1）据福布斯报道，Zynga正与知名赌场及度假酒店Wynn Resorts探讨针对在线博彩游戏项目的合作，这一迹象表明Zynga下一个项目可能并非传闻中的《Bubble Safari》或《Rogues & Royals》，而很可能是一款博彩类游戏。

Wynn Resorts(from games)

2）美国扑克牌公司（游戏邦注：The U.S. Playing Card Company，简称USPC，世界最大的扑克牌厂商之一，已成立125年之久）日前与移动策略机构digi117合作，计划于今年春季向iOS和Android设备发布一个手机社交游戏平台Zeniz Social Casino。

Zeniz-Social-Casino（from webbuyerguide.org）

该平台将支持玩家访问不同的虚拟博彩游戏，并将每隔2月推出一款由USPC及digi117引进的新游戏。

3）venturebeat最近调查报告预测，大众融资平台Kickstarter上的项目在今年融资额将达3亿美元，约是2011年的3倍左右，Kickstarter将通过这些成功融资的项目中抽成5%。

4）据gamasutra报道，Facebook日前与苹果一样遭遇家长起诉的麻烦，有位名为Glynnis Bohannon用户声称Facebook允许未成年人在该平台社交游戏中购买Facebook Credits的做法，违反了美国加州消费者权益保护法。

facebook credits(from lavozlibre.com)

Bohannon已向加州北部地区法院起诉，要求Facebook向自己的儿子以及所有曾购买Facebook Credit的全美未成年人退款。

值得注意的是，Facebook允许达到13岁的青少年注册Facebook帐号，不过其政策条款声明，未满18周岁青少年需在家长许可的情况下才能购买Facebook Credit。但Bohannon诉状指出，“全美所有长家及合法监护人的未成年子女通过其Facebook帐号购买的Facebook Credit总值已达500万美元。”

这些受到指责的Facebook应用主要指向年幼的少儿群体，怂恿他们购买额外道具加速游戏进程，从而导致一些孩子超额消费。

5）日本社交游戏公司DeNA最近将其总部搬迁至东京涩谷地区的Shibuya Hikarie大厦第21-26层，据其所称，新办公室的隔墙较少，主要是为了鼓励员工发挥创造性并进行良好沟通。

dena-new-office(from pocketgamer)

6）日本手机社交游戏公司Gumi最近在韩国成立首个海外工作室，据其所述，2012年韩国智能手机游戏产值将增长60%。

7）在本周增长最快的Facebook新晋游戏（MAU不足100万）榜单上，Flash游戏《Pencylvania》以125%的增幅及9万新MAU晋升榜单之首。

Top gainers this week--MAU(from AppData)

另外四款增幅达100%的游戏分别是，MindJolt作品《Bench Press》（排名第二）、Game Insight游戏《Lords of Atlantis》、Guerillapps管理游戏《Trash Tycoon》（这三者均新增3万MAU），以及中文策略游戏《傲视天地》（新增2万MAU）。

MindJolt另一款游戏《Carbon Auto Theft》（新增1万MAU）则从上周的第11名下滑至第18名。（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）Is Zynga more interested in iGaming than actual gaming these days?

by Joe Osborne

iGaming. Short for either “Internet Gambling” or “Interactive Gambling,” it’s the hottest thing on the horizon for Facebook. Well, if you ask the right people, like big time social game makers Zynga and PopCap or even casino companies like IGT or Caesars. Now, Forbes reports that Zynga is in talks with Wynn Resorts regarding a potential partnership.

In short, this whole Facebook-as-a-social-casino thing might happen sooner than we think, if state legislatures get a move on with legalizing online gambling again. According to Forbes, about 20 states are already considering making the move, which would allow companies like Zynga, namely, to add real gambling mechanics to new and existing social games.

By “real gambling mechanics,” we mean that, in certain states, it could soon be possible for players to pay up real money in, say, Zynga Slingo and earn money in return based n their winnings. This could be a boon for social game developers, but its effects on the social gaming ecosystem and social game design could be questionable.

Zynga hasn’t released a new game since Zynga Slingo, and much of the company’s open conversations with the media have been about its interests in the onset of online gambling. Save for a few rumored games in the works, like Bubble Safari and Rogues & Royals (or whatever it’s called), Zynga’s eyes seem to be on the slots. And one can’t help but wonder what that might mean for not only the future of its games, but social games in general.（source:games）

2） U.S. Playing Card targets digital market with mobile casino game platform

by Eric Caoili

The U.S. Playing Card Company, owner of popular brands like Bicycle and one of the largest playing card makers, is pursuing a digital strategy that includes a new mobile social casino game.

Kentucky-based USPC has produced some of the most popular playing card brands in the world with Bicycle, Bee, and Hoyle, but now the 125-year-old company wants to target a new generation of customers by repositioning itself as a provider of digital entertainment.

It’s partnered with mobile strategy agency digi117 to execute on that strategy, and plans to release a mobile social games platform/app called Zeniz Social Casino on iOS and Android devices this spring.

The Zeniz Social Casino platform will serve as a lobby where players can access different virtual gambling games. USPC and digi117 intend to introduce a new game to the platform every two months.

USPC will face plenty of competition in the space, though, as many other major players like PopCap, Zynga, Big Fish Games, virtual gambling game company IGT, and Caesars Interactive Entertainment have broken into the casino game market recently.

“USPC has been providing games and entertainment for 125 years, but as entertainment becomes centered on digital, we know we have to offer our customers a new way to play,” says USPC president Marc Hill. “Our vision is to leverage our heritage and develop a revenue-generating social gaming company to compete in the mobile application space.” （source:gamasutra）

3）Kickstarter set to distribute $300 million in 2012

by Tom Worthington

2012 has been a breakout year for Kickstarter.

With successful ventures including the Double Fine Adventure and Wasteland 2, the crowd-funding platform broke its first million dollar project and continues to go from strength to strength as more developers take interest.

A recent interesting case was the $5.5 million raised for the Pebble E-Paper watch.

And research conducted by VentureBeat shows that Kickstarter is on track to raise around $300 million this year, triple the amount it raised in 2011.

Kicking off

The results are based on an analysis of successful project funded since the beginning of 2012 and is backed up by a chart released by Kickstarter when it first hit 1 million backers last year.

Good news for Kickstarter then which takes five percent of all successfully funded projects.（source:pocketgamer）

4）New Facebook lawsuit highlights trouble with kids and virtual currency

by Mike Rose

Facebook is facing legal action from the parent of a teenager who claims that minors are able to purchase Facebook Credits for use in games on the social network, and that this goes against California’s consumer protection laws.

Glynnis Bohannon has filed a complaint against the company with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, demanding a refund, not only for the purchases made by her son, but also for those made by all minors in the U.S.

This isn’t the only recent instance of companies getting in trouble over minors purchasing credits for social games. A U.S. District Judge has chosen to uphold a handful of claims that Apple distributed free iOS apps that trick children into money in-app purchases.

Children are legally allowed to create a Facebook account from the age of 13 — however, Facebook’s rules state that any child under the age of 18 must ask for a parent’s permission before purchasing Facebook Credits.

Bohannon alleges that this goes against consumer protection laws in the state, and is now seeking refunds from Facebook for, according to the legal documents, “all parents and legal guardians in the United States whose minor children made unauthorized purchases of Facebook Credits from the minor child’s Facebook account,” to the tune of $5 million.

The apps in question in this case most often target young children, and urge them to buy additional items to succeed, with kids sometimes racking up huge credit card bills.（source:gamasutra）

5）No tiny tower for DeNA as it moves its Tokyo HQ into a 34-storey skyscraper

by Jon Jordan

Things are looking up for DeNA.

The Japanese social gaming network has just relocated its headquarters to the 21st – 26th floors of the brand new 34-storey Shibuya Hikarie skyscraper in Tokyo’s fashionable Shibuya district.

Borderless

It’s also taken the opportunity to rethink working conditions, with an open-plan atmosphere.

“To encourage employees’ creative output and encourage candid communication, the office has few walls but many ‘quick discussion’ spaces with dry-erase boards, many of them with the improvement of being right next to the windows to take advantage of the view over Tokyo,” it explains.

Some of its conference rooms also have interpretation booths to improve cross-language communication.

And ensuring DeNA’s workers are well fed, there’s the Sakura Café. Named after founder Tomoko Namba’s dog, apparently, it’s a cashless environment serving freshly-brewed coffee, freshly-baked bread, a lunch buffet, and Japanese and Chinese style lunch boxes.

Payment will be via prepaid cards or – of course – the NFC-style chips in all Japanese mobile phones （source:pocketgamer）

6）Gumi opens South Korean office — Japanese mobile social game company Gumi has opened its first overseas office in South Korea. According to Gumi, the South Korean smartphone gaming market is expected to grow by 60 percent in 2012.（source:insidemobileapps）

7）Pencylvania draws on top of this week’s emerging Facebook games list

Mike Thompson

A clone of the pencil-balancing Flash game Pencylvania takes the top position on our list of emerging games by monthly active users, thanks to a 125 percent gain of 90,000 MAU.

Four other games show gains of 100 percent this this week. MindJolt’s Bench press is up by 30,000 MAU, as is Game Insight’s Lords of Atlantis. Guerillapps’s environmentally-themed management sim Trash Tycoon also sports a 30,000 MAU increase. Finally, the Chinese language strategy title《傲視天地》—無商城！絕對免費！華人第一戰爭策略網遊！as.kunlun.tw (“‘Disdain for the world’ – no mall! Absolutely free! The first Chinese war strategy online games!”) shows a 20,000 MAU gain.

This marks the second week in a row that ELEX’s DDTank 337-br appears on our list, thanks to a 20,000 MAU gain for a 50 percent increase. The game is a Portugese language entry into the DDTank series that’s starting to show activity after going dormant in October 2011.

MindJolt once again has multiple titles on this week’s chart. Aside from Bench Press, Carbon Auto Theft is still listed, but it’s down to No. 18 from No. 11 last week.（source: insidesocialgames）