Kids Play More Games On Mobile

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Usually, when kids head home to play video games, they turn to a console connected to the TV, grabbing a controller and playing for hours on end. There may be a changing of the guard as of late, though, as a new report indicates they prefer a different style of play.

A survey from NPD states that kids are increasing the time they spend playing mobile games. The Kids and Gaming 2013 report indicates that the habits for kids age 2-17 have gone through a shift over the last couple of years.

An online survey of mothers of more than 3,800 gaming children indicates that a whopping 53 percent have upped their time playing on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. This jump is at its highest with the 12-17 age bracket, with players spending approximately five to seven hours a week on apps.

“Kids embrace change, adopting new devices and technologies, for the experience of gaming and accessing other entertainment content and it is critical to understand the current mindset of the highly engaged 2-to-17 year-old gamer,” stated NPD analyst Liam Callahan. “Kids are engaged with mobile devices as less expensive tablets and an increasing amount of hand-me-down phones create greater accessibility to these platforms than before.”

Source: GamesIndustry International

Disney Tries Second-Screen In Theaters

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Disney wants fans of The Little Mermaid to go “under the sea” in even more depth next month when the film makes a limited return to theaters in a new 3D format.

The company has introduced a “second screen” experience with select screenings of the film. With these, audiences are encouraged to bring their tablet and mobile devices to take part in a number of activities with the movie, including sing-alongs, mini-games and other activities.

You can view a trailer of the “second screen” experience in action below. The movie will be in theaters for a short amount of time before the movie makes its debut on Blu-Ray 3D format in October.

Source: Slashfilm

 

Coca-Cola Live Tweets Into TV Ads

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It’s important to share a meal with family and people you love, a good time to catch up on the day’s events and see what you might have missed while at work or school. In Romania, Coca-Cola has just introduced a way to bring families closer together, through a new interactive ad campaign.

The company has enlisted MRM Worldwide to assist with the campaign, one featuring an ad where family and friends come together for a meal. There’s a catch, though – it has interaction with live messages from Twitter.

When the TV ad runs, a text bar appears, showing tweets that feature the hashtag “#letseattogether”. MRM assists with live-editing these tweets into the TV ad, with up to seven new ones chosen each time the ad runs.

The ad campaign has been a success so far, with a 15 percent increase in Coke’s Twitter base and over one million social media impressions. You can get an idea how it works with the trailer below.

‘Breaking Bad’ Meth Lab Playset

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The phenomenon of AMC’s hit show Breaking Bad has somehow found its way onto toy shelves.

Citizen Brick has put together a Lego-style playset based on the TV show, a 500-brick package that allows people to create various sets from the show, including the crystal meth lab where main protagonist Walter White “creates his magic.”

The set is not officially sanctioned by Lego, and has since become the target of outrage from certain consumers. Certain commentators on Twitter were seen saying, “Made for children raised by parents who should know better” and “Definitely not for kiddies!”

The production company has made clear that the set is not designated for children, nor authorized by Lego. You can learn more and order the set at http://www.citizenbrick.com.

Source: Daily Mail

Steam Offers Family Sharing

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Valve’s Steam service continues to innovate, despite competition coming from Microsoft and Sony later this year with their next-gen systems.

The company has just announced Steam Family Sharing, a new program that will enable people to share their virtual game library with close friends and family members. The beta will launch next week, enabling the first ten thousand users to try it out at no charge.

Through Family Sharing, users can log in to a person’s account on up to ten different devices – for no charge – while still earning individual Achievements and storing separate game progress to the Steam cloud service. Simultaneous usage of an account’s library is not allowed, so if the primary player opts to play a game, the lendee will either have to purchase it outright or quit for the time being.

“Our customers have expressed a desire to share their digital games among friends and family members, just as current retail games, books, DVDs, and other physical media can be shared,” Anna Sweet of Valve said in a statement. “Family Sharing was created in direct response to these user requests.”

The only downside is that the service can’t be used by those looking to use the service for theft or fraud purposes.

Source: The Next Web

A ‘Grand’ Online Vision

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Even though the launch of Grand Theft Auto V next week will be huge, an even bigger world will open up on October 1st with the supplementary Grand Theft Auto Online, which will be offered as a free download with purchase. With this game, users can interact with one another, joining up in groups and battling it out, or racing in competitive events.

The world being created for the Online game is set to be huge, but according to Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies, there’s massive room for expansion.

Speaking with Game Informer, Benzies stated that the team’s goal is to “create an entire Grand Theft Auto world that consists of everything we’ve done or are going to do, then let the player freely move between them.”

The game that releases on October 1st is simply “a beginning,” according to Benzies. “We’ve always wanted to create a world with the complexity of a single-player Grand Theft Auto game with the addition of real players. We wanted a world where people could spend years without getting bored of playing the same content over and over. I think we’ve managed to achieve something very close to our dream.”

Expect new locations to be added “all the time,” with “no limitations.”

Source: Game Informer

‘WoW’ Rumored To Be Considering Microtransactions

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Blizzard is considering introducing an in-game economy to World of Warcraft as more players churn out of the subscription-based MMO. That’s according to research firm SuperData, which cited an unnamed Blizzard staffer as saying in-game microtransactions are coming.

SuperData pointed to mounting losses as setting up a scenario where Blizzard has to be considering alternative sources of revenue. The firm estimates revenue in WoW dropped 54 percent over a seven month period leading up to April of this year. It said the game drew $93 million in revenue in April compared to $204 million in September of last year.

Subscriber losses in WoW have been a constant in the news. Blizzard parent Activision revealed during its earnings report in May that the game had lost 1.3 million subscribers in Q1 2013, representing about 14 percent of the player base. Another update on active subscribers in the game in July revealed the loss of an additional 700,000 people, putting total subscribers at 7.7 million.

Even if Blizzard is truly looking at a full-fledged in-game economy for WoW, SuperData said that it’s unlikely the game will switch to a completely free-to-play model because it still makes a staggering amount of money on subscriptions. There are also issues such as competition in the space and the effect on the existing player community.

“What we generally see after a switch to free-to-play is an influx of new players and a spike in revenues, which, if the cards are played right, can be sustained,” SuperData wrote in its report. “But to switch entirely to F2P is currently too much of a jolt for WoW, and doesn’t make sense with the current metrics. For example, in order to have sustained the US revenues the game saw in 2011, it would have had to convert 53 percent of the total free-to-play audience in the US at the time.”

Looking at a possible upside, SuperData pointed to how current WoW players are spending an increasing amount of money on the game’s add-on store. Revenue from the add-on store has stayed consistent even as a shrinking player base drives down subscription based revenue.

“Despite major declines in total revenues between September 2012 and April 2013, the game has seen an increasing conversion rate for its current, add-on, extra-game store, and its microtransaction revenues have held pat overall,” the SuperData report said. “What it tells us is that dedicated WoW players are interested in — and will spend money on —microtransactions. By bringing this system into the game, and allowing for powerups and performance-based microtransactions, WoW hopes to further entice players to spend.”

Source: SuperData

Will New iPhones Impact Games?

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Apple’s long-anticipated iPhone reveal event took place yesterday with a big surprise: There were no big surprises, since all of the key information had already been leaked. Apple introduced the iPhone 5c, which replaces the iPhone 5 at a lower price, and the iPhone 5s, the new high end of the iPhone line, available September 20, and announced that iOS 7 would be available on September 18.

The iPhone 5c essentially puts the existing iPhone 5 in a colorful plastic shell (available in 5 candy colors — green, white, blue, red, and yellow) with only minor improvements to the front camera. The A6 processor and the battery remain the same, but the price is lower: $99 for a 16GB iPhone 5c and $199 for a 32GB iPhone 5c with a two-year contract.

The new iPhone 5s (available in silver, gray and gold) features a 64-bit A7 processor, the first 64-bit processor in a smartphone. This doubles the graphics power and CPU power over the iPhone 5, and makes the iPhone 5s 40x more powerful than the original iPhone CPU (and 56x more power than the original iPhone’s graphics). The 8 MP camera features a larger sensor, larger pixels, redesigned 5 element lens and two-color LED flash to provide much better images, along with 120 fps video at 720p resolution for 4x slow-mo video. The 5s also has a fingerprint sensor built into the Home button so you can turn on the phone or purchase items with just a finger touch. The iPhone 5s is $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB.

Finally, iOS 7 is almost ready for release, available for iPhone 4 and up as well as iPad 2 and up. The software is fully rewritten in 64 bits to support the new iPhone 5s. Apple promises users that iOS 7 will now include free iWorks (for buyers of new iDevices) and iTunes Radio, along with myriad enhancements.

Reaction to the new hardware and software was generally positive. “The 5C is a high-powered, well-designed phone with a competitive spec, plus Apple branding for $99,” said Clive Downie, CEO of mobile game giant DeNA West. “That’s an attractive combination for consumers who have been aspiring the brand but can’t break in due to the price point. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see entry-level consumers opt for the 5C.”

Downie was not sure how much of an impact the 5s would have on the game industry. “It’s hard to tell until we have our hands on it,” he said. “Consumers playing games on their phones want interaction that suits their available time and an immersive experience that satisfies that time spent. As can be seen with the charts, a guide to popularity, this doesn’t always have to come with high fidelity visuals. For some consumers, higher fidelity will help. For others it’s not important.”

“It’s not quite the revolution everyone expected,” said analyst Scott Steinberg, CEO of TechSavvy Global. “The 5C should help Apple regain some of its lost ground — by lowering the price you increase the audience size exponentially. If you look at the 5s, we’re seeing some nice gains in performance and graphics power. But the reality is we’ve reached a tipping point where graphics isn’t the problem, it’s visibility. Consumers aren’t demanding premium graphics on phones.”

Chris Ulm, CEO of mobile developer Appy Entertainment, has mixed feelings about the 5c. “Getting on NTT Docomo [in Japan] is huge for Apple, while the rumored China Mobile deal (with 700 million subscribers) will be even huger,” Ulm said. “I am disappointed in the non-contract price for the 5c — at $549, it seems too expensive to be a real market share weapon in developing or for mid-priced phones but rather will solidify the iPhone’s hold on the high end of the smartphone market.”

It’s really about profit margins for Apple, more than market share, and the decision has a practical side, Ulm believes. “Personally, I would have loved to see Apple come in at least $100 lower on the 5c so they could make a serious run at entry level, middle class buyers in India, Brazil and Russia, but I think they are making trade-offs based on current demand and production capacity: Why make cheaper phones when they sell everything they are capable of making at higher margins ”

The 64-bit A7 chip in the iPhone 5s is more important for the future of Apple than it is for this particular phone, according to Ulm. “I think its a mistake to look at the A7 only as the iPhone chip and instead look at it as the flagship for future iOS devices, including AppleTV,” Ulm pointed out. “Apple has clearly been setting the groundwork for a serious run at the living room and I see the A7 (and the A series beyond) as being the workhorse chips for iPads, big screen TV’s and eventually mobile computers. The additional capability of the A7 will allow the transition to Xbox 360 level production values on mobile games as we move to always connected, multi-screen 3D-centric games.”

Analyst Peter Warman of Newzoo pointed out some important metrics regarding Apple and games in a recent post. “Despite higher growth rates, overall Google Play revenues still stand at only 47 percent of the the total generated by Apple’s iOS stores,” Warman noted. “In terms of revenues generated through content on smartphones and tablets, it is important to understand the significance of games. On a global scale, one in three downloads from any app store is a game. Moreover, two in three dollars spent on these apps is on, or rather in, games. Apple is expected to gross close to $2 billion this year solely from their 30 percent share on mobile games spending.”

The scale of the overall mobile games market is immense and growing, and Apple’s iOS is taking the lion’s share of the profits from it compared to Android. “According to Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report, worldwide spending on mobile games will grow 34 percent this year, from $9.1 billion to $12.2 billion,” said Warman. “At the end of 2013, the number of tablet and smartphone gamers will surpass one billion. By 2016, mobile games are expected to claim 28 percent of the global games market, generating almost $24 billion, representing a huge global growth opportunity.”

The battle for market share and profits in the USA between Samsung (the leading Android phone provider) and Apple illustrates how Apple is focusing on profits more than market share. “A slightly higher share of Americans aged between 10 and 65 uses a Samsung phone than an iPhone: 26 percent versus 25 percent,” said Warman. “When investigating the market share amongst 129 million mobile gamers, the share of iPhone users jumps to 35 percent and even 45 percent if we only take the 58 million American paying mobile gamers into account. Ultimately, Apple reaches twice the number of paying mobile gamers than Samsung, despite having a lower absolute number of device users.”

Apple is playing the long game here by keeping iPhone prices and margins high. The lower price of the 5c isn’t as much lower as some analysts had hoped, but it will still move massive numbers of units and help regain market share for Apple. At the same time, it will keep Apple’s profits high. This also helps developers, as Apple buyers tend to have more money and more willingness to spend money on games.

The iPhone 5s won’t make a huge impact on gaming, but it is interesting to note that the only third-party company Apple put on stage was a game company (ChAIR Entertainment). Of course, a game like Infinity Blade III shows the power of the new iPhone 5s more clearly than any productivity app. This also shows the importance that Apple now attaches to games — 240 million people signed up for Game Center shows the game market on iOS is considerable.

What’s Better Than A Real Cat?

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Even objective cat lovers will acknowledge that house cats are willful creatures that are antithetical to board games. Thus, this ad truthfully conveys how it’s better for everyone involved, the cat included, that a small cat token was added to play Monopoly with instead of trying to involve Mr. Whiskers personally.