Image courtesy of Gameloft
Today marks the beginning of the Labor Day holiday weekend in the United States. While most of us are making plans to disconnect and spend time outdoors, Gameloft is providing a reason to stay connected to Twitter or Facebook. The game company is giving away some of their most popular Android games through the holiday weekend.
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Before there was Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies, there was Tetris. The game has an intriguing history and while it was first released in 1984, it was the 1989 release of the Nintendo Game Boy, which included Tetris, that made it extremely popular. Basically, Tetris was one of the very first games to be associated with a mobile platform, and now Android users can get a free copy to play on their smartphone.
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If model trains (or real ones for that matter) fascinate you, you might want to take a look at an app that just hit #1 in the iPhone top free apps list. If you also enjoy puzzles, you definitely want to take a look at:
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Disney Pixar’s new iPad app is aimed at very young children. As such, it does not have any social network features. But, as I played with the interactive story app, it occurred to me that there is a social aspect that Disney should explore in the near future. But, first, about the app itself.
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Social media games have everything to do with social networking platforms. That’s why games on Google+ was a sure thing; it was only a matter of time. Have you had a chance to play any, yet?
The official blog for the company says:
“Today we’re adding games to Google+. With the Google+ project, we want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. But sharing is about more than just conversations. The experiences we have together are just as important to our relationships. We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life.”
Well, we read that to mean Google knows the importance of having games within their social network and gaming is a factor that can not be ignored. Although, I don’t see how games can enrich our lives. They can pull us away from our work and interpersonal relationships. But, I am not here to discuss that issue. Alas, it’s something to do while we wait for the bus or for your parents to stop talking to their friends, so you can go home and have dinner.
The games offered are mainstream, including Angry Birds, Sudoku, Zynga Poker, Bejeweled Blitz and Dragon Age Legends. Google, being an investor in Zynga, still can’t access FarmVille or Empires & Allies. In due time, I am sure we will see some changes. I wrote a piece about Zynga wanting to separate itself a little bit more from Facebook.
Google+ is taking the game issue slow by introducing games in increments. And, there is no telling when the next game will be introduced. I suggest checking your account for a new game tab. If you like what you see, then Google+ says enjoy the game. Google maintains that you don’t have to play games.They are there if you need them. “Games in Google+ are there when you want them and gone when you don’t…If you’re not interested in games, it’s easy to ignore them.”
OpenFeint is a social gaming network that enables developers to integrate rewards, play with friends and leaderboards into games. It is available for both iOS (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) and Android developers. The firm just announced that:
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EA Mobile is having one of its sale periods for iPhone and iPad games.
Eleven iPhone games and seventeen iPad games are available for purchase at up to 80% off of their normal retail price. iPhone games include Tetris, Scrabble and Risk. iPad games include the three mentioned for the iPhone plus Yahtzee Adventures, Monopoly and Battleship.
EA’s past sales have resulted in a temporary domination of the iPhone and, to a lesser extent, the iPad’s top paid apps list. However, EA may have dipped into the weekend sales strategy well a bit too often. Only Tetris has managed to be on the current top 10 iPhone app list during this sales period. And, only Flight Control HD is in the iPad’s top paid apps list during the same period. Looking a bit deeper into the list of top paid iPhone apps, The Game of Life is currentl at #16 while Monopoly is at position #18. Scrabble made it into the top 30 at #26 while FIFA 11 by EA is #30.
EA and other vendors with large app product lines may need to revise their marketing strategies in order to gain attention for their products.
ngmoco’s freemium games have been a success in the iOS (iPhone/iPad) market. ngmoco’s We Rule, for example, is the 69th highest grossing app in Apple’s App Store despite being a free game that has been available for over a year. They do this by enticing players to make in-app purchases to obtain tokens that can be exchanged for virtual goods. ngmoco games also provide a social component that lets you cooperate and compete with other players.
This monetization model and platform for free games is now available for Android in English-speaking countries.
The Mobage gaming platform is available for free in the Android Market. It provides access to more than 20 free games including We Rule and Pocket Frogs which iOS users will be familar with.
Mobage (Android Market)
With 82 reviews in so far, user experience looks like a mixed bag with 33 giving it 5 stars (40%) and 31 givig it 1 star (38%). My guess is that this is a result of Android platform fragment where the app runs fine on some phone models and crashes on others.
[Mobage] What is the Mobage Beta? (Mobage support Instant Answers)
TUAW reports that EA’s CEO, John Riccitiello, said in a public presentation that:
EA: our fastest growing platform is the iPad
Console gaming marketshare has gone from 80% in 2000 to 40% today. The fastest growing gaming platform is, I think to no one’s surprise, the iPad according to Riccitiello.
And, it looks like house bound game consoles are not the only ones feeling the iPad’s gaming marketshare impact. Nintendo, who Gameboy and DS product lines ruled mobile gaming for years, dropped the price of its 3DS 3D gaming device from $249 to $169.
Nintendo 3DS price drops to $169.99, as great value and new 3D games come together
Nintendo does not give a reason for this price drop. But, you have to guess it has something to do with the popularity of gaming on phones and the iPad. Of course, it is not merely the cost of the 3DS that is an issue. While the least expensive iPad is $499, games for it tend to be in the 99 cen to $4.99 range. As I wrote back in March, the premiere games for the 3DS are in the $30 to $40 range. Buying a half dozen high-end games for the 3DS puts its total cost near the more general purpose iPad.
Nintendo 3DS Available in U.S.-Will $40 Game Prices Be Its Limiting Factor?
Nintendo is being pressed from all sides. Serious gamers will remain with the Xbox 360 and PS3 while casual gamers will use the smartphone or iPad they already carry.
Via Engadget: Nintendo posts earnings, drops 3DS from $249 to $169 August 12th, current owners get 20 free games
Earlier this month a report by Flurry revealed that:
Flurry: Free Games Generate More Revenue Than Paid Games (seasonal component?)
Revenue from free games in-app purchases overtook revenue from paid games during the course of this year. Flurry’s latest report sheds some light on why this is so.
Consumers Spend Average of $14 per Transaction in iOS and Android Freemium Games
Flurry report notes that while only (relatively speaking) 13% of in-app purchases are over $20, this 13% of in-app purchases provides 51% of revenue. Clearly, there is a small but significant group of people willing to pay real money for virtual goods and virtual game currency.
