As we wave goodbye to another week, and prepare to lay waste to the weekend ahead, you're probably thinking one thing, and one things only: I can't wait to clap eyes on PocketGamer.biz's beautiful Week That Was.
Well, we hear you, and this week there's plenty to sink your teeth into.
As always, there was controversy aplenty, with Kim Kardashian: Hollywood developer Glu revealing it plans on sueing Hothead Games for copying Deer Hunter 2014, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explaining the company wouldn't consider Oculus Rift meaningful unless it surpass 50 million sales.
While Zuckerberg was anticpating sales, other companies were announcing them. Candy Crush Saga developer King revealed its Q3 sales had fallen by 13 percent, to $514 million, while Goodgame Studios was crowned Germany's fastest growing tech company after sales rose by 28,000% in 5 years.
As always, there's plenty more news in the sea, so take a seat, and bathe in the soft, fuzzy glow of our Week That Was.
Industry voices
- Glu moved to sue Hothead Games for 'copying' Deer Hunter 2014.
- Our expert Mobile Mixer panel challenged devs to find success their own way.
- Aaron Davis explained why Oculus is going to change the world.
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed it won't consider Oculus Rift 'meaningful' unless it hits 50+ million sales.
- After twiddling the controls, Keith Andrew reckons Android TV is just another failed attempt to find middle ground between mobile and console gaming.
- AppLovin's CEO Adam Foroughi is Thinking beyond the install.
- UK Indie dev Johnny Marshall learned to say Yes...
User acquisition, retention, and discovery
- InMobi extended its reach to 872 million users and 138 billion monthly ad impressions.
- AppLift trio set up PocketWhale for transparent, fraud-free UA.
Tools & Platforms
- Midverse Studios, a services outfit founded by TapJoy creators Rizwan Virk and Mitch Liu, revealed its new mobile games initiative, Invest+Publish.
- Paymentwall looked to monetise smart TVs by giving consumers a huge array of payment options.
- Unity Asset Store heading for 1 million users.
- Microsoft joined the wearable battle with its notification and fitness-friendly Band.
Monetisation
- As sales rise by 28,000% in 5 years, Goodgame Studios is crowned German's fastest growing tech company.
- Despite the strength of 'non-Candy Crush Saga business', King saw FY14 Q3 sales drop 13% to $514 million.
- With FY14 Q3 revenue rising by 28%, Gamevil looks to break $100 million mark for 2014.
- Our chart of the week revealed that everywhere is a boomtown for Com2uS, but especially Europe and Asia.
- Have the soccer-mad countries of the world embraced FIFA 15 Ultimate Team? We found out in our latest Charticle.
Funding, acquisitions, personnel and shuttering
- Social gaming platform gamesGRABR announced it is seeking $600,000 (£400,000) to build on existing investments as it looks to enter its “critical next phase of growth”.
- Fast-expanding Japanese publisher Gumi announced that its new subsidiary Gumi Canada is now open.
- French media group Ankama bought Japanese social mobile game developer Wizcorp.
- Fuse Powered buys Corona Labs to offer a one-stop shop for mobile development and monetisation.
- UK analytics and game personalisation platform deltaDNA has secured an additional $3 million as part of the second round of its Series A funding.
- The CEO of Changyou, Tao Wang, stepped down "for personal reasons".
- UK not-for-profit organisation Women in Games Jobs announced that Jenny Richards-Stewart will become its new CEO.
- LINE Corp saw FY14 Q3 revenue jump by 17% to $210 million.
