Mobile Acquisition Costs Charted

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In an effort to help developers and publishers gauge how much it costs to acquire new users for an app, Fiksu will soon launch a pair of new mobile app marketing indices to help figure out how much these costs will actually be.

Costs can make all the difference for app makers, especially when it comes to attracting new users over current ones that own an app. Sometimes the cost of getting these users can be higher than the revenue the app can actually make in its average lifetime — which is bad news when it comes to making a profit.

According to the new indices, the cost of acquiring users for iOS and Android-based apps came pretty close, with only about a 16 cent difference between the two. This follows a period 10 months prior when they were further apart, something Fiksu considers a “post-holiday correction.

Fiksu’s Cost per Install index will focus on download costs, as well as the cost per app install directly attributed to advertising. For January, these costs were $1.27 on Android and $1.01 on iOS, with the Android CPI number down 29 percent from $1.80 and iOS going up from 13 percent since December.

More information on these indices can be found here.

Source: Venturebeat

OnLive Returns With New Services

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It’s been a rocky road for the OnLive cloud gaming service. Despite offering some key titles, the service has seen a lot of behind-the-scenes shuffling, as well as a lack of new games. However, all that changed this past week when the company launched some new services.

The new CloudLift subscription service links games from a player’s library to OnLive and automatically saves data within said games. That allows them to pick right back up where they left off, playing the game on a number of devices, including mobile. So far, the service only works with a few key titles, including Batman: Arkham Origins and The Lego Movie Videogame, but it’s likely to expand into other titles soon.

In addition, OnLive Go will focus on supporting MMO-style games for the service, although specific titles weren’t confirmed just yet.

OnLive has also seen the addition of new staffers on its team, including Mark Jung, former CEO of IGN who now serves as the company’s Executive Chairman; Carrie Holder, new VP of Business Development; and Rich Sanchez, OnLive’s VP of Product and Marketing.

The new CloudLift service is available now, and OnLive Go should follow shortly.

Source: TechCrunch

Ads Go Multiscreen

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A recent poll by the Association of National Advertisers and Nielsen have found that 2 out of 3 marketers dedicated about 25 percent of their budgets on executing integrated, multiscreen campaigns. Marketers are looking to a future where this will be commonplace, as 72 percent of pollers said that by 2016, they expect this to increase to anywhere between 26 to 100 percent. Nearly half said that utilizing multiscreen advertising is important to their marketing efforts now.

 

Source: eMarketer

EA: No Price Drop Near For Current-Gen

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The current console war is an interesting one, while the previous generation (the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) continue to be quite popular. Still, with “fresh blood” on the market, one would have to wonder if the older systems would drop in price anytime soon. EA’s financial officer Blake Jorgensen, however, doesn’t think this will be the case.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Technology conference, Jorgensen stated, “At some point, (Microsoft and Sony) will most likely bring those prices down, which could expand the marketplace for old-generation software. I’m guessing it’s probably late in the year or maybe even after next Christmas. I don’t know; they’ve not told us what their plans are but it’s probably not any time real soon.”

In the meantime, there are plenty of bundles to choose from, many of which are reasonably priced around $200 to $300, for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Source: GameSpot

Ouya Launches On Mad Catz’s M.O.J.O.

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Even though Ouya is content with its own console, it’s busily spreading its services around to others.

The company has announced that it will share its online store with other hardware makers, as part of its Everywhere initiative. This past week, it announced that it would bring its games to Mad Catz’s Android-based gaming system, called M.O.J.O. As part of the move, Mad Catz will lower the price of the system from $250 to $200, to help attract new customers.

“Up until now, the game console experience has been locked inside a box,” said OUYA chief executive Julie Uhrman in a statement. “Together with the hardware veterans at Mad Catz, we end that. Today’s announcement signifies the inception of a truly open platform where independent developers can bring their creations to the platforms where gamers actually play: everywhere.”

The OUYA services will coincide with M.O.J.O.’s own Google Play application, where players will have a number of games at their fingertips.

“This agreement with OUYA encapsulates our vision of an open software platform powered by M.O.J.O.’s high-performance hardware, and supported by the entire ecosystem of GameSmart gaming accessories,” said Mad Catz chief executive Darren Richardson. “We believe today’s announcements will widen the appeal of M.O.J.O. introducing it to a greater number of passionate gamers.”

Source: VentureBeat

Microsoft Bundles ‘Forza’ With Xbox One

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Microsoft is ready to up the ante with its Xbox One console. In addition to launching a specific Titanfall bundle with the first person shooter’s launch next week, the company has another deal in place for those who prefer the regular model – the racing game Forza Motorsport 5.

Those who purchase the system will receive a complimentary download code for Turn 10 Studios’ realistic racer, according to company spokesman Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb.

The offer is for a limited time, but it’ll save potential buyers $60 on a purchase, making the $500 asking price for the Xbox One seem a little more affordable. Note: the offer is only for regular Xbox One systems, and not the Titanfall package.

Hey, that still provides something to play, doesn’t it

Source: Digital Trends

Sony UK Bundles ‘Watch Dogs’

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Now that Ubisoft’s high-tech adventure Watch Dogs has a release date (May 27th), the company has moved forward with promotions on the game – one of which will see it bundled with PlayStation systems in the United Kingdom.

Sony has confirmed that special bundles featuring Watch Dogs will be released on May 27, the same day that the game arrives in stores. Both bundles will include a copy of the game, which features 60 minutes of gameplay exclusive to PlayStation consoles. The game will be featured in both a PS3 and a PS4 bundle.

Pricing hasn’t been revealed on the bundles yet, but they’re expected to not rise that much, making them a great value for those who don’t own them yet.

No word yet if the bundles will make their way to the U.S., but, at the very least, players will still be able to snag Watch Dogs on these shores when it arrives in late May.

Source: Polygon

Tapjoy Reports User Data

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Not all gamers are created equal – at least, according to a new report from the developers at Tapjoy.

The mobile publisher, with a network of over 450 million consumers, recently ran a survey to get a better idea about how its audience works. From that survey, it’s found that 71 percent of gamers are over the age of 25, and spend about three hours a week on average playing video games. Meanwhile, 65 percent of those polled actually don’t consider themselves “gamers,” despite the time spent on both mobile devices and consoles.

In addition, the study has found that the average household income of players ranges over $50,000, and that half of this audience enjoys playing games while television runs in the background.

So for those of you who think games are merely “kids stuff,” it might help to recheck those numbers.

Source: Venturebeat

‘Time’ Intros New Format, New Ads

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Time magazine has been running for years now with a very familiar format, but times are changing for the company, as it’s recently relaunched its website with a much more modern look.

The official Time website, which is still undergoing some changes, has gone through an overhaul with more startling visual images and wording, as you can see from the example above with the One World Trade Center.

The website relaunch is part of Time‘s initiative to attract even more viewers, up from the 23 million uniques it managed to get over the past year. In addition, with video streams on the rise by a whopping 860 percent and 4.4 million streams, web traffic is better than ever.

The site is also quite friendly when it comes to advertising, with units that manage to sync up together, both on the left column of the site, as well as within the main article. These new ‘magnetic’ ads were designed in-house, and Time hopes to see the format adopted by others.

A demonstration of this advertising can be found in the video below.

 

‘Kerbal Space Program’ Teams With NASA

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The developers behind the successful indie game Kerbal Space Program have joined forces with NASA to bring official content on board.

As a result, the developers at Squad will bring rocket parts and a new Asteroid Redirect Mission, sanctioned by NASA, to Kerbal. The mission shares the same moniker as a NASA initiative, one that began last year and concludes in 2022, with a manned mission visiting an asteroid. The main difference in the game, obviously, is that Kerbals will do the exploring, and conduct research on asteroids.

For good measure, the expansion will also include “nearly a dozen new parts,” including fuel tanks and a robotic grappling device.

In addition, attendees at SXSW next week will be able to check out a panel titled NASA and Kerbal Space Program: The Asteroids Mission In Real and Virtual Worlds, in which “NASA scientists and KBP developers will swap stories and share details about how the mission in both the real and virtual worlds is going to make a meaningful impact on how we view our place in the universe.”

“The collaboration with Kerbal Space Program can help drive interest by future explorers in next-generation technology development and deep space exploration,” said Bob Jacobs, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for communications. “Having an element of the experience based in the reality of NASA’s exploration initiatives empower players to manage their own space program while getting valuable insight into the reality of studying asteroids as a next step in getting to Mars.”

There’s no word yet on when the expansion will release.

Source: Polygon