For those who have suffered the inexplicable (albeit much flashier) horrors of Zynga's Mafia Wars app for iPhone, the wait for a true Mafia Wars experience on mobile is over. Atlantic City is live and ready to be pillaged for all players above Level 18. All you need to do is type this address, m.mafiawars.com, in your phone's native mobile browser (this hasn't been tested on Opera mobile yet, sorry folks) and log in using Facebook Connect.
Find out what the first real Mafia Wars game for mobile is like after the break.
Mafia Wars Fight
After logging in, you'll be surprised at how similar the experience is to its big brother on the full web Facebook. Not to mention how much faster it is (I was connected via WiFi). You have the choice of either hopping in fights--that is, with all Mafia Wars players--or taking on Atlantic City's unique jobs.
Mafia WarsJobs
Jobs operate just like normal ones with one key difference: since this is a casino town, the exclusive currency for Atlantic City is Vegas Chips. Though, for veterans of Sin City, these jobs should be cake with the amount of leftover Chips they should have. While the jobs don't contain the pretty artwork like they do on Facebook, at least completing these contributes to your actual character and not one made up for a poorly executed social app. You can even used your saved Energy packs if you run low.
Mafia Wars Level Up
Leveling up in Atlantic City is just like normal, but again, much faster. So this is what it feels like to be free of Flash, huh? Better yet, you can collect from your properties in all cities (even Italy!), though this city unfortunately doesn't have properties of its own. All in all, Mafia Wars Atlantic City is more than the ultimate companion app; it's nearly an entire city on your phone. With how smoothly the game runs on mobile, we hope this is just the beginning.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn mobile gaming. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn mobile gaming. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Năm, 2 tháng 2, 2012
Thứ Ba, 3 tháng 1, 2012
Nintendo sold 4 million 3DS systems in 2011, or 12 million dimensions
That's a lot of glasses-free, stereoscopic dimensions of gaming entertainment. Nintendo announced today that it had sold over 4 million units of its 3DS handheld gaming console last year, VentureBeat reports. Despite a terribly rocky start, the system sold more units in its first nine months than the ubiquitous Wii in its first nine months on the market, according to Nintendo.
The impressive sales are largely thanks to its $80 price cut last summer and system-selling games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 hitting in the winter. In fact, both Mario games have sold 1 million copies apiece since their late 2011 releases. (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword also sold a million discs since its November release.) So much for suspicions of the handheld being dead in the water, huh?
While the 3DS has clearly proven that it can hang in the world of iPhones and Android tablets offering sometimes fully-featured games for a buck or less, the handheld needs to repeat these successes in order to maintain. This is especially so considering Sony is gearing up to release its PS Vita in Western world this February. However, Japanese sales of the $250 competitor haven't exactly been mind-blowing.
According to VentureBeat, Nintendo of America executive VP of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt said that the company has a plenty of first and third-party games coming in early 2012, including Mario Party and Pokemon games. And since the company firmly refuses to create games for smartphones or tablets, it's definitely going to need that type of momentum.
Do you own or do your kids own a 3DS? Do you see the handheld system doing well into 2012 as the new crop of Apple and Android devices are released?
The impressive sales are largely thanks to its $80 price cut last summer and system-selling games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 hitting in the winter. In fact, both Mario games have sold 1 million copies apiece since their late 2011 releases. (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword also sold a million discs since its November release.) So much for suspicions of the handheld being dead in the water, huh?
While the 3DS has clearly proven that it can hang in the world of iPhones and Android tablets offering sometimes fully-featured games for a buck or less, the handheld needs to repeat these successes in order to maintain. This is especially so considering Sony is gearing up to release its PS Vita in Western world this February. However, Japanese sales of the $250 competitor haven't exactly been mind-blowing.
According to VentureBeat, Nintendo of America executive VP of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt said that the company has a plenty of first and third-party games coming in early 2012, including Mario Party and Pokemon games. And since the company firmly refuses to create games for smartphones or tablets, it's definitely going to need that type of momentum.
Do you own or do your kids own a 3DS? Do you see the handheld system doing well into 2012 as the new crop of Apple and Android devices are released?
Thứ Ba, 13 tháng 12, 2011
OpenFeint co-founder leaves, Gree International head becomes CEO
Well, that sure was quick. Just months after Japanese social game network Gree acquired OpenFeint (for a cool $104 million, mind you), the latter's co-founder and CEO has left the company, VentureBeat reports. The Burlingame, Calif.-based mobile social game network's 26-year-old co-founder Jason Citron has moved on to new opportunities, and has been replaced by Gree's head of international operations Naoki Aoyagi (pictured).
"In just over 24 months, OpenFeint has grown to over 120 million users across 7,000 games," Aoyagi said in a release. "I thank Jason for his leadership growing the company and wish him well in his new adventures." But, according to VentureBeat, the old switcheroo might not have been so cut and dry.
VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reports hearing rumors that Citron had been fired from the company before contacting OpenFeint and Citron, both of which declined to comment on the news until Aoyagi made the above statement in a release. However, both companies aim to announce their plans for integration between the U.S. operations of both companies in the coming weeks.
In other words, Gree's westward expansion into the U.S. through OpenFeint is imminent, and Gree will likely have even more of a say in how OpenFeint handles things now with a former Gree executive at the reins. Gree hopes to turn U.S. mobile gamers into the apparently wild spenders that Japanese mobile gamers tend to be.
However, direct Japanese competitor DeNA has already launched its Mobage mobile social games platform in the U.S. through recent acquisition ngmoco, and already has support of major U.S. carrier AT&T (though, it is AT&T). It looks like this holiday season will prove whether Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to their new rivals, not to mention existing western competitors like Zynga and EA, both of which have global and mobile ambitions. At any rate, it's going to be a very merry Christmas for mobile gamers.
[Image Credit: VentureBeat]
Do you think Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to DeNA under its new management? What do you hope to see from Citron now that he's freed himself from the company he helped bring up to this point?
"In just over 24 months, OpenFeint has grown to over 120 million users across 7,000 games," Aoyagi said in a release. "I thank Jason for his leadership growing the company and wish him well in his new adventures." But, according to VentureBeat, the old switcheroo might not have been so cut and dry.
VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reports hearing rumors that Citron had been fired from the company before contacting OpenFeint and Citron, both of which declined to comment on the news until Aoyagi made the above statement in a release. However, both companies aim to announce their plans for integration between the U.S. operations of both companies in the coming weeks.
In other words, Gree's westward expansion into the U.S. through OpenFeint is imminent, and Gree will likely have even more of a say in how OpenFeint handles things now with a former Gree executive at the reins. Gree hopes to turn U.S. mobile gamers into the apparently wild spenders that Japanese mobile gamers tend to be.
However, direct Japanese competitor DeNA has already launched its Mobage mobile social games platform in the U.S. through recent acquisition ngmoco, and already has support of major U.S. carrier AT&T (though, it is AT&T). It looks like this holiday season will prove whether Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to their new rivals, not to mention existing western competitors like Zynga and EA, both of which have global and mobile ambitions. At any rate, it's going to be a very merry Christmas for mobile gamers.
[Image Credit: VentureBeat]
Do you think Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to DeNA under its new management? What do you hope to see from Citron now that he's freed himself from the company he helped bring up to this point?
Thứ Bảy, 1 tháng 10, 2011
PopCap feels the power of 'free,' more freemium games incoming
Perhaps "PopCap feels the power of Facebook" is more like it. During an interview with PocketGamer.biz, PopCap senior director of mobile product and business strategy Giordano Contestabile revealed that the Bejeweled Blitz creator has plenty more plans for freemium mobile games. That's especially since its recent Plants vs Zombies freemium-inspired update.
"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.
"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."
While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.
Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.
"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."
While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.
Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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