PocketGamer.biz Week That Was: BlackBerry's future, King's billion daily gameplays, and PopCap defends PvsZ 2's F2P model
It's difficult to put yourself back on the market, as many who've dated after ending a long-term relationship can attest.
But for Canadian mobile pioneer BlackBerry, the move should be something to get excited about.
After weathering declining sales, harsh layoffs, and the loss of market to upstart Windows Phone devices (not to mention iOS and Android), BlackBerry needs a bit of new energy and direction - the kind you need to find when you begin dating again...
Or begin planning 'strategic alternatives' as BlackBerry puts it.
We don't know if the 'strategic alternatives' for BlackBerry will include joint ventures, a prominent partnership, or a wholesale sale - but we do know it'll definitely be worth keeping an eye on.
Just like the news items we've compiled for here are - so enough rumination on the son of RIM, let's take a look back at the week that was.
Tools and platforms
- King Candy Crush-es the competition and reports 1 billion daily gameplays across Facebook, web and mobile.
- Multiplayer platform provider Nextpeer is going cross-platform, as it brings its SDK over to Android.
- Windows Phone overtakes BlackBerry to claim the number three spot in the smartphone market.
- Amazon's not above a gentle push... notification, and gives Web Services customers the ability to send out 1 million email and SMS notifications a month for free.
Monetisation
- Our Charticle examines the difficulties that GREE faces in opening a new front with War of Nations.
- PopCap defends the 'evil' free-to-play pricing model for Plants vs Zombies 2, saying that 'People have decided that free-to-play is a better way for them to monetise'.
- On that note, Juniper Research reckons that in-app purchases will push app spending up to $75 billion by 2017.
- This week's Monetizer fixes its laser-like gaze on The Drowning to assess its financial performance.
- In our Chart of the Week, we examine how Mobage is able to use a long tail to bring in a mountain of revenue.
- Meanwhile, a special edition Charticle examines whether Apple's changed its top grossing algorithm or if there's another reason behind the recent rank changes.
Industry voices
- Our mobile gaming Mavens put their heads together to discuss whether The Drowning's changed touchscreen controls forever or if there's still room for improvement.
- Applifier evangelist Oscar Clarke warns that ignoring the needs of your players is a great way to fastrack failure.
- Pocket Gamer US correspondent Matt Diener argues that mobile gaming belongs on the toilet, not the sofa.
- 148apps' Carter Dotson thinks it's high time for mobile devs to give IGF the boot and go proper indie.
- Fraser MacInnes opines that it's the gamers, not the games, that are ruining his enjoyment of the industry.
Funding, start ups and acquisitions
- Peter Relan's new incubator, studio 9+, is poised to accept 12 start-ups into a nine month mentoring program and seed them with $110,000 in capital.
- Gamevil's been on an international buying binge lately, and its paying off - the Korean publisher's Q3 profits are up 35 percent.
- Chinese search giant Baidu closes $1.85 billion deal for 91 Wireless, which creates an organisation capable of 69 million daily app downloads.
Cologne Week
- This week we took a long look at 'the city that Gamescom built'.
- And then examined how it became Germany's transmedia titan.
- Which isn't an easy feat, given that it had to beat out Berlin for the title.
- And finally, we gave game developers some hints on how to get ahead in Cologne.
- If you'll be in town for GDC Europe and/or Gamescom next week, be sure to check out our GDCE party and our Ultimate Party Guide.
