Week that was

Are you inspired by Kinder Surprise, can you charge for updates, or escape the troupe of violence?

The past 7 days in bite-sized portions

Are you inspired by Kinder Surprise, can you charge for updates, or escape the troupe of violence?

This week's news-bag contained all kinds of treats, and, with most of the UK games industry down in London for EGX, variety was the name of the game.

DeNA's management director Kenji Kobayashi perhaps gave some of the best advice of the week, when he explained why western practices simply don't work in Asia.

Despite reported software issues, iOS 8 adoption continued to rise, with 30 percent of iOS users having installed the new OS after just 8 days.

In the west, a US survey found that mobile gaming actually encourages other forms of play rather than cannibalising the market, with 42 percent of respondents explaining that they've bought a console, handheld or PC game because they enjoyed the mobile version.

As always, there's more nutritious news where that came from, so take a bowl, grab a ladle, and dish out some of our homemade Week That Was.

Industry Voices

User acquisition, retention, and discovery

  • Mobile analytics and ad network Fiksu has revealed that the adoption rate for iOS 8 after 8 days is at 30 percent.
  • A US survey found that, contrary to what some believe, mobile games are a force multiplier for entire industry. 
  • Puzzle & Dragons hit 38 million downloads, including 5 million in North America
  • According to venture capitalist Matt Witheiler, body-mounted wearables are attracting the most VC investment.

Monetisation

  • TIGA' s annual report, Making Games in the UK Today: 2014, has revealed that the Scottish video game industry is thriving, with the sector contributing over £99 million ($160 million) to the UK's GDP.
  • Fresh research revealed that the UK games industry's 1,902 games businesses could be worth as much as £1.72 billion ($2.8 billion): a figure that's double the official estimates given in both 2011 and 2012.
  • Woodchopper game Timberman, from Polish developer Digital Melody, integrated the real-money skill-based platform Cashplay.
  • Consultant Adrian Crook asked why is Wayward Souls' $1 price increase per update driving sales?

Tools & Platforms

 Funding, acquisitions, personnel and shuttering

Events


What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.