Digging deep with Fallout Shelter, Goodgame goes casual, and Clash of Clans matures

A glance at last week's top stories

• 5 Why Apple was right to ease iOS app development barriers

  

  Our Stateside columnist Carter Dotson discussed Apple's announcement that developers will no longer need an Apple developer program account in order to develop an app using Xcode and install it on their own device.

  Going hand-in-hand with the open-soucing of the Swift programming language later in the year, it speaks to an attempt to democratise iOS development for those who may struggle to jutify the $99-a-year fees.

  "What they've done here is to both improve the world - at least their segment of it - and to improve their position in the mobile market by making it easier to develop for Apple products," argued Dotson.

  "Apple wins, developers wanting to build for iOS win too."

  
  

• 4 Strategy expert Goodgame Studios goes soft, announcing its first casual game

  

  Goodgame Studios, the largest and fastest-growing German game developer, announced that it had set up a standalone casual games studio at the start of this year.

  With hardcore strategy the studio's bread and butter, this is obviously something of a departure.

  The new studio is run by Daniel Persson, who joined in October 2014. Previously he was head of King's Malmo studio, which launched Pet Rescue Saga.

  Its debut will be a puzzle game, due later this year.

  
  

• 3 Analysis shows fewer spenders but higher spending in Clash of Clans, Game of War and Candy Crush Saga

  

  Return Path, an email marketing firm, observed that there is an identifiable trend appearing among solid performers in the top grossing charts - fewer but bigger spenders.

  The games in question were Clash of Clans, Game of War, and Candy Crush Saga.

  Each of them showed that they are now entering a mature phase.

  Revenues are being maintained by committed players, who are spending more - driving up average IAP totals - even as the total number of paying players falls.

  
  

• 2 Scarcity of resources: The monetisation of Fallout Shelter

  

  Last week the IAP Inspector turned its attention to Fallout Shelter, the free-to-play mobile game served up at E3 2015 to keep rabid fans of the series distracted while they wait another five months for Fallout 4.

  We found the game to be a little confused in its message and delivery, treading on eggshells attempting to monetise those PC and console gamers who often rail against the very concept of free-to-play.

  And indeed, in its desperation to not appear like just another F2P mobile game, it ditched hard currency and opting for all-random transactions - which is a system with its own problems.

  Nevertheless, we concluded that there is fun to be had, and that the monetisation is relatively unobtrustive.

  
  

• 1 Despite $20 max IAP, Fallout Shelter already making millions

  

  Unsurprisingly, the biggest story of last week grabbed the top spot.

  It was, of course, the news that Fallout Shelter very quickly climbed its way into the top grossing charts.

  Top 10 grossing in 26 countries on iPhone, and 20 on iPad, was an impressive showing for a game with no build-up whatsoever - announced and released on the same night.

  Response from Asian territories, where the Fallout brand lacks the strength it has in the West, was more muted.

  However, Bethesda's first foray into mobile can hardly be considered anything other than an unadulterated success.