Tiny Wings 2.0 – Free For Owners Of The Original Game

Andreas Illiger has announced that the sequel to Tiny Wings will be free to everyone who buys the original game. Version 2.0 will be the latest and largest addition to the game from German developer Andreas Illiger.

In Tiny Wings 2.0, there will be a new game mode called “Flight School”, a multiplayer mode, fifteen new levels, retina display support, new characters, enhanced language support and various menu and interface tweaks. There also an iPad specific edition, called Tiny Wings HD.

Transformers Coming To DeNA’s Mobage Network

DeNA and Hasbro announced that they have signed a three-year agreement to publish mobile games based on Transformers that includes all areas of the world except Japan. The first title as part of the deal will release on DeNA’s Mobage network on Android and iOS later this year.

“Our global platform has continued to thrive and grow, and we’re now investing in major entertainment IP,” said Neil Young, Director of DeNA and CEO of DeNA’s U.S. subsidiary ngmoco. “Transformers is a highly beloved brand, with dynamic characters that are universally cherished by fans. We are excited to bring the Transformers world to life for mobile gamers.”

“DeNA is a proven global leader in mobile social games,” said Mark Blecher, GM and SVP, Hasbro Digital Media and Marketing. “We’re delighted to team-up with DeNA to offer a compelling Transformers experience on the leading mobile platforms. DeNA’s innovative approach to mobile gaming is a great fit with the Transformers brand.”

Epic-Scents Launches Unique Partnership With Capcom

 

Epic-Scents announced that they have signed a licensing agreement with Capcom. They will work with Capcom to create fragrance products based around franchises like Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Devil May Cry.

“While the exact details of this project remain closely guarded, this exciting new product line will complement and add a new dimension to the selected franchise’s characters,” wrote Jim Kavanaugh, Project Director. “Each product designed by Epic-Scents includes a specially formulated fragrance that can be used in the development of personal care, household, and promotional products, as well as other fine fragrance. Expected launch date is Fall 2012.”

Temple Run Gets Comic Fun

Imangi Studios signed a deal with Ape Entertainment to do a Temple Run comic series. The comic will go into the backstory of the game’s various characters and the mysteries of the temple.

“The Temple Run game left a lot to the imagination, with more questions than answers,” said Keith Shepherd, CEO of Imangi Studios. “We look forward to exploring the world of Temple Run and the adventures of Guy Dangerous in more detail with Ape Entertainment and the comic series.”

Temple Run is by far one of my favorite adventure games on the App Store,” said David Hedgecock, CEO of Ape Entertainment. “The thrilling gameplay plays into our plans very nicely for an extraordinary storyline that we know fans will enjoy.”

The comics will release digitally for iOS and will also come in printed form – no word yet on an Android version.

Deadpool Announcement With A Bang

Deadpool, aka The Merc with a Mouth, has a game and it’s bringing all his wacky abilities and fourth-wall-breaking tangents to the interactive medium. And as he has done with the character numerous times in the past, Deadpool will be voiced by Nolan North.

Beyond: Two Souls – Behind The Scenes ‘Mo-Cap’ Video

Check out the process for Beyond: Two Souls, showing how elemental it is for the actors working in a very minimalist motion capture stage. Additionally, this footage confirms that Kadeem Hardison (A Different World) and Eric Winter (Harold and Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay) are both part of the project.

 

Mobile Game Discovery Beyond Ads

Ampulum recently ran a survey of people from social networks, gamer forums, and industry mailing lists for their mobile gaming habits. The results showed that overwhelmingly, the discovery of their favorite mobile games were coming from friends’ word of mouth recommendations, and app store searches and features were primary drivers of sales.

“The study showed that game reviews, discussion forums, and even Google web search all ranked ahead of discovery via in-game ads within another mobile game,” writes ‘Steve’ at Ampulum. “This was self-reported data, so perhaps it’s not surprising if people underestimated how much they’re influenced by ads. The size of the gap vs. other discovery methods is hard to ignore, however. When asked directly what fraction of their favorite mobile games were discovered that way, 70 percent of respondents denied discovering any of their favorites via in-game ads.”

Facebook and Twitter were also recognized discovery methods. An interesting finding by looking at the ages of respondents, it showed that discussion forums are a young person’s venue, with those aged 20-29 more than 3x more likely to report forums among the ways they discovered their favorite mobile games.

“If you’re a new developer with a quality game that you hope will become someone’s favorite, but don’t have a multi-million dollar budget for in-game ad spending, take heart,” noted ‘Steve’. “Your target audience is more likely to discover your game through other less expensive channels anyway. So polish that icon until it shines and hone your description text to perfection, to ensure your game stands out in app store search results. Leverage social media, forums, and any other tool you can find to get your existing players talking about the game with their friends. Cultivate relationships with the gaming press, and do everything in your power to make sure your game is reviewed well. Once you’ve optimized all those channels, then you can start to ramp up in-game ad spending to drive further growth.”

 

Source: Ampulum.com

Microsoft Splits From MSNBC Collaboration

MSNBC.com’s website has been rebranded NBCNews.com. This follows NBCUniversal purchase of Microsoft’s 50 percent share of the joint venture on July 13.

NBC News now has complete control over the MSNBC Digital Network, which includes MSNBC.com, Today.com, NightlyNews.com, BreakingNews.com and other sites. Microsoft’s MSN , which competes with other web portals like Yahoo! and AOL, will remain a distribution site for NBC News.

Microsoft and NBC teamed up to form MSNBC in 1996, designed to be a 24-hour news channel with a companion website. NBC agreed to acquire the news channel in 2005, leaving the Internet portion as a joint venture, while Comcast, the largest U.S. cable- television provider, purchased NBC Universal last year.

Source: BusinessWeek