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每日观察:关注App Store移除多款山寨游戏(2.4)

发布时间:2012-02-04 10:26:06 Tags:,

1)苹果App Store近日移除了《Plant vs.Zombie》(《植物大战僵尸》山寨版本)、《Angry Ninja Birds》、《Temple Jump》等明显涉嫌抄袭的游戏。

temple-run-vs-temple-jump(from techcrunch)

temple-run-vs-temple-jump(from techcrunch)

值得注意的是,据科技博客TechCrunch报道,《Temple Jump》这款山寨《Temple Run》的游戏还曾跻身付费应用榜单前列,这些游戏均出自独立开发者Anton Sinelnikov之手。据iOS游戏开发者David Smith发布的Twitter贴显示,Sinelnikov在此之前共有68款iOS应用出现于App Store,但目前仅剩下9款。

2)据games.com报道,Lind俩兄弟最近向iPhone、Android和PC平台推出一款地理定位游戏《Dead Drop》,它提供单人战役模式,但也支持玩家使用GPS技术与好友进行死亡对决。玩家可与好友创建自己的个人游戏,以实时方式完成任务。

phone-group(from games)

phone-group(from games)

该游戏最有趣的创新之处在“庇护所”这个概念,这些“庇护所”都是基于现实生活的商场等位置,玩家进入这些区域就可免遭敌人袭击。植入这一理念既可提升游戏玩法,又能展开现实商业品牌的营销活动。

3)comScore最近报告指出,2011年第四季度美国智能手机用户已达9790万,在所有手机用户中占比40%。

smart phone platforms(from comScore)

smart phone platforms(from comScore)

苹果和谷歌目前已占据77%的美国手机市场份额,排名第一的Android占比47.3%,同比上一季度增长2.5%;排名第二的苹果智能手机市场份额达30%,同比增长2.2%;第三名RIM占比16%,微软占比4.7%,Symbian占比1.4%。

4)由5th Cell和华纳兄弟发布的《Scribblenauts》不但在DS平台大获成功,在App Store同样表现不俗,《Scribblenauts Remix》目前在iOS平台下载量已超过100万次。

Scribblenauts Remix(from itunes.apple.com)

Scribblenauts Remix(from itunes.apple.com)

这款游戏售价为4.99美元至99美分,这意味着游戏已获得上百万销售额。该游戏开发商Iron Galaxy将在情人节之际推出含20个额外关卡的更新版本。

5)谷歌最近向美国联邦通讯委员会(简称FCC)提交一份测试“含Wi-Fi及蓝牙功能的娱乐设备”审核申请,业内人士猜测谷歌可能将介入设备制造领域,而该“神秘”设备有可能是一个类似于机顶盒的产品,或者Google TV的一种附件。

entertainment device(from aggregator.tk)

entertainment device(from aggregator.tk)

据称谷歌请求于1月17日至7月17日,在美国加州山景城、纽约、坎布里奇和洛杉矶四个城市的谷歌员工家庭中测试该设备。

6)据PocketNow报道,最近从微软泄露的一个Windows Phone 8视频资料显示,下一代Windows Phone平台将命名为Tango,之后为Apollo(即Windows Phone 8),将添加的新功能包括多核处理器、4种不同屏幕尺寸,NFC支付功能,与Windows 8的共享软件构件,手机与电脑间的数据和媒体同步方式,Skype功能以及针对网页浏览器的代理服务器功能。

Windows-Phone-8-Apollo(from xda-developers.com)

Windows-Phone-8-Apollo(from xda-developers.com)

本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

1)Apple removes several iOS copycat games from one offending developer

by Tom Curtis

Apple struck a blow against video game clones today by removing several offending apps from one rather prolific independent developer.

Among the removed games are apps such as Plant vs. Zombie, Angry Ninja Birds, and Temple Jump, each of which (as you might guess from their titles) had more than a little in common with with major titles such as Plants vs. Zombies, Angry Birds, and Temple Run, respectively.

The recently-removed Temple Jump in particular saw some notable success on the iTunes App Store, reaching the very top of the paid app chart, according to a report by technology blog TechCrunch.

All of the alleged app “clones” mentioned above come from independent developer Anton Sinelnikov. According to a Twitter post from iOS developer David Smith, Sinelnikov had 68 iOS apps available this morning — as of this writing, only nine remain.(source:gamasutra

2)Dead Drop on iPhone, Android brings the mafia wars to the streets [Video]

by Joe Osborne

Location-based social games are always intriguing at first, but end up missing something. It’s that tie to real-world locations that services like Foursquare do so well that games tend to miss.

Dead Drop, a location-based spy game for iPhone, Android and PC made by two brothers Lind, promises to incorporate just that directly into the play hook.

While it offers a single-player campaign mode (what’s the fun in that?), Dead Drop sets friends against each other using GPS technology within smartphones in an all-out death match. Players can create their own individual games with friends, and be provided with missions to tackle in real time as their completed. But what’s most interesting about Dead Drop is the concept of “safe houses.”

Safe houses, once the game launches “within the next 30 days,” will be real-life businesses that serve as protective areas for players in which they can’t be attacked by enemies. The idea is that safe houses will both drive gameplay to specific areas and business to those locations. However, exactly how Dead Drop will get these local businesses to participate is a concern.

“Dead Drop represents a labor of love for us, and also a huge opportunity to bridge smartphone-based gaming and marketing in a way that goes beyond check-ins and deals,” Dead Drop founder Jeff Lind said in a release. “What we’re most proud of is creating an experience that’s legitimately fun for gamers, and presents real engagement value for marketers. Just watch your six, if you know what’s good for you.”(source:games

3)Nearly 100 million in the U.S. now own smartphones

by Greg Lamm

Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS both made gains in the number of mobile phones using the operating platforms in the U.S., while rivals Microsoft, RIM and Symbian slipped, according to comScore.

Overall, smartphone adoption exploded during the 2011 holiday shopping season, much of it driven by Apple’s sale of 37 million iPhones last quarter. Forty percent of all mobile subscribers now own smartphones in the U.S. That’s 97.9 million people.

Apple and Google operating systems now power 77 percent of the mobile phones in the U.S. That is a dominance that will present challenges as Microsoft tries to make gains with its Windows platform.

Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with 47.3 percent market share, up 2.5 percentage points from September, according to comScore’s three-month average ending in December.

No. 2 is Apple, which saw its market share grow 2.2 percent. Apple has 30 percent of the smartphone market. RIM ranked third with 16 percent share, followed by Microsoft (4.7 percent) and Symbian (1.4 percent).(source:techflash

4)Scribblenauts Remix reaches million paid iOS downloads

by Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman

The 5TH Cell developed and Warner Bros. published Scribblenauts was massively successful on DS, and it seems that’s carried through to the App Store.

It’s just been announced that Scribblenauts Remix – another spin on the word-based puzzle game – has been downloaded over a million times.

And as it’s never been available free (priced between $4.99 and 99c), that means one million sales.

Plushy

So to celebrate Iron Galaxy, which did the iOS development work, has prepared a Valentine’s Day-themed update.

We’re told that the update will feature a Valentine’s playground wherein players will be inspired to create objects such as a “loving, polka-dotted charonosaurus” or a “giant, pink, flying chocolate box.”

The update will also gift players with an extra 20 levels to play through.

Warner Bros. has gone so far as to slap Maxwell, the affable hero of the game, onto a collection of t-shirts and merchandise. There’s even a plush toy to keep your fuzzy Red Bird company.(source:pocketgamer

5)What is the mystery “entertainment device” Google is testing?

By Stacey Higginbotham

Google is asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to test a mysterious Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled “entertainment device,” in employees homes in four U.S. cities. So inquiring minds want to know, what exactly is it? And why is Google filing for the experimental license? Does that mean the search giant is getting into manufacturing its own devices?

On the what is it category, it appears to be homebound, so it could perhaps be a set-top-box style device, or a new addendum to Google TV. Here’s what Google’s application, which was filed in December, offers in terms of information:

Google is developing an entertainment device that requires testing outside the laboratory environment. The device is in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing.

Users will connect their device to home WiFi networks and use Bluetooth to connect to other home electronics equipment. This line of testing will reveal real world engineering issues and reliability of networks. The device utilizes a standard WiFi/Bluetooth module, and the planned testing is not directed at evaluating the radio frequency characteristics of the module (which are known), but rather at the throughput and stability of the home WiFi networks that will support the device, as well as the basic functionality of the device. From this testing we hope to modify the design in order to maximize product robustness and user experience. Utilizing the requested number of units will allow testing of real world network performance and its impact on applications running on the device, so that any problems can be discovered and addressed promptly. (emphasis mine)

Google asked to test 252 devices between January 17 through July 17 in Mountain View,Calif.; New York, Cambridge, Mass. and Los Angeles. Its employees will have them, so maybe you can hit a Google employee’s home to watch the Super Bowl and then start sniffing around.(source:gigaom

6)Windows Phone 8 features leak, look like a sales booster

By Kevin C. Tofel

Microsoft’s Windows Phone devices aren’t yet selling in the tens of millions, but the platform is maturing in ways that could boost sales. Alleged details of Windows Phone 8 emerged on Thursday in a leaked video intended for Microsoft’s partners. Information from the video was written up by PocketNow and upon first glance, all the details seem feasible. More importantly, they’re what Microsoft needs to improve sales.

Windows Phone initially didn’t impress me, but after its first software update, called Mango, I began to see promise. Next up for the platform reportedly is Tango and then Apollo; it’s Apollo that will be dubbed Windows Phone 8, with the following additions that can fill current gaps in the platform:

Support for multi-core processors and four different screen sizes (presumably with different resolutions)

Addition of removable microSD memory cards

NFC, or near-field communications, support for wireless payments and other implementations

Shared software components with Windows 8, Microsoft’s next iteration of its platform for desktops, laptops and tablets

An updated method for synchronizing data and media between handset and computer

Skype integration in the core operating system, making it a native app that can interact directly with contacts and other personal data.

A proxy server feature for the web browser to help compress data usage by up to 30 percent.

When comparing the specs and features of today’s Windows Phone devices, many are put off by the support for single-core processors and fixed resolution. But Apollo should eliminate that problem, which I find to be an overstated issue. The dual-core A5 chip in Apple’s iPhone 4S runs at 800 MHz and keeps the phone moving because the platform is optimized for that clock speed. In my experience the same can be said of Windows Phone: Mine is just as fast as my iPhone for many tasks.

Still, the improved hardware potential will be welcome and should make a fast operating system even faster. Add in support for Skype, which Microsoft bought last year, NFC radios and a code link to Windows 8 and Microsoft should see more people thinking twice before leaving a store with the iPhone or an Android device once Apollo hits.(source:gigaom


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