This past week's headlines are the sort of fodder that give mobile a bad name to those in the console space.
While there was plenty of merit underneath the furore, most eyes were firmly fixed on the disruptive - and perhaps questionable - success of two unknown games, Flappy Bird and Red Bouncing Ball Spikes.
Then, there was the outcry against the monetisation strategies EA employed in Dungeon Keeper - all this after we'd just got over that business with King, Candy, and Sagas.
With any luck, next week will be quieter and we can put a better foot forward - but until then, let's take a look back at the PocketGamer.biz week that was.
Tools and platforms
- Gameplay sharing service Kamcord announced its integration with Unreal Engine 3.
- Meanwhile, Capcom let slip that it views console and mobile as two separate markets - but it's not opposed to crossovers.
- In third, but for how long? Windows Phone was dubbed the fastest growing mobile OS.
Monetisation
- GungHo's million dollar darling Puzzle & Dragons graduated up to the b-leagues and became the first mobile game to generate $1 billion in revenue.
- And as a counterpoint, Nintendo's CEO Iwata dismissed F2P as 'free-to-start', arguing that it makes gaming 'as easy as possible' to lure players in.
- While Jon Jordan examined the monetisation strategy of Flappy Bird - concluding that banner ads just don't do the business.
Industry voices
- Zynga's COO Clive Downie talked about his studio's plans for Natural Motion and what it thinks about real-money gambling.
- And Everyplay's Oscar Clark shared his thoughts on how to best deal with anti-F2P outbursts.
- While 148Apps' Carter Dotson quipped Dungeon Keeper isn't the end of gaming as we know it.
- An opinion shared by our editor Keith Andrew, who said you shouldn't care about the Dungeon Keeper debacle.
- Wooga's Eric Seufert, author of Freemium Economics, said his goal was to encourage better F2P games - not more of them.
- Our mobile gaming mavens hashed out what Apple needs to get back on track after the iPhone 5C.
- Finally, Kirk Mckeand gave us a look at the making of Republique.
Discovery, user acquisition, and retention
- Our own Keith Andrew took a look at Flappy Bird and examined why its breakout success sent the industry into a tizzy.
- And our Charticle this week looked at what Flappy Bird's success can tell us about social openness and geopolitics.
- Meanwhile, another dark horse - Red Bouncing Ball Spikes - shot to the top of the US paid downloads chart overnight.
- And in broader UI terms, Full Indie UK gave some tips on how to master dynamic UIs.
Funding, acquisitions, personnel, and shutterings
- Call of Duty: Strike Team devs The Blast Furnace came under fire from Activision, which was reportedly looking to shutter the studio.
- This led TIGA CEO Richard Wilson to pen an open letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne on the subject of Games Tax Relief.
- Elsewhere, Apportable raised $5 million in funding to finance cross-platform iOS and Android games.
- And Amazon caused a bit of a stir when it acquired Killer Instinct dev Double Helix Games.
- Meanwhile, Microsoft bade bye-bye to Ballmer - naming 22-year veteran Satya Nadella as its new CEO.
- And Kumo Lumo's team announced its post-Blitz return, as former devs formed a new Lumo Developments studio.
Financials
- Despite flat sales, Square Enix crossed back into profitability in the latest quarter.
- Glu Mobile, meanwhile, saw its Q3 sales dip down 2 percent but was buoyed by Q4 growth.
- Social messaging app Line, meanwhile, reported over $70 million in games revenue in Q4 alone.
- While DeNA saw its Q4 2013 revenue slip 20 percent.