Monster Strike rules Japan, Candy Crush bubbles up again, and the excitement builds for Gear VR

Last week's top 5 stories

• 5 Monster Strike finally snatches Japanese #1 top grossing spot from Puzzle & Dragons

  

  After two years perched atop the Japanese Google Play and App Store charts, Puzzle & Dragons has finally been stripped of its title as the number one top grossing app in Japan.

  The change of fortune has been charted by Japanese analytics outfit Metaps, which noticed that November 2014 was the first month that Mixi's Monster Strike - a broadly similar game in many respects - managed to spend more days than Puzzle & Dragons in the number one spot - both on Google Play and the App Store.

  On Google Play, Monster Strike was #1 for 16 days compared to 13 for Puzzle & Dragons. On App Store, the score was 18 to 12 in Monster Strike's favour.

  
  

• 4 94% of independent developers can't afford to acquire users through mobile advertising

  

  Research from Tapdaq - a marketplace where indie developers can trade installs for no cost - highlighted the growing issue with paid user acquisition.

  It's a great way for indie developers to generate revenue by selling their eyeballs to advertisers,

  However, they can't afford to get involved in the CPI bidding war themselves to buy sufficiently large volumes of users to ensure their games and apps are successful.

  "Large developers can buy data, research, and ultimately installs, at a price that is out of the reach of indie developers," points out Tapdaq's CMO Dom Bracher; one reason why Tapdaq is offering a different approach.

  
  

• 3 Game Insight hires ex-Unity evangelist Oleg Pridiuk to push high-end 3D gaming

  

  Having been an evangelist for Unity Technologies, Oleg Pridiuk has clearly created a wide range of contacts and expertise.

  And both will be well used in his new role at publisher Game Insight, where he'll be helping the company to fulfill its goal to make high-quality 3D games using Unity, as well as handling industry relations with platform and OEMs.

  "My role at Game Insight will contribute to the ultimate goal of being ahead of the global market in terms of visual appeal and player experience of the product line," said Pridiuk.

  
  

• 2 A tale of two IPs: Candy Crush Soda Saga vs. Vainglory

  

  In the Charticle, we looked at two game IPs at very different stages in their lifecycles.

  King has generated over $1 billion from Candy Crush Saga, guaranteeing that it had the eyeballs and UA dollar to ensure sequel Candy Crush Soda Saga would be another massive hit at launch.

  And with the game in the top 5 top grossing iOS charts in the US and Europe, that's exactly what King's done.

  Super Evil Megacorp's MOBA Vainglory has received plenty of backing too - at least from Apple, which has promoted the game more than any other original IP in 2014.

  Yet, while downloads are solid, its performance on top grossing charts is not yet anything to get excited about, although as Super Evil's COO Kristian Segerstrale points out, that's more of a medium term concern for the well-funded start up.

  
  

• 1 Samsung preps Gear VR launch by dropping Note 4 price

  

  While everyone knows that Facebook's Oculus Rift hardware will mark the defining point for the forthcoming VR era, its retail launch date is uncertain.

  In the meantime, Samsung is providing an alternative of sorts in the shape of its Gear VR headset, which requires a Note 4 tablet for its screen and uses Oculus' software platform for its content.

  Gear VR will be released to developers in December, so when Samsung dropped the retail price of Note 4 hardware in the US, the feeling was this was a move to seed the market for Gear VR's imminent consumer release. We await further developments.