Hot Five

The PG.biz Hot Five: Rovio's rummage for fresh IP, Gameloft's sliding working conditions, and argument for 'flexible pricing' for apps

Last week's top five stories

The PG.biz Hot Five: Rovio's rummage for fresh IP, Gameloft's sliding working conditions, and argument for 'flexible pricing' for apps
Welcome to PocketGamer.biz's weekly rundown of the stories clocking up the hits, picking up the click-throughs and generally keeping the advertisers happy by serving up page views.

Or, if you'd prefer, the top five stories currently dominating our readers' attention.

Each week, we'll be counting down the biggest news from the previous seven days, giving just a glimpse of the industry's big issues, from five to one.



Exclusive: Angry Birds' developer Rovio is on the trail for mobile IP acquisition

What's the best way to bash Rovio? Point out that it hasn't enjoyed any success of note with anything other than Angry Birds.

Talk intercepted by PocketGamer.biz ed Jon Jordan, however, suggests the Finnish studio is currently looking to pick up external IP, building a portfolio of thirdparty series to bolster its line-up.

The word is Rovio has been talking to various developers behind yet to be released iOS titles, offering deals to buy their content and deliver it to its own mobile community.
Click here to read more.



Evolve 2011: You can make money from Android: Top Tapjoy game is making $150,000 a month

Coming off the back of recent talk pitching launching games on Android as little more than a brand building exercise, the question of how to make money on Google's platform was on the agenda at Evolve 2011 in Brighton.

Particularly of note during a panel dubbed Monetising Android: Full Price vs. Freemium was Tapjoy director of European sales Paul Bowen's assertion that one, unnamed, Android release on the network is generating $150,000 a month from its network of ads and incentivised downloads.

"Payment methods are the biggest issue for developers releasing on Android, but I think this is changing, and discovery will become more important," he added.
Click here to read more.



Former programmer claims dangerous working conditions at Gameloft Auckland

Citing working weeks up to 120 hours, former Gameloft Auckland programmer Glenn Watson's claims of appalling working conditions at the studio once again reasserted the industry's focus on the issue.

Watson said he often worked consecutive weeks consisting of 14 hour days - including weekends – owing to unacceptable standards he claims were sanctioned by higher-ups at Gameloft.

"There were other times when I would be called back into the office at 11:30pm by the studio producer, only to head home again at 2:30am," Watson asserted.
Click here to read more.



Social mobile network Star Arcade does 5 million downloads

With a focus on emerging markets in India, South America, Far East and Africa, social-gaming network Star Arcade announced game downloads of 5 million across the system.

The Finnish-based platform supports iPhone, Android, Symbian, Windows Phone and BlackBerry, with sadid downloads made across a total of 180 different countries.
Click here to read more.Evolve 2011: With freemium, 0.5% of your users can drive 80% of profits says Snappy Touch's Llopis



You should let users pay what they want to pay for your game. That's the stance of Snappy Touch's Noel Llopis, despite the fact his current game – Casey's Contraptions – sells at $2.99 without any in-app purchases.

Nonetheless, Llopis used his talk at Evolve 2011 in Brighton to advocate 'flexible pricing', claiming app developers are still in the habit of pricing games as if they were manufactured products.

"80 - 90 percent of your profits from freemium games come from 0.5 percent of users," Llopis added. "You have to get your head around this model. You have to abandon fixed priced games now."
Click here to read more.And there's even more

Also proving popular last week was on how the success of Angry Birds and the like has resulted in Finnish capital Helsinki becoming a hot spot for mobile development.

Until next week, Pocket Gamer pickers.
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With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.