.5 million users. Daniel James, chief executive of Three Rings, said his company added more new players in a day than it had in a month after being included in the Applifier network.
Cross promotion is a well-tested strategy. Zynga does it with its own games. Heyzap and Mochi Media do similar cross promotion for web games. , started by Zappos founder Tony Hsieh and Sanjay Madan, also did cross promotion when it was founded in 1996. The LinkExchange created banner ads that cross-promoted other ads. It was acquired by Microsoft for $265 million in 1998. Laakkonen saw Applifier as a LinkExchange for games. Applifier earns a commission on the clicks exchanged through the network. It’s similar to an ad-link exchange; a member that sends 100 clicks out receives 100 clicks back minus Applifier’s commission. Applifier sells the clicks earned as its commission based on whether users click through or actually install an application.
Laakkonen said that the key ingredient for the games in the network is that they have to be great. No amount of cross-promotion can help a bad game, he said. Sadly, Everyplay’s own games haven’t taken off, so the success of Applifier means that Laakkonen has to focus on his winning idea. Everyplay will stop making games and continue on as Applifier. Laakkonen plans on relocating to San Francisco.
What remains to be seen is how much the Applifier network can grow. Will the Facebook social gaming market be dominated by the big three, or will there be a , where many small companies thrive by selling large numbers of relatively obscure titles.
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