iOS Success Too Luck Based, Says Developer

James Marsden of developer Futurlab says that indies should consider PlayStation Minis instead of iOS. He says that they sold more of Coconut Dodge on PSN independently than they did with EA’s support on iOS.

“I think the Vita is a great platform for indies,” said Marsden. “It frustrates me that iOS is the flame the moths are flying towards — ultimately they are doomed unless they’ve got enormous resources for visibility. Even though you might not win big on Minis, you’re pretty much guaranteed to make some sales. This, for me, is a better first step for people getting started. If you’re an indie, luck plays such a huge role that it’s not worth trying.”

“Sony’s really open for independent developers to come and publish on its platform, and I think they’re probably the only platform holder that’s really giving developers this window of opportunity,” he continued. “The way we see it is we want to make proper, immersive gaming experiences. We don’t want to make iOS distract-em-ups. For us to do that as a newbie is really tough: we’re going up against the studios that have been established for 10, 15 years.”

Source: Gamasutra

Firefall Beta Hits Half Million

Red 5 Studios has hit 500,000 registered users in it’s Firefall beta. The company is expecting to offer more beta test slots to meet demand.

“We’re treating Firefall as a service, which means it’s critical that we’re continually adding value and fun for players,” said Red 5 CEO Mark Kern. “Having a large and growing community lets us know that we’re on the right track. But more importantly, their feedback helps us stay on the right track.”

Oreo Celebrates 100 Years With Pride

Oreo is running a campaign this year to celebrate 100 years of it’s cookie brand. Nothing has been more controversial than their rainbow cookie design, however, that surprised their fans on Facebook and led to a strong reaction; mostly positive, but certainly some negative as well.

 

Android Reaches 400 Million Device Activations

The Google I/O 2012 event saw Google announce that its Android mobile platform has reached 400 million device activations with 1 million being added every day. Prior to Google I/O 2011, there had only been activations for 100 million devices; the acceleration was attributed mostly to countries like Brazil and India.

“The developing world is developing at an even faster pace,” said Google Android product management director Hugo Barra. “Really really exciting,”

Google’s app store, Google Play, has reached 600,000 apps with over 20 billion app installs. A year after launching the in-app billing on Google Play, more than 50 percent of revenue comes from that model.

Auto Club Revolution Sees $20 Per Customer On Average

Eutechnyx said that its free-to-play game Auto Club Revolution has average revenue per paying user topping $24.  The company noted that the big spenders – referred to as “diamonds” – spent over $400, but the vast majority will only ever play the game for free.

“If it’s $24 in two months we think over a lifetime we’ll be able to get that up $40-$50,” said Eutechnyx CEO Darren Jobling. “We’re particularly proud of this because the average often quoted by the industry is $20 for average revenue per paying user. When you look at this you’ve got to realize that actually 91 per cent of people who play Auto Club Revolution get it for free. Free cars, free upgrades.”

“We’ve got a 9 percent chance of monetizing [the customer]. People like to buy interesting, sexy cars. The average of a Facebook game is 1-2 percent,” he added. “The beauty with Auto Club Revolution is the car makers keep on making very cool stuff to sell. We’ve got some of the most creative minds in the world working on your team creating content.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Coca-Cola Lauds Ad Diversity At Cannes

Coca-Cola won at Cannes for an a simple outdoor poster done by a student and a U.S. Super Bowl-integrated Polar Bowl, a second-screen experience that synced with the game’s action. Coca-Cola’s VP-Global Connections Ivan Pollard proudly talks about the diversity of these accomplishments.

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How Much Haggis Can A YouTuber Eat?

Produced by the Ayzenberg Group, Brave: The Video Game Challenge Course kicks off today on the Disney Interactive Studios YouTube channel. YouTube stars Tobuscus, Katers17, DaneBoe and OlgaKay challenge their fate on an obstacle course to discover who is BRAVE.

The course is comprised of obstacles made to mirror events in the game/movie (i.e. dunking the suitor, finding the wisp, etc.) Ayzenberg made things a little more interesting by adding in things such as a chocolate covered slide, cool whip inside balloons they needed to pop and having them eat Haggis. At the end of the first video, fans are allowed to choose which famous YouTuber they want to see run through the challenge, obstacle course.

 

Weyland Mission Recruitment

An interactive website for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus lets fans dive into a transmedia and interactive experience that redefines the typical movie site or portal. Working closely with Microsoft, the Project Prometheus Training Center and each engagement contained within has been built in HTML5 and works on modern browsers, such as Google Chrome and Safari, but the experience works best on Internet Explorer 9. Users begin by logging into the Project Prometheus Training Center with Facebook or Twitter. A user’s score will then appear on a leaderboard that is updated in real-time throughout the day and in a way that can be compared with friends. 79,700 is the highest score possible across all tests. How high can you score

Most of the content wrapped up in the Project Prometheus Training Center is game based. The games range from puzzles and logic quizzes to reflex tests. In the “agility” test, for instance, users have to move their way through an obstacle course using the arrow keys on the keyboard to move left and right. In the “G-Force test,” users are tasked with keeping their mouse cursor in the center of a grid, despite the “G-Force effect” imposed by the browser. In the “spatial relations” test, users match Tetris-like pieces in the correct position in a limited amount of time. The most impressive game is the “pre-cortex” test, which is a 3D Rubik’s cube and logic puzzle with varying degrees of difficulty. This test is only available in IE 9.