Daily News: 03/27/13

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Mitch Lasky points to consoles as biggest risk for EA

Mitch Lasky points to consoles as biggest risk for EA:
Veteran exec calls out EA Games for undisciplined product selection, cost control and marketing spend

Korean News and Beta Test Announcements

Anipark “Chagu Chagu” holds final pre-OBT from March 28.
Pax Game “Empire Morning: Nomad’s Tears” starts OBT.
X-Legend MMORPG “Pride of Soul” holds CBT from March 22 to 24.
ENP Games web MMORPG “Jinmiin” holds CBT from March 26 to 28.
Gpax web MMORPG “Hwansangigye” starts OBT on March 22.
Digital Extremes SF action game “Warframe” starts OBT.
Liveplex signs China service contract with KunLun for MMORPG “Queens Blade”.
CJ Games acquires 50% shares (worth 16,000,000,000 won) of number 1 publisher in Turkey Joy Game.
Jeyu Games MMORPG “Troy of Sparta” revealed for the first time, FGT may be set in early April.
Gorilla Banana MMORPG “Red Blood” holds 2nd CBT from April 4 to 7.
Mobcast Korea mobile soccer management game “Mobsoccer” starts service on March 28.
Nyugame web MMORPG “Guilty of Darkness” starts OBT on March 27.
Neowiz Games “Baseball God” to start Cloud service via LG U+’s C-games.
Eyedentity Games action RPG “Dungeon Striker” holds 3rd CBT from March 27 to 31.
XL Games releases mobile farm simulation game “ArcheVille” that can be connected with ArcheAge.

Nexon to Demo Navy Field 2 at GDC

Nexon to Demo Navy Field 2 at GDC:
Nexon America announced that they would be presenting Navy Field 2 for the first time in North America at GDC on March 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., #270 South Hall. Continue

Jacobs: 'I don't want F2P/B2P items in Camelot Unchained'

Jacobs: 'I don't want F2P/B2P items in Camelot Unchained':
Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Crowdfunding Mark Jacobs is a busy man these days, but

Minority announces Papo & Yo for Steam and new game Silent Enemy

Minority announces Papo & Yo for Steam and new game Silent Enemy:
Today Minority Media's creative director, Vander Caballero, made two announcements regarding his studio's...

BlackBerry's game R& D lead: 'We want devs to make money, obviously'

BlackBerry's game R& D lead: 'We want devs to make money, obviously':
Gamasutra spoke with BlackBerry game R& D lead Sean Paul Taylor about how the company plans to court mobile game devs with promises of easy ports, gamepad

The five reasons freemium sucks

The five reasons freemium sucks:
The free-to-play business model has five big problems, says Bennett Foddy -- but being creative about solving them can result in a more meaningful application of free-to-

Kongregate's 6 habits for keeping F2P players playing

Kongregate's 6 habits for keeping F2P players playing:
Kongregate COO and co-founder Emily Greer has built her company on maintaining players for the long haul. At a GDC session she described the six pillars her company

GDC roundup: Godsrule, Unity and PerBlue

GDC roundup: Godsrule, Unity and PerBlue:
Godsrule close to launching on iOS — We got to see a demo of Sega and Gogogic’s social strategy game Godsrule: War of Mortals on iOS today. The game was

Battlefield 4 confirmed for fall 2013

Battlefield 4 confirmed for fall 2013:
DICE's new shooter arriving later this year for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC; runs on Frostbite 3; 17-minute gameplay trailer revealed. Electronic Arts confirmed today

How Plague, Inc topped the mobile market

How Plague, Inc topped the mobile market:
Ndemic Creations CEO James Vaughan outlines some of the business decisions that made mobile disease simulation game Plague, Inc one of the most successful and

There's still big money in paid apps

There's still big money in paid apps:
GDC 2013: Capy's Nathan Vella tries to get devs to move towards more paid apps

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a first look at the remake of classic Warhammer 40K game Space Hulk.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a first look at the remake of classic Warhammer 40K game Space Hulk.:
Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a first look at the remake of classic Warhammer 40K game Space Hulk. Check it out.Read more...

A Game About Life, Death, And Eating Your Elders

A Game About Life, Death, And Eating Your Elders:
It's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Or, you know, a baby-eat-grandpa world. At least, that's the world envisioned by Tasty, Tasty Grandpa, an in-development iOS game

Facebook reveals new growth stats; 20 percent of web users play games every day

Facebook reveals new growth stats; 20 percent of web users play games every day:
Today at the Game Developers Conference, Facebook revealed new statistics, features and a Game Center for developers. According to Facebook, more than 250

Bushnell: Mobile games are over

Bushnell: Mobile games are over:
Atari founder sees Google Glass, Oculus Rift as next big thing, believes mobile market is glutted with competition

UK publisher reveals Minecraft books

UK publisher reveals Minecraft books:
“We are thrilled to be working with Egmont to create exclusive and engaging content for our fans”

SOE talks Forgelight engine, PlanetSide 2 Player App

SOE talks Forgelight engine, PlanetSide 2 Player App:
Filed under: Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 This is a noteworthy week for PlanetSide 2, as SOE is releasing

Playdek to bring Dungeons Dragons to mobile devices

Playdek to bring Dungeons Dragons to mobile devices:
One step backwards, two steps forwards – that the kind of month it’s been for Playdek. It was only days ago that the company announced it would no longer be partnering

How to use live events to promote your game

How to use live events to promote your game:
For all the talent that small, independent game developers may possess, they're not typically so skilled in the art of marketing and self-promotion. Antichamber dev

Minecraft dev's next game enters beta in April

Minecraft dev's next game enters beta in April:
Mojang confirms paid PC beta period for Scrolls targeted for end of next month; developer responds to Blizzard's HearthStone announcement. Collectible

Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's March update

Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars 2's March update:
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles It's patch day! Today marks the arrival of the long-awaited

Delver's Drop Promises Endless, Zelda-Style Action

Delver's Drop Promises Endless, Zelda-Style Action:
If you were to describe a game to me using the words Secret of Mana, Rogue and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, you would immediately pique my interest. Read

Solitaire Blitz (iOS) review

Solitaire Blitz (iOS) review:
Solitaire Blitz is a new iOS release from PopCap. It’s a port of the company’s well-received Facebook game, which we reviewed here, and is available now as a

Fetch Could Have Been an Animated Feature. Instead It's an Utterly Charming iPad Game.

Fetch Could Have Been an Animated Feature. Instead It's an Utterly Charming iPad Game.:
You could search the iTunes app store for days and not come close to finding a game with the charm and polish of Big FishGames' Fetch. It's an animated movie

RIFT Korea Announces Game Closure

RIFT Korea Announces Game Closure:
Published by CJ E&M, under the Netmarble portal, RIFT Korea will officially close down on 25th April 2013, with refunds given back to subscribers from 17th April onwards and web shop closing on 28th March. Continue

Mini Golf MatchUp Review

Mini Golf MatchUp Review:
Gamezebo Rating: Do you remember Words With Friends? Sure you do! You’re still playing games inspired by it to this very day -- and I’m not necessarily talking about

PopCap's James Gwertzman on how to succeed in the Chinese games market [GDC]

PopCap's James Gwertzman on how to succeed in the Chinese games market [GDC]:
There’s money to be made in China, but western game developers haven’t had the best luck making it. Part of this can be attributed to China’s stance towards video

Zeptolab: We don't want to release 10 or 20 titles a year

Zeptolab: We don't want to release 10 or 20 titles a year:
Cut The Rope developer on healthy balance and mobile

Abalone Review

Abalone Review:
Gamezebo Rating: Abstract board games are amongst the oldest entertainments devised by humanity. And despite the dominance of ancient classics like Chess

Gladiators Review

Gladiators Review:
Gamezebo Rating: If you think about it, managing a team of gladiators is a lot like coaching a sports team. Well, except for the fact that the gladiators have no choice but to

“Angry Birds” Comes To The Kennedy Space Center

“Angry Birds” Comes To The Kennedy Space Center:
Kennedy Space Center gets Angry about making learning fun. There are many reasons to visit the Kennedy Space Center. But if seeing rocket ships up close and

Project Anarchy: Free mobile development tools from Havok

Project Anarchy: Free mobile development tools from Havok:
Intel-owned middleware company Havok today revealed a new and complete end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine at the Game Developers Conference, coming

Top mobile games have new competition

Top mobile games have new competition:
The App Annie Index for February shows a diverse collection of old and new games and some surprising shifts

Are free-to-play games... socialist?

Are free-to-play games... socialist?:
If paying players support those who don't spend those who invest money into the game, are free-to-play games actually a form of socialism? One designer makes the

New GamesAnalytics service offers analytic tools for free-to-play games

New GamesAnalytics service offers analytic tools for free-to-play games:
Monetization firm GamesAnalytics has launched a new monthly subscription service called Measure, aimed at providing publishers and developers with access to

SWTOR APAC Servers Merging with NA | Ten Ton Hammer

SWTOR APAC Servers Merging with NA | Ten Ton Hammer:
BioWare reveals plans to merge Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Asia Pacific servers with NA servers for long-term play experience.

World of Tanks takes the battle to mobile

World of Tanks takes the battle to mobile:
Wargaming reveals its first title for tablets and smartphones

Vanguard merging down to one server

Vanguard merging down to one server:
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Vanguard, Free-to-play SOE announced today that it will be merging Vanguard's two remaining servers, Halgar and Telon, on

King.com rebrands as King, unveils two new Saga games

King.com rebrands as King, unveils two new Saga games:
When compared to other conferences, GDC is fairly light on big announcements. King.com clearly didn’t get the memo, though, as they’ve just announced that

League of Legends: Mobile Version Statement Clarified

League of Legends: Mobile Version Statement Clarified:
Yesterday it was widely reported that Riot Games was working on a League of Legends mobile edition. However, this may not be exactly true. RTSGuru.com reached

Exclusive: PopCap bringing Plants vs. Zombies to Facebook with Plants vs. Zombies Adventures, confirms PvZ 2

Exclusive: PopCap bringing Plants vs. Zombies to Facebook with Plants vs. Zombies Adventures, confirms PvZ 2:
PopCap Games today officially revealed the social adaptation of its incredibly popular game Plants vs. Zombies with Plants vs. Zombies Adventures. At the San Francisco