Meet the man behind Angry Birds
Jaakko Iisalo tells us how Rovio made the world's most successful mobile game.
Jaakko Iisalo tells us how Rovio made the world's most successful mobile game.
Japanese bullet-hell specialist Cave released a version of 2005 arcade shooter Espgaluda II for iPhone last year, but is now set to release an HD version for iPad 2. While most of Espgaluda II's graphics have been remastered in HD some, including backgrounds, remain in standard definition. More >
Radiangames' Luke Schneider has announced that Super Crossfire, his first iOS game, will be published by Chillingo. In a post on the Radiangames blog, Schneider says that Chillingo's wide reach and track record - it published the original Angry Birds and Cut The Rope, and in June announced that its games had been downloaded 140 million times - would mean his first foray onto the App Store would get the maximum possible exposure. More >
Katamari Amore, the latest in the Katamari Damacy series created by Keita Takahashi, will be released on the Apple App Store on September 29, publisher Namco Bandai has announced. More >
Californian mobile game developer Appy Entertainment's iOS games have been downloaded ten million times since the studio was formed in 2008. More >
Further evidence of freemium's growth as revenue climbs from 28 per cent in 2010. More >
1Serious game depicting unethical working processes in the manufacture of high-end technology removed from the App Store.
10Eric Chahi's classic adventure was announced for Apple devices in March, and publisher Bulkypix has now confirmed it will hit the App Store on September 22. The universal app, which offers remastered graphics as well as the original's, can be controlled using the touchscreen or a virtual d-pad, adds new difficulty levels and audio, and will cost £2.99.
There has never been a better time to be a mobile game developer, and it's down to Apple's controlling nature, says Giordano Bruno Contestabile.
1PopCap's much-loved Peggle is now available for iPad from the App Store. Priced for a limited time at £1.79 - it will soon rise to £2.99 - it includes Game Center support with 29 achievements, and an in-app purchase option that offers the Peggle Nights expansion for 59p. The game has been downloaded over 30 million times since its launch in 2007.
An all-new title based on Bullfrog's 1994 classic will be released for iPhone and iPad before the end of the year, Digital Spy reports. A free download with microtransaction support, some attractions will be based on EA properties including Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Dead Space. EA is also promising cloud storage of game saves using its Origin platform.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was clearly referring to Apple when, at GDC in February, he launched an impassioned defence of Nintendo's business model and asked: "Is maintaining the high value of games a priority or not? What we produce has value, and we should protect that value." His belief - that the likes of Apple have no interest in maintaining the high price of worthy software - was contradicted at last week's Edinburgh Interactive by UK studio Somethin' Else. The developer revealed that Apple got in touch before the release of its innovative iOS rhythm game Papa Sangre and expressed an interest in promoting it. "They asked us how much we were going to sell it for, and we said maybe £1.99," said managing director Steve Ackerman. "They said: 'You must be joking. This is a premium app, this is worth more than the price of [a] coffee'." The game eventually launched at £3.99, more than double the price the developer had in mind. We'll have an interview with Somethin' Else's Paul Bennun on the site later today.
Well, that was fast. Just yesterday, IGN revealed concept art for a sequel to Zeptolab's enormously successful iOS physics puzzler; now Techcrunch brings word that the game, named Cut The Rope: Experiments, will be released on the App Store tomorrow.
As part of a larger interview with the EA and Digital Chocolate founder, Hawkins claimed that Apple wants "you to be in the App Store rather than the browser, so they cripple the browser". "They’re like, ‘Oh it’s nothing against Flash; we just prefer HTML5’. Well, Flash can actually make a really good game, and with HTML5 you can’t do that." He also attacked the App Store's closed nature: "For Apple to decide that they’re going to be the censors ... it just doesn’t really work that well, because they still end up with a thousand farting applications." For more on why Hawkins left Apple and why he's on Steve Jobs' "shit list for life", read the full interview at the source link below.
3The Digital Chocolate CEO talks Steve Jobs, the App Store and the inevitable decline.
5Apple's continuing expansion means the App Store is now available in a total of 123 countries, the latest additions including Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Nigeria and Yemen. Mobile Entertainment reports that this is part of a general expansion of Apple's services that also includes the launch of the Mac App Store and the forthcoming iCloud service.
Increase comes in spite of average prices 14 per cent higher than last year.
A number of ex-FreeStlyeGames staff have established a new mobile development studio called Music In Colour. Headed up by former FreeStyleGames boss Chris Lee, it’s set to release a music title, Say What?!, for iPhone on July 20. A collaboration between the studio, music production company Reactify and independent recording studio Metropolis Group, the game uses an increasingly cryptic collection of scrolling icons which relate to song lyrics, which players have to correctly identify and tap on to progress. Debuting with four playable tracks from artists Calvin Harris, Scouting for Girls, the Zutons and The Nolans, it’ll be free to download, with additional songs sold via in-app payments of £1.19. “The music business needs to capture a new audience," Music In Colour managing director Lee told the Guardian. "Rather than make a game then license the music, this is much more of a partnership. We think there is a great opportunity to leverage the mobile platform to build something that reaches a wider audience, and monetises music… It's almost a Generation Game mechanic: a simple layer that lives over the music. We're not trying to be cleverer than that. This is about something that appeals in its simplicity, and we're trying not to niche it. It should appeal as much to 8-13 year-old girls as it does to 30-40 year-old males."
Adjustments for exchanges rates see cheapest apps rise to 69p; better news for Australia and Japan.
4In a press release, Apple has confirmed that 15 billion apps have now been downloaded from the iOS App Store since its launch in July 2008 - and it only passed 10 billion downloads in January. With Apple claiming there are more than 200 million iOS users, that works out at around 75 apps per device. Philip Schiller, senior VP of worldwide product marketing, said: "In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers."