Dota 2, League of Legends Most Played PC Titles In Early 2013: DFC

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DFC Intelligence says that Dota 2 is now the most played “core” PC title, passing League of Legends. Both MOBA titles are by far the most played PC titles, with World of Warcraft coming in an distant third.

“Usage of League of Legends has been steady the past year and surprisingly the huge success of Dota 2 did not seem to cut into its popularity as much as would be expected,” said DFC analyst Jeremy Miller.

The last quarter saw combined usage of the top 20 PC games up 22 percent year-on-year and up 8 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. “The past year has seen numerous blockbuster PC games that have really helped drive usage,” added DFC analyst David Cole. “This includes among others Diablo III, Guild Wars 2, Battlefield 3, Minecraft, World of Tanks and Valve’s Counter-Strike series.”

Google Close To Deal For WhatsApp

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Rumors are swirling that Google is close to buying the messaging application “WhatsApp” for $1 billion. Talks have been reportedly been happening since late last year and are close to being concluded.

WhatsApp Messenger enables users to share text messages, voice notes and photos with contacts across the globe without international messaging fees. Instead of using ads, the company has been selling the iPhone App for $0.99 while billing Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone users $0.99 per year after a one-year free trial period; WhatsApp users across all mobile platforms now transmit roughly 17 billion messages daily

Many believe that Google wants to unify its messaging and chat options like including Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, Hangout and Drive Chat into a single service and WhatsApp may be the method to do so.

Source: FierceMobileContent.com

LucasArts Tribute By Former Composer

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Former LucasArts composer Jesse Harlin took to Imgur to post a tribute to developer LucasArts. He provided the touching words while Joel Aron did the black and white photographs of former members of the studio’s staff.

“We lived our successes together, too, whether journeying in groups to foreign weddings or whole-heartedly supporting our colleagues who lost weight, fought off illnesses, transitioned genders, or simply followed passions like stand-up comedy, triathlons, art shows, or their bands,” wrote Harlin. “The people who lived their lives making games for LucasArts did so because they loved to make games for LucasArts and its fans. In large part this was because most of us were fans before we worked there.”

“Ask the employees to recall George Lucas’ gaming company and they’ll tell you about the time then-President Jim Ward rapped in front of all of Lucasfilm, or the Winter our offices were infested with mice, or the semi-ceremonial send-off each departing employee had at the local bar, the Final Final. Rest in peace, LucasArts. And thank you for the memories,” he concluded.

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This Week’s [a]list Jobs – April 10

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[a]list daily is now your source for the hottest job openings for senior management and marketing in games, entertainment and social media.

Here are this week’s [a]list jobs:

 

FEATURED JOBS:

 

Ayzenberg Group, one of the largest independent ad firms on the West Coast, is hiring.  We’re currently looking to fill these positions: Creative Lead: Visual Design, Game Capture Artist, Lead Web/UI Software Engineer and more. Check out our Careers page to apply.

Exclusive: Top Players In Mobile For March 2013

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By Peter Warman

Editor’s note: Newzoo and Distimo have released monthly mobile game data for March 2013, listing top worldwide games and publishers for iOS App Store and Google Play.  Peter Warman, CEO of Newzoo, contributes his analysis.

Top iOS Games

The top three iOS games remained unchanged once again with Supercell’s Clash of Clans still at the number one spot, and its other game HayDay at number three.  Kingdoms of Camelot: Battle for the North moved up to number four and MineCraft Pocket Edition stayed put at number 5.

EA’s successful adaption of the free-to-play business model is apparent in Real Racing 3, which saw a rapid climb from number 586 in February’s iOS charts to number fourteen for March. The racing game follows EA’s first efforts in free-to-play with TheSims FreePlay and The Simpsons Tapped Out. The publisher claims three of the top 20 iOS games in the latest chart.

It is worth noting that of the top 20 best performing iOS games, only two of them are using the pay-to-play business model — Minecraft: Pocket Edition and LocoJoy’s entry at number 16. Also worth noting is the continued success of the social casino genre, with one quarter of the top 20 games featuring gambling game mechanics.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out shows up twice on the list at both sixth and 20th because the latter is a localized version of the game for U.S. and Canada.  Combining sales for both titles would place the EA game at number four.

Rankings based on gross sales in 44 countries including key markets US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, BR, RU, AU, CN and JP.

Top iOS Publishers

The top five publishers in March 2013 remained unchanged from February, and three of the top 20 have only one game in the top 200 list — Mojang, Playtika and Social Quantum.  Supercell still claims the top spot even with only two games in the top 200 list.  Funzio was the month’s mover, climbing five positions from last month to take the number nine spot.

There are three new publishers on the list — Disney, who debuted at number 13 with yet another film-spun version of Temple Run with Temple Run: Oz.  The other two new entries are Social Quantum and Glu Games.  Natural Motion, which experienced great success with CSR Racing, has dropped out of the top 20 list.

Rankings based on gross sales in 44 countries including key markets US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, BR, RU, AU, CN and JP.

Top Google Play Store Games

More than 50 percent of the top 20 moneymakers on Google Play Store for March 2013 is made of Asian games, including all five new entries on the list.  Puzzle and Dragons was once again the best performing game in terms of revenue.  Candy Crush Saga from King.com was the highest ranking Western game at number four in the list.  Gree from GREE INC. saw the biggest drop, falling eleven places to number 16.

Candy Crush Saga, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth and MARVEL War of Heroes are the only games to feature on both iOS and Playstore top 20 lists for March.

Rankings based on gross sales in 34 countries including key markets US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, BR, RU, AU, CN and JP.

Top Google Play Store Publishers

Not surprisingly, just as Google Play Store top sellers are being dominated by Asian games, the top publishers list is dominated by their Asian game makers.  King.com is the best performing Western publisher at number nine.  GungHo Online Ent. fell from the top spot in last month’s list to number five, with WeMade Entertainment now claiming the number one position for March 2013.

Among the biggest movers, NHN Corp climbed from number 18 to number five, while Gameloft dropped five places from February to rank 15 in March.  Electronic Arts, King.com Limited, Kabam, Zynga Inc. and GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc.  feature in both the iOS and PlayStore lists.

Naver, makers of Line Pop and Line Bubble, has changed its name to LINE Corporation.

Rankings based on gross sales in 34 countries including key markets US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, BR, RU, AU, CN and JP.

Source:

If Sterling Cooper Went Social

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In the spirit of the return of AMC’s hit show Mad Men, social media marketer and blogger Jason Keath gathered advertising pundits to envision what the fictional 1960’s ad agency Sterling Cooper would look like today.

In the AMC series, the characters started in radio and print ads.  As the show progressed, television came on the scene.  Now we’re getting a view into what the men and women of Mad Men might be doing today in the internet and social media influenced “always-on” ad world.

London-based marketer Ron Schott looked at what life at Sterling Cooper would embody once the agency went digital. Looking at the show’s protagonist, Schott writes, “Don Draper would always be giving speeches in the office about how ‘viral’ doesn’t just happen, ‘we’ make it happen.”

He also imagines how the pretentious and flamboyant character of Salvatore “Sal” Romano would take advantage of Oreo’s agile digital strategy that made a big splash during the Super Bowl.

“Sal would come back and run the real-time content department, pumping out Oreo-esque images like a machine,” writes Schott.

In a play on Instagram, Schott asks what the show’s secretary and femme fatale Joan Holloway would have to deal with on the photo-sharing platform.

“Joan would get 2,345 follower requests on Instagram a day because her profile picture is just a tad risqué,” he muses.

Marketing pundit Jesse Noyes chose to jest about the constant alcohol consumption on the show, guessing that the characters today “would drink Red Bull instead of whiskey.”

Another marketer, Joe Chernov, pokes fun at our generation’s love affair with technology and the Internet saying.

“The show would immediately become unwatchable and boring because everyone would be staring at their monitors and smartphones instead of talking to each other,” writes Chernov.

Digital and social media marketer Ryan Cohn paired a YouTube video with his quip. It features Don Draper explaining the value and majesty of nostalgia in advertising, and getting hung up on Facebook hype.

Cohn writes, “And, of course, Don would pitch Facebook on this totally new concept that would redefine the social network once and for all, Timeline.”

What’s your one-liner Share in the comments below!

Source: SocialFresh

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 – The Replacers

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The first Replacer video for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 celebrated the release of the first DLC for the game, and the marketing idea returns just before the release of the second DLC pack Uprising. This time Peter Stormare is joined by Jerry Brooks, giving a much more over-the-top comedic effect beyond the ironic scowling of Stormare.

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Remember Me: It’s Time To Fight

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The current generation of consoles is coming to an end, and while some believe new IP must be held for the next-gen platforms, that isn’t stopping Capcom from shipping Remember Me this Summer. Here’s the latest video about female protagonist Nilin’s fight against the Memorize corporation and the enemies she will have to battle.

Microsoft Reveal Event Expected May 21

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Microsoft reportedly was readying an Xbox reveal event on April 24, 2013 but has postponed those plans. Instead, the company plans to reveal the next-generation Xbox on May 21, 2013.

Sources are reporting that the event will be at a small venue with a focus on providing the very first concrete details on the next Xbox, which has been codenamed Durango. The full on reveal of the console will follow at E3 in early June, with the actual release of this console expected in late 2013.

Source: TheVerge.com