The Star Wars and Angry Birds brands, have been some of the most proliferated on the planet so it feels inevitable that they should come together. Angry Birds Star Wars marks not only a new game in the Angry Birds franchise, but also merchandise as well.
“The Angry Birds and Star Wars universes will collide in our best game to date,” announced Rovio. “It doesn’t stop there though, we’ll have a whole host of toys, animations and other Angry Birds Star Wars goodness to enjoy,”
According to reports, Apple is readying 10 million iPad minis for use this year. If true, it would be double the number that Amazon expects to ship of their competing Kindle Fire during the same period.
While the iPad mini has not been announced, it is expected that invitations to the announce event will be sent out this week for a reveal new week. Most believe that the device will feature a 7.85 inch display produced by LG and AU Optronics.
RBS analyst Wanli Wang thinks the biggest challenge facing Apple is pricing iPad mini competitively against similar 7-inch $199 devices, which include the Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus 7. “iPad mini will be a big hit if Apple prices it below $300,” he suggested.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Gree has announced a new indie support program called Gree Loves Indies. This support for independent developers will include “Indie of the Month” contests, where games will be submitted for a four to six week launch and release support campaign.
“Gree is a strong supporter of independent developers,” says Eros Resmini, SVP of Developer Relations and Marketing, Gree International. “They are responsible for pushing the limits of creativity and driving innovation within the mobile industry and I feel we have a responsibility to give them the tools and knowledge they need to work their magic.”
Find out more at Gree.net. {link no longer active}
Reports are that Battlefield: Bad Company is coming to television. An action comedy running about an hour has been in development by Sony TV and studio-based Happy Madison for Fox.
The TV production was written by John Eisendrath and will focus on four misfit soldiers as they transfer to the private sector. However, the team finds out their commanding officer had used them to further the ends of a shadow unit within the government and now wants them dead to cover his tracks.
Source: Deadline.com
Glu Mobile announced that it has signed a deal with Probability PLC to create Glu-branded mobile slot titles using Glu’s original IP, such as Contract Killer, Deer Hunter, and Gun Bros. Probability will launch the games in the U.K. and Italy, where real-money online gambling is legal.
“We believe that mobile gambling momentum is beginning to accelerate on a global basis, and with this deal, Glu becomes an early mover. We anticipate that as additional markets around the world open up to real-money mobile gaming, we will expand our investment in the sub-sector,” said Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile. “We view real-money mobile gaming as an opportunity to extend the reach of our successful original IP to new demographics, as well as deepen engagement and rewards for our players.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with a pioneer and leader in the freemium mobile gaming industry,” said Charles Cohen, CEO of Probability PLC. “We look forward to deepening our relationship with Glu as we seek to expand our regulatory reach to new markets worldwide.”
Paul and David Bettner, the brothers who created Words With Friends, announced that they are leaving Zynga, though what they plan to do next was not stated. Zynga acquired their company, Newtoy, in 2009 for $53.3 million dollars based on the success of their mobile hit Words With Friends. Their studio was dubbed Zynga With Friends, and continued to crank out titles like Scramble with Friends, Hanging With Friends, and Matching With Friends.
The siblings are just the latest in a series of recent executive departures for Zynga, including their COO, CMO, CTO, CCO, and others totaling more than a dozen execs. Zynga said “We look forward to the continued success of the With Friends franchise and we wish Paul and David well.”
Source: GamesIndustry International
Gree announced that they have signed up Enders Fund, Fathom Interactive, Fifth Column, and FreezeTag for the Gree Platform. This will bring TriviaThis, Sky Pirate of Neo Terra, Party Animals and more to the mobile social platform.
“We’re very focused on working with indie talent here at GREE and we’re committed to helping these guys succeed,” said Gree SVP of Developer Relations and Marketing Eros Resmini. “We know each of these guys is different. Some need the technology and some want to leverage our know-how — we’re happy to help them however we can.”
“As a small, indie developer, we face significant challenges in today’s highly competitive social mobile gaming market. Working with the Gree team allows us to focus on making a great game and getting it out to the right players, while maintaining full ownership of the title,” says, Andrew Marsh, CEO of Fifth Column Games. “We are impressed by Gree’s successes in this industry and how quickly they have been able to establish themselves as a worldwide leader. We look forward to working with Gree Platform to make our games an international success.”
Zynga’s stock has been getting hammered after the company announced preliminary fiscal results. Investors are clearly concerned when they see the full-year outlook getting slashed and estimates for a net loss of over $100 million. While a number of social games industry pundits believe Zynga is in the midst of crumbling, Webush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes there’s hope for a turnaround.
“It is not clear that Zynga will turn this around quickly, and our FY:13 estimates reflect flat year-over-year revenues, with solid mobile and advertising revenue growth offsetting continuing declines in virtual item sales on Facebook. However, we think that a reinvented Zynga, with fewer employees and fewer games under development, will see its margins rise, particularly as it grows its mobile and advertising base. Should company management get this right, it could be a home run,” Pachter said.
He continued, “If management reins in costs and focuses on fewer, bigger games, we think that the company has the potential to grow revenues and deliver 20 – 30 percent operating margins, suggesting that the company could earn as much as $0.40 – 0.50/share once it gets things right. Mobile and advertising continue to grow, and the company is running at cash breakeven. While it is sorely tempting for us to jump on the Zynga-hater bandwagon, we are strangely fascinated by the company’s business model, and believe that there is great potential to turn things around.”
Source: GamesIndustry International
Nintendo is expanding their eShop offerings for the 3DS, with Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D and Mario Kart 7 available for $39.99 each. More retail 3DS titles are promised for the system in the future.
“The Nintendo eShop demonstrates Nintendo’s commitment to providing consumers with unique digital content through a combination of creativity and convenience,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The variety and quality of games coming this year is unmatched, from new entries in established franchises to original properties.”
New 3DSWare games will also be coming to the eShop soon, with NightSky on October 25, Crashmo on November 22, and Fluidity: Spin Cycle on December 27. Level-5 is also publishing games made with some of Japan’s greatest game creators this year, including Suda 51’s Liberation Maiden, Yoot Saito’s Aero Porter, and Yasumi Matsuno’s Crimson Shroud.
Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS will combine. The combined company will have around 42.5 million subscribers; Deutsche Telekom will hold a 74 percent stake in the combined company, while MetroPCS Communications’ shareholders will own the remainder and will also receive a payment of about $1.5 billion.
Deutsche Telekom recently tried to sell its U.S. business T-Mobile USA to AT&T for $39 billion. The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission helped scrap the deal for regulatory reasons, though it did grant the German company a $6 billion breakup package.
“We are committed to creating a sustainable and financially viable national challenger in the U.S., and we believe this combination helps us deliver on that commitment,” said Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann.
The acquisition is scheduled to close in the first half of 2013. By the end of 2015, MetroPCS’s wireless network is expected to be shut down, and customers will be moved over to the new company.
U.S. Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee on communications and technology, noted that there needs to be another “strong national competitor” to Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the mobile the space. “The proposed merger of T-Mobile and MetroPCS has the right ingredients to provide consumers with a viable alternative for wireless voice and data service,” she said. “I hope the FCC and the Department of Justice will conduct a thorough, but swift review of the transaction’s merits.”
Source: Washington Post {link no longer active}
