1）芬兰开发商Rovio宣布收购芬兰动画工作室Kombo，但并未公开具体成交额。Rovio虽然没有说明Kombo将在公司业务中扮演什么角色，但已通过正式声明指出Kombo有助于强化Rovio在动画制作领域的实力，推动公司实现打造世界级的动画娱乐项目。由此不难看出，Rovio很可能意在通过这一收购交易，大举进军影视行业，为制作《愤怒的小鸟》电影、电视节目等埋下伏笔。

angry birds(from games.com)

2）初创企业iSwifter日前在iPad平台发布了一款可运行Flash游戏的浏览器应用。众所皆知，苹果一向排斥Flash在其设备上运行，但iSwifter通过与苹果蹉商，终于获准在该平台推出了其3.0版本的应用。

iSwifter(from venturebeat.com)

iPad用户可选择每月付费2.99美元，使用支持播放Flash视频和其他网页内容的标准版iSwifter应用；也可选择每月支付4.99美元，使用可更加流畅运行游戏内容的iSwifter浏览器应用，并由此登录《魔兽世界》或体验《CityVille》等社交游戏。iSwifter在iPad平台的竞争对手是Skyfire，但后者主要锁定视频和音乐等媒体内容，并不专攻Flash游戏市场。

3）据games.com报道，EA Mobile将与Chillingo、Playfish同赴即将开幕的E3展会，有可能于今年内向iPhone和iPod Touch平台推出《Pet Society Vacation》，但该公司尚未透露这款游戏究竟是独立于Facebook版《Pet Society》的新作，还是像iOS平台上的《Social City》和《FarmVille》这种移植版本。

facebook-pet-society(from siliconangle.com)

4）美国手机游戏开发商Backflip Studios成立不到两年，但目前已实现1亿次下载量，其中80%来自iOS平台，20%归功于Android版本游戏。该公司旗下拥有25款以上的游戏，最近的DAU是250万，MAU是2500万。

该公司的营收比例也相当值得关注，约三分之一收益来自采用免费模式的游戏，三分之一来自广告赞助，三分之一属于应用内置付费功能销售额，在大型手机游戏开发商中，这种均衡比例实为罕见。据Backflip Studios所称，公司广告网络目前每月印象超过了10亿次。

Backflip_studios_logo(from en.wikipedia.org)

5）据Research2guidance公司最新数据显示，今年第一季度苹果App Store应用下载量占据59%的市场份额，比2010年同期的57%上升了2个百分点，但远低于2008年的81%份额。

出现这种结果并不令人意外，因为2008年时Research2guidance追踪调查的应用商店仅18家，但在2010年底增长至57家。该公司博客还指出，Android Market已成为App Store的最大劲敌，而其他小型应用商店的崛起也在蚕食App Store的市场蛋糕。该公司还预测，到2015年苹果App Store下载量将下滑到40%以下，但对那些苹果忠实粉丝来说仍将具有强大吸引力。

Apple App Store share(from research2guidance.com)

6）市场调研公司Juniper Research最新报告指出，2016年全球移动网络运营商的营收将超过1万亿美元，但由于移动市场的ARPU正在下滑，而移动数据流量的运营成本又在不断攀升，所以运营商若不及时采取应对措施就有可能在今后四年内陷入难以为继的运营困境。因为智能手机使用率的大幅上升（游戏邦注：尼尔森预测今年底全球智能手机销量将达1亿部），目前全球移动数据流量已比2010年增加了两倍，到2015年更将增加13倍，达到250亿GB。

7）Lodsys公司日前已正式提起诉讼，将包括IconFactory Inc.（Twitterrific开发商）和越南开发商Wulven Games（主要作品包括纸牌游戏《Shadow Era》）在内的7家手机应用公司告上法庭。Lodsys称这些公司使用的应用内置付费功能已侵犯其专利权，并表示公司与同苹果私下进行协商，但并未达成一致结果。该公司同时还向多家Android应用开发商发送了通知，要求他们趁大家对簿公堂前支付专利授权使用费。虽然Android开发商寄希望于谷歌出面为他们作主，但谷歌至今未对此事做出回应。

8）Gartner预测2014年手机游戏市场规模将达114亿美元，手机游戏领域已成为一片众多公司掘金的热土。科技博客作者Mark Fidelman于今年初在seekomega分享了其整理的全球25名手机游戏公司及其CEO图表，从中可以看出，位于前五强的分别是Gameloft、EA Mobile、Rovio、ngmoco、Digital Chocolate公司（详见下图）。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The-Top-25-Hottest-Mobile-Game-Developers-Publishers(from seekomega.com)

1）Angry Birds-maker Rovio snaps up animator Kombo in its beak

by Joe Osborne

Are the Angry Birds more like Angry Falcons these days? Not quite, but their creator, Rovio, has purchased an animation studio called Kombo. The Helinski, Finland-based developer bought the also-Finnish animators for an undisclosed amount in cash and stocks, according to a statement. Now, Kombo will focus its efforts on doing work for Rovio properties.

Rovio wasn’t exactly keen on revealing what Kombo will do for the Mighty Eagle, but did say this in the statement: “… the Helsinki-based studio strengthens Rovio’s animation production capabilities, with the long-term goal of creating a world class powerhouse in animated entertainment. The deal combines one of the most talented animation studios in the region with the fastest growing entertainment property in the world.”

Judging from Rovio’s words, this looks like an acquisition to improve its presence in other media like TV and film, which company Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka has revealed his interest in before.

This could very well be the next step toward the Angry Birds movie, the Angry Birds TV show or even the Angry Birds video podcast! May the Pigs help us all.（source:games）  

2）Finally approved by Apple, iSwifter 3.0 launches its game browser for the iPad

Dean Takahashi

Startup iSwifter has created the ability to stream a Flash game onto the iPad through a special app. Normally, Adobe Flash games (which are ubiquitous on the web) don’t run on Apple’s iPad, thanks to a technical dispute between the companies. But after a period of negotiation with Apple, iSwifter is making the impossible possible with the launch of version 3.0 of its app, which comes with a subscription-based game browser.

With this game-browser app, iPad users will be able to log into online games like World of Warcraft or play social games such as CityVille on their iPads, even though those games aren’t playable on Apple’s device in any other way. (You could try to access them through a browser, but they would run too slowly).

Users can get the iSwifter app with a regular web browser that can play Flash videos and other web content on an iPad. That costs $2.99 a month. Or they can get the iSwifter app with a content-aware game browser, which is available for a subscription of $4.99 a month. Both deliver Flash and game content — including any social games or massively multiplayer online games. That content looks good and runs fast on an iPad, said Rajat Gupta, chief executive of iSwifter.

The iSwifter browser competes with the Skyfire browser, which costs $4.99 on the iPad. But the Skyfire browser isn’t really built to handle games or Flash animations, particularly since it can’t convert finger touches into mouse clicks.（source:venturebeat）  

3）EA Mobile to unveil Pet Society Vacation at E3 2011; full E3 lineup revealed

by Brandy Shaul

TweetWith the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) now less than a week away, EA Interactive has given social and casual gamers alike a look at their E3 lineup, sans a few surprises that will revealed at the show. EA Mobile, Chillingo and Playfish will all share a space at this year’s event, with the lineup revealing one particular game that Pet Society lovers will melt for.

Pet Society Vacation, while lacking in details, will be coming to iPhone and iPod Touch sometime (presumably) this year. Will this be a completely separate game from Pet Society on Facebook, or will it be like Social City or FarmVille on iOS, letting users interact with their furry pals, friends’ pets, and even shop in the game’s many stores on the go, only to have that information sync back to Facebook? We’ll make sure to let you know what is revealed at E3 proper, so stay tuned.（source:games） 

4）Backflip has done 100 million downloads and generates 1 billion monthly ad impressions

by Jon Jordan 

It’s ironic that when US mobile developer Backflip Studios formed less than two years ago, CEO Julian Farrior was worried he’d missed the smartphone gaming boat.

The announcement that the studio, which focuses on both freemium and ad-funded games, has now surpassed 100 million downloads – 80 percent iOS and 20 percent Android – proves that concern ill-founded however.

Indeed, the company’s network of more than 25 games now sees 2.5 million daily active users and over 25 million monthly active users.

Key performers, in terms of download volume are Paper Toss, NinJump, Paper Toss: World Tour, Strike Knight and Ragdoll Blaster 2.

Three-way split

Yet, more than download or activity numbers, what’s really significant about Backflip’s business is the way it’s split in terms of monetisation.

Around a third of revenues come from premium game sales, a third is from advertising and a third from in-app purchases – a balance that’s likely unique amongst big mobile developers.

Farrior says the company continues to see its revenue and user numbers growing in the range of two to three-fold year-on-year (both in terms of on monthly and quarterly views).

And particularly impressive is that its advertising network now generates more than 1 billion impressions a month. （source:pocketgamer）  

5）App Store accounted for 59 per cent of app downloads in Q1 2011

by Stuart Dredge
 
So says the latest report from Research2guidance, although that’s based on numbers, not revenues.

Apple’s App Store accounted for 59% of all mobile app downloads in the first quarter of this year, according to figures published by Research2guidance. That’s up from its 57% market share for 2010 as a whole, although down from its 81% share in 2008.

That’s hardly surprising: the company says it tracked 18 app stores in 2008, but that by the end of 2010 there were 57, including key rivals like Android Market, but also a host of smaller stores.

“Android Market turned out to become the strongest competitor, but the mass of smaller app stores also helped to eat up some of the market share from the market leader,” writes Research2guidance’s Ralf-Gordon Jahns in a blog post.

These figures are based on free and paid app downloads, but not on actual revenues. We’d expect more than 59% of paid app revenues to be coming from the App Store, for example.

Research2guidance suggests that while rivals may push Apple’s share of downloads down to less than 40% by 2015, the company will still “keep the heavy downloaders” who have become loyal to iOS through the apps on their iPhones, iPod touches and iPads.（source:mobile-ent） 

6）Mobile will be worth more than $1 trillion by 2016

by Tim Green
 
But costs could be even higher because of data traffic, warns report.

Juniper says cellular network data traffic, which more than doubled in 2010, and is expected to increase by more than 13 times to 25,000 petabytes per annum by 2015 (that’s 25bn gigabytes).

It contends that the backhaul costs of delivering this data, and the investment needed to improve the networks, comprise a potential nightmare for the operators – with core services being cannibalised and ARPU tumbling.

So the report suggests pursuing new revenue streams, reducing operating costs and being imaginative around tariffs.

It also emphasises the need to explore cloud services , M2M and mobile financial services where operators can leverage their existing assets.

Report author Dr Windsor Holden said: “Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for MNOs, simply because the circumstances of individual operators differ widely, even within the same market.（source:mobile-ent） 

7）Lodsys Begins Suing Mobile Developers, Disputes Apple’s Claims About Licensing

By Kim-Mai Cutler

Lodsys, the firm that threatened mobile developers for allegedly infringing upon the company’s patents, began suing individual developers today. The company’s disputing Apple’s claim that third-party developers are protected by its licenses to Lodsys’ patents.

The company sued seven developers, including Twitterrific-maker IconFactory Inc. and Vietnam’s Wulven Games, which makes Shadow Era, a trading card game we reviewed favorably back in March. At the core of the suit is Lodsys’ argument that the use of in-app purchases — technology which Apple provides to developers — infringes upon patents it acquired.

The Texas-based company said that it decided to sue developers earlier rather than later to “preserve its legal options” and respond to “Apple’s threat.” Last week, Apple general counsel and senior vice president Bruce Sewell wrote a letter to Lodsys, asking it to stop claiming that using in-app purchases on iOS was an infringement and to withdraw all of its letters of notice to developers.

Lodsys says that it actually was in negotiation with Apple privately about its licensing terms and how they affect developers. “The letter was very surprising as Apple and Lodsys were in confidential discussions and there was clearly disagreement on the interpretation of the license terms of Apple’s agreement,” the firm said on its website today.

The company went on to criticize Apple’s developer agreement and marketing, saying they contradict each other. Lodsys says that while Apple gives the impression that it provides developers with everything that they need and offer some protection.

However, Lodsys says the maximum liability Apple covers on behalf of third-party developers is just $50. ”Apple has specifically absolved itself of any legal responsibility it has with respect to 3rd party patent infringement by Application Developers,” Lodsys said in a statement. ”Apple’s downside risk to fight this is $50 per developer and the Application Developer is expected to self-insure for everything remaining.”

Lodsys has also sent letters of notice to Android developers, asking that they pay licensing fees or face litigation. Google declined to comment on whether or not it licenses Lodsys’ patents.（source:insidemobileapps）

8）The Top 25 Hottest Mobile Game Developers (Infographic)

by Mark Fidelman

Gartner estimates the Mobile Game market will reach $11.4 billion by 2014.  That’s a big number.  Compare that the Video Game market revenue of $18.58 million and Movie Box office receipts of $10.16 billion for 2010.

Mobile Games will be an important market.  Further, as mobile devices become more ubiquitous (especially in emerging countries), we’ll see developers utilize the GPS, accelerometers, camera and directional compass features to surpass the abilities of video game console platforms.  That may disrupt the gaming market.

We’ll also see mobile tablets and portable gaming platforms usher in millions more mobile gamers thus fueling increased demand.

The infographic below exhibits the hottest mobile game developers in the business today.  They are creating the most discussions, the most engagement, and the most buzz.  (Note: Read below to understand the methodology for determining Buzz.)（source:seekomega）