1）NPD Group最新报告指出，数字游戏玩家（游戏邦注：指在多种设备上通过数字渠道体验游戏的玩家）的活跃度正迅速赶超硬核玩家。这类玩家每三个月平均购买5.9款新游戏，而硬核玩家则平均购买5.4款新游戏。硬核玩家每周玩游戏时间为18个小时，数字游戏玩家也达到了16个小时。

gamers(from adharane.wordpress.com)

数字游戏下载量仍在不断上涨，即使是硬核游戏领域，也有三分之一的游戏通过掌机、PC、智能手机和音乐播放器等设备的数字渠道销售。

NPD分析师Anita Frazier表示，智能手机及平板电脑等新型设备推动了手机游戏的发展，以及游戏、游戏玩家定义的演变。不过硬核玩家所占比例仍然最为领先，目前是23%；家庭及儿童玩家比例为22%，狂热型及轻度型PC游戏玩家各占15%。

2）市场调研公司UKOM/Nielsen最新报告指出，Facebook已成为排名仅次于谷歌的英国第二大人气网站，在当地访问用户已达2680万（比去年增长7%），超过了微软MSN、Windows Live和Bing这三者的总和。

facebook-uk(from gadgetynews.com)

微软网站在英国共有2620万访问用户，而谷歌则是3390万。调查表明年龄在50岁左右的英国女性Facebook用户增长最快，50岁以上的用户在过 去两年中的数量已经超过50岁以下群体。据英国媒体报道，自去年5月以来，50至64岁的Facebook英国用户增长了84%，而Facebook全体英国用户年增长率却不足41%。

3）据Techcrunch报道，有消息称Myspace或于近日辞退150人（占员工总数的37.5%，原人员总数约400人），另外还有一批约150人左右的员工也将进入公司的裁员过渡计划，他们在找到下一份工作前可领取数周的补助金。

myspace_new_design(from businessrevieweurope.eu)

观察者称Myspace在今年1月份已裁员47%，从这一轮新的裁员潮中可以看出，Myspace正准备出售，并且有可能在周五左右宣布此事。已有传闻称Myspace的潜在买主包括美国动视首席执行官Bobby Kotick，也可能是Buzzmedia，甚至是LivingSocial。

4）据TechCrunch报道，西班牙社交游戏开发商Social Point（代表作包括《Social Empires》)在首轮融资中筹得240万欧元。该公司目前的MAU是1210万，DAU在100万以上，是仅次于Wooga的欧洲第二大社交游戏开发商。最近成功融资的其他欧洲社交游戏开发商还包括Wooga（5月底融资1670万欧元）、Peak Games（5月底融资350万欧元）、Kobojo（4月底融资530万欧元）、MegaZebra（3月底融资数百万欧元）。

Social-Empire-Logo(from mmogamesite.com)

欧洲顶级的Facebook社交游戏开发商最近的用户情况如下：

1.Wooga（德国）  3170万MAU  520万DAU

2.Social Point（西班牙）   1210万MAU  100万DAU

3.Peak Games（土耳其）   540万MAU  80万DAU

4.MegaZebra（德国）  490万MAU  60万DAU

5.Kobojo（法国）  460万MAU  80万DAU

* EA/Playfish（美国/英国）  3210万MAU  490万DAU

Europe's top social game developers(from socialgamesobserver)

5）泰国国家旅游局（TAT）最近发布两款根据泰国文化标志而设计的社交游戏（游戏邦注：另有三款仍在制作阶段），以面向成百上千万的Facebook及智能手机用户展示泰国文化形象及旅游产业，它是TAT“微笑之旅”（Smile Land）泰国旅游文化推广战略的重要环节之一。

2010年12月，TAT曾向iPhone、黑莓、Android、iPad和诺基亚手机平台推出“Amazing Thailand Mobile Application”，并收获20万次下载量。TAT近日将推出的第一款游戏名为《Tuk Tuk Racing》，要求玩家一路克服障碍成为最先到达目的地的tuk tuk车夫；第二款是泰国烹饪题材的游戏《Somtam Sukjai》（仅限运行于iPad），玩家的任务是根据菜单找到正确的食材，并在规定时间内做出菜肴以晋身为真正的“大厨”。

6）GSN Digital（代表作包括《Wheel of Fortune》和《Jeopardy！》等Facebook游戏）针对800多名玩家的调查表明，玩游戏有助于提高人们的工作效率。将近80%的受访者自称在工作之余玩游戏后，感觉自己的工作效率提高了；59%的玩家表示每天在上班期间抽出不超过30分钟的时间玩游戏，有助于增加自己的创造力并且缓解压力。

office space(from games.com)

GSN同时也指出，35%的受访者在上班期间玩游戏，53%的上班族是在午餐或午休时间玩游戏。

7）在本周的MAU增长最迅速的Facebook游戏榜单上，RockYou旗下的《Zoo World》及《Zoo World 2》跃居第二名（游戏邦注：两款游戏使用同一个ID）。西班牙社交游戏开发商Social Point最大的一款游戏《Social Empires》也因通过其他游戏的交叉推广收获了可观的MAU。

Top Gainers This Week-Games(from AppData)

位居榜单之首的仍是Zynga新作《Empires & Allies》，该游戏新增800多万MAU，当前MAU总数已达4105万。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1） NPD: Digital Gamers Buy More Games Than The Core

by Frank Cifaldi

While traditional core gamers are still our most active and engaged market segment, digital gamers are quickly catching up, according to new research published by The NPD Group.

In a new report based on data collected earlier this year, the NPD notes that what it defines as “digital gamers” — those who play games on a variety of devices primarily via digital distribution — are quickly catching up to core console gamers in terms of active engagement.

That segment already acquires more titles than core gamers, the report says, averaging 5.9 new games purchased in three months versus the core audience’s 5.4. Core gamers still play more often at 18 hours per week, but digital gamers aren’t far behind at 16.

The group’s research also shows that digital game downloads are on the rise: even amongst core gamers polled, more than one-third of their acquisitions were delivered digitally, via devices ranging from consoles to PCs, smartphones and music players.

“The name of the game in 2011 seems to be choice,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. “Gamers are increasingly branching out to methods of play other than those that the industry has traditionally expected them to use. Fueled by the growth of smartphones and new tablet devices, mobile gaming continues to accelerate, and what a game is and what it means to be a gamer is evolving, reflecting the rapid nature of change within the industry.”

Core gamers still represent the highest percentage of the overall spectrum at 23 percent. Family and kid gamers trail slightly behind at 22 percent, with avid and light PC gamers both representing 15 percent. Mobile and digital gamers represent the smallest populations at the beginning of 2011.（source:gamasutra）

2）REPORT: Facebook Is U.K.’s 2nd Most Popular Website

Meredith Singer

Facebook attracted more visitors in Britain than Microsoft websites –including MSN, Windows Live, and Bing — combined.

That makes Facebook the second most popular website in the U.K. last month, right behind Google.

The jump for Facebook is pretty significant — its up to 26.8 million visitors, which is a seven percent increase from last year in the U.K. according to the online market research company UKOM/Nielsen.

Microsoft websites had 26.2 million visitors, while the leader Google boasted 33.9 million visitors.

Study authors attribute the growth to an increasing number of 50-something aged women visiting the social media site. So this serves as a reminder to watch what you post: Mom and possibly grandma will be watching.

“The growth in audiences to these social networks is now primarily being driven by the 50-plus age group. Just a few years ago, this group may have found itself out of place on these sites,” UKOM General Manager James Smythe told Reuters.

Smythe said the over 50-year-old population accounted for more new adults visiting the social media site in the last two years than the under 50s. This is significant because it more closely matches the age profile of the U.K. online population as a whole.

In fact, since May last year the number of 50-to 64-year-old Brits using Facebook has grown by 84 percent while the year-over-year growth for the U.K. is lower at 41 percent, according to The Guardian.（source:allfacebook）

3）Myspace Expected To Lay Off At Least 150 Employees On Wednesday

Alexia Tsotsis

We’ve confirmed the rumors of Myspace layoffs with our own inside source; From what I’m hearing the company expects to lay off at least 150 of its around 400 employees tomorrow (37.5% of its staff). According to the source, another group of around 150 employees will be put on a transition plan, where they will still be laid off but can work with pay for a few weeks while they search for another job.

Myspace cut around 47% of its staff back in January and these new layoffs come as Myspace is preparing itself for a sale, which we’re hearing will be signed tomorrow and announced on Friday. While there are multiple rumors circling regarding who exactly will be buying the beleaguered social network, the names being tossed around include a bidding group fronted by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, Buzzmedia, and even LivingSocial.

In any case this is turning out to be a banner week for Myspace, which closes its fiscal year on Wednesday. I’ve emailed Myspace PR for comment, and will update this post when they get back to me.（source:techcrunch）

4）Social Point Secures €2.4 Million To Stay Europe’s Second Biggest Social Game Developer

By Sebastian SujkaShare

According to a report on TechCrunch Spanish social game developer Social Point has raised €2.4 million from Nauta Capital. It is the company’s first investment round. With 12.1 million monthly active users (MAU) and just over one million daily active users (DAU)Social Point is Europe’s second biggest social game developer after wooga. Social Point is not the only European social game developer who raised capital lately. In fact, all top 5 European social game developers received substantial funding in the last couple of weeks: end of May wooga raised €16.7 million and Peak Games raised €3.5 million, end of April Kobojo raised €5.3 Million and end of March MegaZebra raised and undisclosed “multi million” amount (see overview below).

Social Point’s most successful games so far are Social Empires and Pool Master 1+2 which all have over one million MAU. Untypically, Social Point has a very wide portfolio with over 20 games, six of which have about a million MAU. According to TC the Barcelona based company states that the funding will be used to launch 2-3 new games a year.（source:socialgamesobserver）

5）TAT Launches Games on Social Networking Media

by Ozgur Tore

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched the first two of five new social-media game applications designed around two of the country’s iconic images – the speeding trishaw known as the tuk-tuk and the extremely popular Thai food.

Branded as “Smile Land,” which also capitalises on Thailand’s well-known personality trait, the Thai smile, the games are targetted at the millions of young people using Facebook and smartphones, and will go a long way towards expanding the kingdom’s tourism visibility amongst this billion-strong, techno-crazy demographic segment.

Currently, there are over 200,000 fans of the “Amazing Thailand” Facebook and followers of Twitter@ThailandFanClub (for foreign tourists) and @Go2Thailand (for Thai travellers). In December 2010, the TAT launched the “Amazing Thailand Mobile Application” in the platform of iPhone, Blackberry, Android, iPad and Nokia. Since then, the TAT has tracked over 20 million hits and over 200,000 downloads.

The latest to be launched are the “Smile Land” games through Facebook, which has more than 700 million users. In addition, mini-games will be available on iPad, iPhone and other smartphones. Users will get to accumulate points and win gifts. The first two games to be launched are:

1st Game: “Tuk Tuk Racing” This game is to find the best tuk tuk driver. Players need to drive a tuk tuk to the final destination as fast as possible. On the way, there are many obstacles that players must overcome and can draw on the help of a wizard.

2nd Game: “Somtam Sukjai” is a Thai-cooking game. It is designed for iPad users only and can be downloaded from an iPad Apple store. Players become the “chefs” and need to find and select the correct ingredients as listed on each menu within a fixed period of time.（source:ftnnews）

6）Games boost productivty, GSN Digital study says (of course)

by Joe Osborne

And take it from us. Alright, so both are somewhat biased opinions that are likely preaching to the choir–we all need a back pat every once in a while. GSN Digital, creators of Facebook games like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, have released a study that surveyed 800 GSN Digital gamers on how games have affected their productivity. And the responses will surprise you.

Nearly 80 percent of folks questioned said that they feel more productive after taking breaks during the work day to play video games. (It’s the periodic mental breaks, apparently.) And 59 percent of players say that less than 30 minutes of game time daily during work hours increases creativity and reduces stress.

However, GSN does point out that 35 percent of respondents play during work hours, which is significant. But a whopping 53 percent of workers play games on lunch or during official breaks.

And don’t ask us our opinions, you know what we’ll say.（source:games）

7）Zoo World 2 Climbing This Week’s List of Fastest-Growing Facebook Games by MAU

By AJ Glasser

Zoo World 2, shown here as Zoo World because both apps run on the same ID, turns up toward the top of this week’s list of fastest-growing Facebook games by monthly active users. RockYou’s sequel to the original Zoo World officially launched two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Barcelona-based developer Social Point is experiencing a lift across its Spanish-language arcade games that began around the middle of last week. Its largest game, Social Empires, also seems to be enjoying a boost thanks to some cross-promotion in the arcade games.（source:insidesocialgames）