Category Archives: Industry News

PlayFirst Picks Up $9.2M, Appoints Social Games VP

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Casual games publisher PlayFirst has secured $9.2 million to fund its push into mobile and social games, and has promoted chief marketing officer Eric Hartness to Social Games vice president and general manager.

$5.2 million of the company’s new cash comes from existing investors, such as Mayfield Fund, Trinity Partners, DCM, and Rustic Canyon Ventures, while the remaining $4 million represents debt financing made available by Comerica Bank.

PlayFirst notes that during its expansion into the mobile and social spaces in the past year, its Facebook game Chocolatier: Sweet Society gained more than 800,000 monthly active users — the brand has a total audience of more than 40 million players around the world and across multiple platforms.

Its “Dash” franchise has secured three spots in the App Store’s top 100 grossing games list with Diner Dash, Cooking Dash, and Wedding Dash. Those three iOS games have received over 100 million play sessions in 2010, while the entire Diner Dash series has seen over 500 million downloads.

“This financing enables us to keep our focus on the opportunities in the mobile and social gaming sectors and provides the flexibility to quickly respond to changes and opportunities as the market continues to shift rapidly,” says PlayFirst president and CEO Mari Baker.

Baker adds, “With this capital, we will continue to aggressively optimize the PlayFirst brands that consumers love, like Diner Dash, to social and mobile platforms and look for growth through partnerships and potential acquisitions.”

Hartness’ promotion will aid the firm’s social gaming plans, as his responsibilities include overseeing the overall strategy, execution, and results for PlayFirst’s efforts in that field. Before joining the company, he was chief marketing officer at PlaySpan and marketing VP at Electronic Arts’ Redwood Shores studio.

With this appointment, the publisher also added several members to its staff: former Loomia/Nokia architect Matt Levy, Playdom senior product manager Lars Berg, Playdom/Zynga senior product manager Roxanne Gilbert, Playdom/Zynga senior game designer Ray Holmes, and Zynga lead engineer Vamsi Prakhya — all will assume similar roles at Playfirst.

Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of September 17

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Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of September 17 is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

In a diverse week for new job postings, Gamasutra’s jobs board plays host to roles across the world and in every major discipline, including opportunities at Blizzard, Bungie and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site’s daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, ‘serious games’, independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted this week include:

Blizzard Entertainment: Senior Software Engineer, Engine, Starcraft II
“Blizzard Entertainment is seeking an experienced engine programmer to focus on core engine development for StarCraft II. This position will involve extending StarCraft II‘s animation and effects systems, as well as working with the team on other ongoing core engine and graphics technologies.”

Bungie: Lead AI Programmer
“Bungie was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep gameplay, and then sell enough of those games to achieve our real goal of total world domination.”

Edge of Reality: Lead Designer
“Edge of Reality is an independent veteran studio based in Austin, Texas. We are working on multiple projects including some with the Sims Studio of the EA Play Label. The studio has shipped 12 games over 12 years including several hits. The chemistry of the studio is very positive. Everyone puts aside their egos, and works hard to make the best game possible. Come join our team!”

Warner Bros: Art Director
“WB Games Inc. seeks an Art Director to be responsible for collaborating on product position and design, for overseeing development of art concepts and visualizations, and for approvals of final content, working very closely with the Creative Director and Designers to develop and realize the vision of the game.”

Raven Software: Design Director
“Raven Software is an award-winning computer game software developer based in Madison, Wisconsin. With a focus on graphic excellence and high-level, intense playability, Raven has produced hit games including the Soldier of Fortune series and various Star Wars titles.”

To browse hundreds of similar jobs, and for more information on searching, responding to, or posting game industry-relevant jobs to the top source for jobs in the business, please visit Gamasutra’s job board now.


iSwifter Service Brings Flash Games To iPad

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iSwifter Service Brings Flash Games To iPad is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

A cloud-based streaming service that allows iPad users to play Flash games on the Apple device has been released on the App Store.

iSwifter streams Flash games from portals to its dedicated iPad application, in a similar way to console-focused services OnLive and Gaikai.

Apple’s devices do not natively allow users to play games or view content in a web browser that uses the Adobe Flash plugin. Recently, Apple updated its policy and now allows developers to use third party development tools to create games and apps for its devices.

Flash game portals supported by the app at launch include Yahoo! Games, AOL Games, Facebook and Kongregate, with, at time of writing, one game per service playable. User reviews on the iTunes App Store indicate that there is a degree of lag associated with playing games through the app, a common hurdle for could-based services.

iSwifter is the product of tech incubator YouWeb, a support service for entrepreneurs that has produced gaming startups Aurora Feint, CrowdStar and Sibblingz.

The company plans for more games and services to be added in coming weeks, and for iPhone and iPod touch, as well as Android and Windows Phone 7 versions of the app to roll out in the future.

“We are targeting the much larger user base of casual and social gamers who want to consume gaming content on-the-go”, said Rajat, creator of iSwifter, along with his co-founder, Rohan.

“As more mobile devices hit the market,” he continued, “there is no reason why game developers should be locked out of the hottest handsets.”


DeNA Acquires Gameview For Mobile Social Games

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DeNA Acquires Gameview For Mobile Social Games is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Continuing efforts to expand its North American reach, Japanese developer DeNA has acquired Mountain View-based mobile social game company Gameview Studios (formerly known as Bayview Labs, LLC).

Established just last April, Gameview produces social gaming apps for iOS platforms, and has released free titles like Tap Fish: Exotic and Tap Birds to the App Store. The company has new releases planned for Android devices, too, and hopes to eventually hold “a firm position in the smartphone market.”

DeNA intends to have Gameview working with MiniNation, its smartphone-focused subsidiary and iPhone social network. The Japanese firm believes that leading Gameview’s socially active users to the MiniNation platform will bring more activity to the social network while increasing its value.

The company adds that it is “aggressively investing” in promising social app developers around the world in order to push its “X-device” “X-border” strategy, which aims to promote game development across different mobile devices and borders.

Its purchase of Gameview follows several other moves DeNA has made in the U.S. in recent years, such as its backing of Burlingame-based iOS developer Aurora Feint, which created mobile social network OpenFeint; and its acquisition of Bellevue-based mobile social network developer IceBreaker.

DeNA operates Japanese mobile social gaming community Mobage-town, which currently claims more than 20 million subscribers. Last month, the firm reported a 175 percent increase in revenues to $279 million for the first quarter of 2010 (ending June), and it expects to generate $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year.

“Our acquisition of Gameview today is congruent with our goal of rapidly expanding our mobile footprint as a leading brand and platform in mobile social gaming,” says DeNA CEO Tomoko Namba. “We were impressed by the creativity and passion that the Gameview team has for creating addictive and engaging gaming experiences, and we’re excited to welcome them into the DeNA family.”

Namba continues, “The overwhelmingly wide range of games and active users in the community are the formula for success DeNA has utilized on Mobage-town in Japan. This acquisition will enable DeNA to replicate this success in the smartphone market and MiniNation platform, further expanding DeNA in the global market.”


Epic Citadel Hits 1M Downloads As Unreal Engine Expands On Android, iOS

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Epic Citadel Hits 1M Downloads As Unreal Engine Expands On Android, iOS is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

“Epic Citadel,” Epic Games’ visually-stunning free Unreal Engine 3 tech demo for Apple’s iOS mobile devices, has been downloaded 1 million times from the App Store, signifying strong interest in the engine’s mobile debut.

Speaking at the Korea Games Conference in Seoul, South Korea Tuesday, Epic Games confirmed that Citadel had reached the milestone after just releasing the app on September 1.

The demo allows users to navigate through a “fictional castle realm” on their Apple mobile devices, and observe UE3′s technical capabilities on iOS. Epic Citadel supports iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third-generation iPod Touch, fourth-generation iPod Touch and iPad.

The Gears of War developer also confirmed that the Unreal Development Kit will be able to generate apps across all iOS devices, including iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. Epic’s first iOS UE3 game will be Project Sword, an action RPG-like game from subsidiary and Shadow Complex developer Chair Entertainment.

Epic is looking into bringing UE3 to other mobile mobile platforms, namely Google’s Android OS. Studio VP Mark Rein said via his Twitter account, “We’ve demoed Unreal Engine 3 on Android [with] Tegra 2, and at [the Korea Games Conference] today we showed it on a Samsung Galaxy S device.”

Rein said that he suspects UDK will “eventually” support the Android platform, “but iOS is the priority for now.”

Florida developer and UE3 licensee Trendy Entertainment recently posted footage of its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and mobile game Dungeon Defenders running on UE3 on iPhone and Android.

In South Korea Tuesday, Epic VP Jay Wilbur also announced a UE3 licensing deal with major Korean online game company Neowiz. Epic called the deal “one of the biggest Unreal Engine 3 licensing partnerships since Epic Games Korea’s inception.” Wilbur only revealed that Neowiz would “use Unreal Engine 3 for its next big projects.”

Rein also confirmed that overall, UDK has “more than 350,000 installations, which is pretty amazing for a game engine.”


Apple Poised to Overtake Nintendo as U.S. Portable Gaming Market Leader

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Apple Poised to Overtake Nintendo as U.S. Portable Gaming Market Leader is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Games market data and consulting company Newzoo reports that more than 40.1 million Americans over the age of 10 play video games on the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, placing Apple in close proximity to the Nintendo DS’s domestic userbase of 41 million gamers.

Results from NewZoo’s International Gamers Survey 2010 show that Apple’s 40.1 million gamers account for more than half of the 77 million Americans who play games on mobile phones and iOS devices.

Sony’s PSP platform also captures a significant portion of the market with a userbase of 18 million Americans. NewZoo notes that two-thirds of PSP and iPad users play games at least three days a week, compared to approximately 50 percent for the Nintendo DS, DSi, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

NewZoo also reports significant overlap between the Nintendo DS and iOS platforms. According to survey results, “The majority of the 160 million Americans playing computer games do so on multiple platforms depending on time of day, social setting and mood.

“This is illustrated by the fact that almost 14 million of Nintendo DS/DSi gamers (34%) also play games on an iPod Touch and vice versa. The data also shows that nearly 90% of people playing games on the iPad has experience playing on an iPhone or iPod Touch.”

The iPad boasts the highest ratio of paying customers, with 72 percent of users spending more than $10 a month on gaming applications. 53 percent of DS and DSi owners and 59 percent of PSP users spend more than $10 on games each month. Only 38 percent of iPhone and iPod Touch users report the same monthly gaming budget.

NewZoo notes that the gap between Nintendo DS players and iOS gamers is much wider in several key markets in Europe. The UK reports 8 million iOS gamers and 13 million DS/DSi players, while in Germany, the Nintendo DS’s 10 million players outnumber the region’s 7 million iOS gamers.


Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of September 10

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Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of September 10 is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

In a diverse week for new job postings, Gamasutra’s jobs board plays host to roles across the world and in every major discipline, including opportunities at id Software, Harmonix and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site’s daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, ‘serious games’, independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted this week include:

Atari: Game Producer, Online and Mobile
“As the Game Producer for Online & Mobile Games, you will be primarily responsible for the external production of our online and mobile portfolio, helping manage our sizable pipeline, which could range from reviewing new pitches to creating presentations and managing development team milestones. An Ideal candidate would be a passionate gamer who loves the hottest new social gaming and mobile titles, has experience in production as a developer and publisher and has the energy, intellect and experience to get job done and done right.”

Blue Fang Games: Senior Game Designer
“Blue Fang Games is focused on applying proven game design and development principles to the new social, online and mobile game platforms. Our team is comprised of a singular combination of game industry veterans and online/social gaming talent and is focused on delivering original, dynamic experiences that stand out from all the “me-too” games out there. Our first Facebook game, Zoo Kingdom (http://apps.facebook.com/zookingdom), has over a million active players and we’re just getting started!”

Digital Chocolate: Product Manager (Web and Platform Services)
“Inside Digital Chocolate, the San Mateo studio is the place where the magic of creation takes place. Our products are built on the cornerstones of quality, innovation and community. We hire the best and give them the freedom to learn and do their thing, and teamwork is the norm.”

Harmonix Music Systems: QA Director
“Harmonix, the studio that created ROCK BAND and the upcoming Kinect exclusive DANCE CENTRAL, is looking for an experienced QA Director to wrangle the evil game-breaking geniuses in our QA department.”

Id Software: Level Designer
“We are looking for inspired, talented and dedicated level designers ready to join one of the most respected and ground-breaking developers in the gaming industry. With iconic brands like DOOM, RAGE, QUAKE and others, we rely on the talent, experience, and knowledge of every team member to conceive and create the experiences that define our genre.”

To browse hundreds of similar jobs, and for more information on searching, responding to, or posting game industry-relevant jobs to the top source for jobs in the business, please visit Gamasutra’s job board now.


Newly-Revealed App Store Guidelines Discourage ‘Amateur Hour,’ ‘Fart Apps’

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Newly-Revealed App Store Guidelines Discourage ‘Amateur Hour,’ ‘Fart Apps’ is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Apple made two key moves on Thursday by freeing up restrictions on the use of third-party development tools on its iOS mobile devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and also making its App Store review guidelines readily available to app developers for the first time.

By being more transparent with the review guidelines, Apple hopes to help developers potentially avoid frustration that comes when a game or app is rejected after a submission.

Among those review guidelines (obtained by Gamasutra and separately posted by Engadget [PDF]), are several notes about the newly-released Game Center, a networking service that links iOS gamers together by adding community features such as matchmaking and achievements.

The Game Center guidelines are generally common sense rules designed to protect users, the hardware and Apple’s services. Games that utilize Game Center, for instance, cannot “send unsolicited messages, or [be used] for the purpose of phishing or spamming”.

They also cannot “attempt to reverse lookup, trace, relate, associate, mine, harvest, or otherwise exploit Player IDs, alias, or other information obtained through the Game Center.”

There are also a number of ground rules related to offensive material in apps and games. For example, “‘Enemies’ within the context of a game cannot solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity.”

Additionally, “realistic depictions of weapons” that encourage illegal activity could also lead to an app’s rejection, and games and apps with “excessively objectionable or crude content” may be cut, as well as apps designed “primarily [to] upset or disgust users.”

The company is vague in describing where exactly it draws the line between acceptable and objectionable content. The guidelines state, “We will reject Apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, ‘I’ll know it when I see it.’ And we think that you will also know it when you cross it.”

Any apps that target an individual or group with “defamatory, offensive [and] mean-spirited” content are also susceptible to rejection — although “Professional political satirists and humorists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-spirited commentary.”

Apple also reminded developers that a lot of kids use apps, and their parents don’t typically set content restriction parameters on their iOS devices, “So know that we’re keeping an eye out for the kids,” the company said.

And unfortunately for developers working on games and apps focusing on flatulence, Apple said plainly, “We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don’t need any more Fart apps. If your app doesn’t do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted.”

With such a wide array of content available on the App Store, Apple is cautious of letting the quality apps become drowned out by poorly-made products. “If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you’re trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don’t want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour.”

Apple said that its extensive 22-part laundry list of guidelines might make the company seem like a bunch of “control freaks,” but the statement argued, “it’s because we’re so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products. Just like almost all of you are too.”