1）据pocketgamer报道，Rovio近日透露公司已从Snappy Touch和Mystery Coconut手中收购《凯西的精巧设计》（Casey’s Contraptions）这款游戏知识产权。

Caseys-Contraptions(from idownloadblog.com)

该公司目前正投入开发该游戏的iOS、Android等平台的重制版本，现已将原版游戏从App Store中移除。

Rovio曾在今年2月份就指出，公司有意收购第三方手机游戏开发商的IP，并将于未来数月发布一款“非《愤怒的小鸟》”游戏。

2）据Business Insider报道，有知情者透露谷歌现在正开发一个功能类似于苹果Game Center的原生Android应用，该应用将包括一个成就系统，在线积分排行榜等，支持Android应用开发者将这些功能与自己的游戏相绑定。

android-game center(from blog.games.com)

在此之前，Android开发者目前只能使用OpenFeint、Mobage等第三方手机社交游戏服务；RIM不久前也宣布将推出黑莓系统的类似平台“Games”，该服务将绑定黑莓Messenger和Scoreloop社交游戏网络等功能。

3）雅达利最近报告称公司在最近一财年（截止2012年3月31日）收益为5130万美元，低于2011财年的7780万美元。但公司亏损从原来的800万美元减少至480万美元。该公司去年出售了旗下法国工作室Eden Games的资产，重新调整业务方向，将重心转向手机游戏领域。

该公司旗下的《Breakout:Boost》、《Atari’s Greatest Hits》、《Asteroid Gunner》等手机游戏目前下载量已超过1000万次。

4）据Business Insider报道，有些匿名知情者透露微软“很可能”与Facebook合作推出Facebook手机设备，但两家公司都没有正式回应这一传闻。

据知情者所称，微软曾在6年前向Facebook投资，而Facebook最近也从微软手中收购了价值5.5亿美元的专利，再加上这两者都有同共的竞争对手——谷歌，所以两家公司的合作极具可行性。

facebook windows phone(from pocketgamer)

5）据法国移动运营商Orange所称，公司根据对Orange托管的9亿多帐户观察发现，添加了Facebook功能的手机应用可能不利于引进用户。例如，将Facebook Connect设置为TV Check这款手机应用的登录途径，那么就有75％的用户会因为该功能要求他们发贴更新自己的状态而放弃该应用。

该公司数字创新副总裁Patrice Slupowski表示，他们发现如果仅绑定Facebook Connect功能，就会流失大量用户，因为用户对此并不感兴趣。

6）GREE最近收购的Funzio工作室日前宣布通过亚马逊Appstore推出热门免费游戏《Crime City》的Kindle Fire版本（游戏邦注：该游戏之前已登录iOS、Android、Facebook和Google+平台，至今下载量已达900万次），支持玩家跨平台体验游戏，并邀请好友参与战斗。

Crime City(from businessinsider.com)

7）EA首席执行官John Riccitiello在最近于新奥尔良召开的CTIA 2012大会中表示，智能手机游戏并没有毁灭传统平台的游戏，而是改变了后者的发展形态。

在他看来，手机平台的兴起好比是YouTube的崛起，但YouTube并没有取代电视机，手机平台也不会消灭掌机游戏平台。

他称EA可能是Android平台的头号发行商，但却很难衡量游戏在Android平台的表现情况。（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）Rovio acquires Casey’s Contraptions IP for renewed splash on iOS and Android

by Tom Worthington

Following what proved to be a less than subtle teaser, Angry Birds creator Rovio has revealed it has acquired the rights to physics puzzler Casey’s Contraptions from developers Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut.

The firm is now working on a reworked version of the release for iOS, Android and “further platforms” this summer, with the original game pulled from the App Store as a result.

Rovio’s acquisitions

“Working with Noel [Llopis, Snappy Touch founder] and Miguel [A. Friginal, Mystery Coconut founder] has been fantastic, and this is a game that we all fell in love with from the first play,” said Rovio’s VP of franchise development Ville Heijari.

“The gameplay is a perfect fit in our arsenal with its approachable, fun and highly addictive take on the physics puzzler genre.

“We are currently reworking the title to enhance it, and getting ready to re-introduce it in a true ‘expect the unexpected’ Rovio style launch to an even larger audience.”

The Casey’s Contraptions move had hinted at just hours before its official reveal, when Rovio pegged what appeared to be revised artwork of the game’s lead onto the end of a video celebrating 1 billion Angry Birds downloads.

The acquisition also ties in with previous aspirations set out by Rovio, which stated back in February it was looking to acquire IP from third party mobile developers, with a new non-Angry Birds game due to be revealed in “a couple of months”.（source:pocketgamer）

2）Google building its own version of Apple’s Game Center for Android – report

by Mike Rose

As part of Google’s race to expand its Android mobile games market to such a point that it can rival Apple’s own App Store, the company is currently developing its own version of Apple’s Game Center, according to media sources.

As reported by Business Insider, “a source familiar with the plans” says that Google is currently working on a native Android app that acts as an equivalent to Apple’s own Game Center for iOS devices.

The app will include an achievements system, says the source, and online leaderboard rankings, which Android developers will be able to integrate into their games on the platform.

Android developers currently must use third-party services such as OpenFeint or Mobage if they want to include such integrated options in their games. With this new app, Google is looking to boost the number of developers building titles for the Google Play marketplace.

BlackBerry owner RIM announced its own take on Game Center last week. ‘Games’, as the new hub is simply known, will be integrated with BlackBerry Messenger and Scoreloop’s social gaming network, and marks RIM’s newly founded focus on the mobile gaming market.（source:gamasutra）

3）Atari revenues drop as company shuts down Eden Games, refocuses on mobile

by Tom Curtis

Longtime game publisher Atari has reported decreased revenues for its most recent fiscal year, and has sold off a number of its remaining assets to refocus its efforts on mobile games.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, Atari’s revenues reached $51.3 million (39.6 million euros), down from $77.8 million (60.1 million euros) in 2011.

The company decreased its losses to $4.8 million (3.7 million euros) from $8 million (6.2 million euros), partially because it chose to divest some of its less-profitable assets. As part of this plan, Atari shut down what was left of Eden Games, the French studio responsible for the 2011 racing game Test Drive Unlimited 2.

Atari laid off most of Eden’s staff last year, and has since chosen to discontinue operations and sell off the studio’s remaining assets.

The company also chose to sell to its remaining stake in GameOne, a French television channel focusing on video games, anime, and more. As a result of this sale, Atari pulled in an additional $7.6 million (5.9 million euros).

Atari also noted that revenues were down because it is still building its mobile games business. The publisher said it saw some “encouraging” performance from mobile games like Breakout: Boost, Atari’s Greatest Hits, and Asteroid Gunner, which have collectively seen more than 10 million downloads so far.

Going forward, the company plans to further emphasize its mobile and free to play games as well as maintain its existing suite of digital and online games.（source:gamasutra）

4）First Facebook phone could run Windows Phone

by Tom Worthington

Microsoft is set to strengthen its relationship with Facebook, pitching Windows Phone as the perfect platform for a debut smartphone from the social network.

That’s according to report by Business Insider, which claims both parties are looking to collaborate on a handset designed to play the built-in Facebook tools sported by Microsoft’s OS.

Microsoft ‘likes’ this

No official source has confirmed the rumour – Business Insider instead suggesting several unnamed sources have described a partnership between the companies as “plausible, logical, and even

likely” – though some sort of agreement wouldn’t come out of the blue.

Microsoft invested in Facebook six years ago – a move now likely to generate more than $1 billion for the firm – while the social network recently purchased $550 million worth of patents from the Redmond giant.

Commentators have also been quick to point out that the two companies share notable rivals, namely in the form of Google.

An eye on Android?

Indeed, speculation had previously suggested Facebook would look to deliver a smartphone based on the Android platform, albeit in a highly altered form.

Windows Phone’s built-in Facebook compatibility, however, means there would only need to be minimal changes to the OS to support a Facebook branded device.（source:pocketgamer）

5）Facebook Connect puts 75 percent of users off your app, says Orange

by Tom Worthington

Despite playing host to over 900 million accounts, Orange has found that integrating Facebook features into its apps runs the risk of deterring more users than it draws in.

Orange claims testing Facebook Connect as a log-in method for its own TV Check app revealed 75 percent of users dropped the app when it asked to post updates to their timelines.

Disconnect

It’s a startling stat, if only because of the prevalence of such features in many social games on smartphones.

“We’ve seen that if we were using only Facebook Connect, we were losing a lot of users,” said Orange’s VP of digital innovation Patrice Slupowski.

“In testing of the application, if we were giving the user only the Facebook mechanism, they weren’t as interested.”

Keeping quiet

Slupowski puts this down to the current volume of “noise” currently clogging up Facebook feeds.

“It’s a very noisy environment. All the live streaming activities etc, are becoming noisy and people are becoming more cautious. They don’t want to add noise to the noise.”

This news comes as Facebook prepares to open up shop with its own app store titled Facebook App Center, which is being rolled out on the web, iOS, and Android.

Those looking to use the app discovery tool will be required to make use of Facebook Login in order to be listed.（source:pocketgamer）

6）Funzio releases Crime City on Amazon Appstore for Android

by Jon Jordan

It’s just been bought by Japanese platform company GREE for $210 million, but it’s work as usual at mid-core publisher Funzio.

It’s just announced that its long running free-to-play Crime City game is now available for Kindle Fire and via Amazon’s Appstore.

Previously released for iOS and Android (Facebook and Google+), it’s been downloaded around nine millions times.

As with the current versions, cross platform play is supported, so you can invite your friends to be part of your gang.（source:pocketgamer）

7）CTIA 2012: ‘Mobile gaming will not kill the console,’ claims EA CEO John Riccitiello

by Keith Andrew

While some look to define the supposed battle between console and mobile as a black and white affair, industry luminaries are increasingly moving towards a more balanced view.

EA CEO John Riccitiello, for instance, used his keynote at CTIA 2012 in New Orleans to claim that, rather than killing games on more traditional platforms, the success of titles on smartphones is instead changing them.

Alive and kicking

According to Riccitiello, the rise of mobile is akin to that of YouTube over the course of the last decade.

The fact YouTube hasn’t killed the television – indeed, thanks to internet enabled TVs and consoles, it’s become part of it – is evidence that mobile won’t rid the world of console gaming, either, he claimed.

“YouTube didn’t destroy television and mobile gaming will not kill the console,” detailed Riccitiello, claiming both platforms will be victors in the long run as business models evolve.

Freemium fiesta

Focusing in further on the mobile scene, the EA man concluded that his firm is “probably” the number one publisher on Android now, following up its success on iOS. However, he did note that its performance on Google’s platform is harder to gauge.

On freemium, Riccitiello noted that the model is currently “taking the world by storm”, with “ten times the number of mobile platforms than there are gaming consoles” ensuring it’s a lucrative market.

His comments follow an interview given just days before, where he criticised mobile publishers for acquiring one hit wonder studios for little more than short term success.（source:pocketgamer）