Mario Kart tour firm crashes out, Rovio's Heini Kaihu on being a studio head, and Ketchapp taps Prince of Persia for mobile

The hottest mobile games industry stories from the last week

• 5 New and improved Nintendo Switch in the works for 2019

  

  The Nintendo Switch has given the console giant the boost it needed after the failure of the Wii U.

  It’s quickly selling millions and already outsold its predecessor, and now Nintendo is aiming to keep up momentum with the development of a new model.

  According to the Wall Street Journal, the new Switch will have an improved LCD screen as it looks to make the device brighter, thinner and more energy efficient.

  The report claims the new model is set to be released sometime in 2019.

  
  

• 4 NetEase’s PUBG-like Rules of Survival bags $75 million

  

  NetEase’s early jump into the mobile battle royale space has proven hugely lucrative for the Chinese publisher.

  It beat both Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite to the punch, and its titles Rules of Survival and Knives Out are making millions.

  According to Sensor Tower, the former has made $75 million worldwide since its November 2017 launch.

  In September alone, Rules of Survival was said to have grossed $4.5 million worldwide and racked up 1.2 million installs.

  
  

• 3 Nintendo successfully sues Tokyo’s unofficial Mario Kart tours for $89,000

  

  It boggles the mind how many people utilise famous IP without permission for their own means. Particularly if it’s for profit.

  The law caught up with MariMobility in Japan, after it was sued by Nintendo for hosting Mario Kart-themed street tours in Tokyo using life-size Mario Kart vehicles and costumes.

  The company was ordered to pay $89,000 and told to stop using Nintendo’s IP.

  “In order to protect our valued intellectual property that we have built up over many years of effort, we will continue to take necessary measures against infringement of intellectual property including our brand," read a statement from the Nintendo.

  
  

• 2 Jobs in Games: Rovio's Heini Kaihu on how to get a job as head of studio

  

  Our regular Jobs in Games articles aim to offer insight into the people behind the games and exactly how they got their job.

  For the latest interview, we caught up with the head of Rovio’s puzzle studio, Heini Kaihu, about how she got the top role and what the day-to-day entails. She had many words of wisdom, including her thoughts on some misconceptions around the sector.

  “I think the one misconception I encounter fairly often, is the idea that you can only succeed if you were into games before you knew how to walk and talk,” said Kaihu.

  “While passion for games and deep understanding of the industry is a big part of the job, it is not impossible to succeed with a different path to the industry. Games have become mainstream entertainment and the more diverse a group of people we have in the industry creating the experiences, the better.

  
  

• 1 Ketchapp brings Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia IP to mobile

  

  Ketchapp is one of the biggest casual games publishers on mobile, spearheading the hyper-casual charge over the last couple of years.

  Ubisoft saw lots of potential in the company to expand its own mobile business and acquired the firm back in 2016.

  While it has typically used original IP, Ketchapp is now tapping Ubisoft’s portfolio of hot gaming IP with the launch of Prince of Persia: Escape on mobile.

  The platformer marks the first time the publisher has based a game on a franchise from its parent company.