Best Iphone Apps Review

Firemint’s Flight Control Sells 3 Million Units is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Firemint’s hit air traffic management title Flight Control has surpassed another major sales milestone. The company reports that Flight Control has achieved global App Store sales in excess of three million units.

Flight Control, originally released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in March of 2009, has since seen a number of free content-expanding updates and the release of an HD version designed specifically for Apple’s iPad. The most recent version of Flight Control introduced Retina Display support for the iPhone 4 and the upcoming fourth-generation iPod Touch.

Firemint notes that the next version of Flight Control will add support for Apple’s Game Center social network, which launched earlier today.

Ports for smartphones and for Nintendo’s DSiWare service followed in the wake of Flight Control’s App Store success. Next month will bring the release of an enhanced PlayStation Network version, which will include four-person multiplayer, stereoscopic 3D, and support for the PlayStation Move motion controller. A WiiWare edition is slated for release later this year.

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites

Unity Extends Mobile Generation Education Project Deadline is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Unity Technologies announced a deadline extension for its Mobile Generation Education Project, a campaign that aims to equip selected academic institutions with multiplatform Unity development technology.

The project seeks applications from university instructors who wish to incorporate mobile and tablet PC development in a game design curriculum. The application for entry is September 30th.

20 winning applicants will receive a free copy of Unity Pro for Android and a Google Nexus One phone, and will advance to the next round of judging. Participating instructors must then submit a proposal for a full-semester mobile games curriculum, including example lectures.

Three chosen winners will receive 20 Unity Pro licenses and 20 Google Nexus One phones for use in a proposed game development curriculum.

Unity notes that a number of game development programs across the United States have adopted Unity technology, including Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University.

“The pace of game/application development is so rapid that it’s almost impossible for educators to keep up on their own,” said Davey Jackson, Educational Outreach Director for Unity Technologies. “We believe it’s crucial to work closely with educators to provide them with technology and expertise to help them structure courses that will teach their students the skills necessary to begin a successful career in the games industry of tomorrow.”

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites

Apple Details Fourth-Generation iPod Touch is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Apple has announced the release of an improved generation of its gaming-focused iPod Touch hardware, now available for pre-order and shipping next week in the United States.

The fourth-generation iPod Touch hardware includes many features previously introduced with this year’s iPhone 4. New iPod Touch devices will include a pixel density-boosting Retina Display, an A4 processor that improves performance for graphics-intensive games, and a rotation-sensing three-axis gyroscope supported by titles like Gameloft’s N.O.V.A. and ngmoco’s Eliminate GunRange.

Other hardware additions include a built-in-microphone, a front-facing camera for Apple’s FaceTime phone application, and a rear camera capable of capturing high-definition 720p video.

Revamped iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle hardware will launch alongside the new iPod Touch next week. New iPod Nano devices will feature a multi-touch screen, while iPod Shuffle hardware now includes navigation buttons and support for playlists and VoiceOver.

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites

Miniclip Forms Mobile Gaming Division is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Casual gaming company Miniclip has announced the formation of a new smartphone division which will focus exclusively on bringing its library to the iPhone and Android platforms.

Former Skype product manager Antonio Sergio Varanda will head up this new department, which plans to establish new IPs and support both Android and iOS devices.

Miniclip has already tested the mobile market with several of its current releases, including Fragger, Monster Trucks, Disc Pool and Monkey Kick. These titles have sold a combined 1.9 million in paid sales to date.

Mobile titles planned for a fall release include Fragger HD, Fragger 2, Ping-Pong!, and Candy & Clyde. All four will be available for the iPhone, and Fragger has undergone a complete HD redesign for the iPad.

The original Fragger for iPhone reached the overall #2 paid app position in the US App Store, as well as the third spot in the store’s overall top grossing apps. Free app Monkey Kick has also generated 1.7 million downloads.

Varanda said of Miniclip’s new division, “It’s no secret there is an overabundance of games available for the iPhone; yet Miniclip has been able to break through the clutter and leverage our massive community of casual gamers to drive awareness and sales.”

“Miniclip has spent the past nine years building the largest online destination site for gamers and establishing a trusted reputation amongst households worldwide. Now with our global games distribution platform, we have the capability to directly distribute and market Miniclip games across multiple channels including online, mobile and console.”

Founded in 2001 by Rob Small and Tihan Presbie, Miniclip serves 17 million users in the U.S. and is privately owned and funded. Miniclip develops, publishes and distributes more than 600 casual titles for the PC and mobile and has won the Webby Peoples Voice Award for three consecutive years.

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites

Yahoo! and DeNA Debuting Yahoo! Mobage Japanese Social Game Site is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

In April of this year, mobile social network operator and game creator DeNA announced a partnership with Yahoo! Japan to launch a PC web-based gaming platform called Yahoo! Mobage. While developers have been allowed access since January, the Yahoo! Mobage service is now aiming for its public launch of the 1st of October.

Yahoo! Mobage provides services such as translation, hosting and monetization resources. DeNA is currently inviting American PC and mobile game developers to use a universal Mobage platform API to distribute their games to the Japanese market.

The platform offers the advantage of two user bases of significant size: Yahoo’s 52 million monthly active web-based users and DeNA’s 20 million active mobile users. Including other sources, it’s believed that the Mobage platform will reach an average of 90 million Japanese internet users.

DeNA will also offer several forms of aid for interested developers, including partnerships with four companies to assist in game testing and translation, money transfers through international banks, and hosting through the leading Japanese service provider, IDC Frontier.

DeNA’s CEO, Tomoko Namba, claims that the amount of money to be made in Japanese social gaming as “astronomical… by offering this platform and providing tools to help ease the transition, DeNA hopes to be American game developers’ portal to the East,” Namba says. Some Japanese developers on Mobage are already making an average of $1 million a month in their top games.

DeNA has seen significant gains in the social gaming market this year, with an 81 percent year-over-year increase to $205 million reported in its fourth quarter, partly due to the success of its self-created social game titles.

The Tokyo-based company launched in 1999 as an e-commerce business and later became a web service provider for PC and cell phone users. Its core social networking/virtual world platform Mobage-town currently has over 20 million members in Japan.

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites

FTC Announces Settlement With Reverb For Fraudulent iPhone Game Reviews is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Public relations agency Reverb Communications will settle U.S. Federal Trade Commission charges that its employees engaged in false advertising by posing as consumers and writing game reviews on behalf of its clients on Apple’s iTunes store.

The terms of the settlement require Reverb Communications and owner Tracie Snitker to remove any reviews and comments left that portray the employees as regular consumers. It also forbids the PR agency from endorsing a product in any way unless they clearly identify that they are a PR firm.

Reverb and Snitker posted these game reviews between November 2008 and May 2009, using account names that gave readers the impression the reviews were written by disinterested consumers.

These comments would have been relevant to consumers who were considering a purchase of the games, according to the FTC complaint.

The PR agency did not make clear that it was hired to promote the games it left these reviews on, and that they often received a percentage of the sales.

“Companies, including public relations firms involved in online marketing need to abide by long-held principles of truth in advertising,” says Mary Engle of the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices.

“Advertisers should not pass themselves off as ordinary consumers touting a product, and endorsers should make it clear when they have financial connections to sellers.”

The FTC stated in last year’s revised endorsements and testimonials guides that online posts of any nature must disclose the connection between reviews or comments left and the seller of the service or product in question. This rule goes for employees associated with a product as well as any agency advertising the product.

The announcement for this settlement will be published in the Federal Register shortly and will be subject to public comment for 30 days, from today through the 24th of September. After this period, the FTC will decide whether the ruling will be final. Consumers can comment on the settlement here.

[UPDATE In a statement received by consumer weblog Kotaku, Reverb PR director Casey Lynch says of the settlement, "During discussions with the FTC, it became apparent that we would never agree on the facts of the situation. Rather than continuing to spend time and money arguing, and laying off employees to fight what we believed was a frivolous matter, we settled this case and ended the discussion because as the FTC states: 'The consent agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute admission by the respondents of a law violation."]

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites

Motorola Funds Mobile Development Competition at Iowa State University is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

The Motorola Foundation, in association with the Innovation Generation program, has awarded a $50,000 grant to Iowa State University to fund a competition encouraging students to create video games and educational training applications.

Headed by ISU associate professor of integrated studio arts Anson Call and computer science lecturer Chris Johnson, the contest requires students to form teams of three members. Each team must include a designer, a programmer, and a business manager.

Each team will compete in one of three categories: serious games, PC/console games, and mobile games. The winning entries in each category, as judged by a guest professional game developer, will receive a top prize of $10,000.

A second prize of $2,000 and a $1,000 third prize will also be awarded in each category. All prize money will be split evenly between team members.

Suggested platforms for the contest include Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio, Apple’s iPhone, and Android devices, among other supported console and mobile platforms.

“Students are already doing game design in their spare time and not earning academic credit for it,” said competition organizer Anson Call. “The interest is there. We just need to provide the opportunity. The Innovation Generation grant is a perfect way to do that.”

The competition will officially begin on September 8th. Final judging and a public exhibition will be held at the end of ISU’s spring semester.

Bookmark this Best Iphone App Review Post

Hide Sites