1）Flurry最新报告指出，每10款新应用程序中就有近7款是iOS应用，iOS仍是开发者首要考虑的平台。

tablet share(from flurry)

苹果iPad已占据88%的平板电脑市场份额，三星Galaxy tab占比仅9%，亚马逊Kindle Fire则是3%。Flurry还指出，在前20名Android移动设备中，前17名设备的Android用户仅占比6%，这意味着Android开发者即使锁定排名前列的移动设备也仅能获得一小部分用户。

android user sessions(from flurry)

值得注意的是，多数Android用户所运行的操作系统版本仍然较为落后，Android 4.0版本（即Ice Cream Sandwich）目前所占份额仅7%，而Gingerbread用户占比依然高达70%。

2）据pocketgamer报道，谷歌移动及数字内容高级副总裁Andy Rubin最近宣布Android设备每日激活量已达90万部（游戏邦注：今年2月份时这一数据为85万次，2011年12月份时为70万部）。

rubin-900k(from droid-life.com)

此外，Rubin还通过Twitter驳斥了宣称其将离开谷歌加入新公司Cloudcar的传闻，表示自己并没有这种打算，并指出Cloudcar是他的一群好友成立的公司，他只是为其提供了免费办公场所。

3）苹果在日前的WWDC 2012大会上宣布，App Store用户帐号已达4亿，至今已实现300亿次应用下载量，这意味着自该应用商店2008年上线以来，平均每名用户已下载75款应用。

App Store现有65万款应用（其中有22.5万款属于iPad应用），上线以来已向开发者支付50亿美元收益。

苹果首席执行官Tim Cook还表示App Store将再增加对32个国家/地区的支持，使App Store入驻市场达到152个。

wwdc2012-apple(from bgr.com)

4）据gamasutra报道，苹果日前宣布将于今年秋季发布iOS 6，该系统将优化App Store的应用推广服务。iOS 6将支持设备包括iPhone 3GS、第二和第三代iPad，以及第四代iPod Touch，目前已向开发者推出测试版本。

苹果在WWDC大会上指出，iOS 6新变化包括重新设计iTunes Store和App Store，例如让应用商店首页自动显示排名前列的“最佳新游戏或应用”。

此外，iOS 6还将深度绑定Facebook功能，支持用户同时在App Store或桌面平台的iTunes Store“赞”一下某款应用，与Facebook好友分享应用，查看好友所“赞”过的应用内容。开发者可利用iOS 6新功能支持用户在自己的应用中向Facebook发布游戏捷报或者自己最喜爱的游戏等消息。

另外，苹果手机社交游戏平台Gamer Center也将支持iOS 6用户向好友发出“挑战”，并支持他们通过Game Center找到自己的Facebook好友。Mountain Lion操作系统升级版本将与下月登陆Mac平台（游戏邦注：据pocketgamer报道，其升级费用为19.99美元），届时将支持苹果桌面及笔记本电脑用户访问Game Center，并与平板电脑、智能手机和PC用户参与跨平台游戏体验。

Game Center自2010年9月上线以来，注册用户已超过1.3亿，在App Store前100名热门游戏中，67%游戏已绑定Game Center。

ios 6(from product-reviews.net)

5）ABI Research最近报告预测，手持掌机设备领域将日渐沦为一个“可持续发展的细分市场”，2013年索尼/任天掌手持游戏设备出货量将降至3800万部，到2017年仍将保持这一趋势。

ABI高级分析师Michael Inouye表示，移动设备将与专业掌机游戏设备形成挑战，但后者在硬核玩家及不想购买智能手机/平板电脑的用户群体中仍有一定市场。

6）据AllThingsD报道，EA移动主管Nick Earl在最近采访中承认，他们低估了免费增值模式的影响力，导致公司在这一领域上处于落后地位（游戏邦注：EA在2012年第一季度的移动业务收益为8700万美元）。他表示在应用内置广告、IAP以及广告+IAP这三个免费增值模式中，EA将选择IAP模式，并指出免费增值游戏才是未来发展趋势，EA将于今年夏天推出采用该模式的《The Simpsons》游戏。

simpsons tapped out(from appadvice.com)

7）据《爱尔兰时报》报道，《愤怒的小鸟》开发商Rovio首席执行官Mikael Hed在最近采访中表示，公司考虑将总部搬迁到爱尔兰（Rovio于2003年成立于芬兰），以便享受当地的低税率。

Mikael Hed(from newangrybirds.com)

芬兰目前的企业税率为24.5%，而爱尔兰同一税率仅为12.5%，据称爱尔兰正打算扩大并扶持本国的电子游戏产业。

但Rovio另一名高管Sara Antila随后又表示，Hed的说法还只是一个设想，Rovio暂无迁至爱尔兰的打算。（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）Almost 7 out of 10 new apps developed for iOS

by Keith Andrew

A study by analytics specialist Flurry has claimed almost seven in every ten new apps being built is developed for iOS, with Android failing to serve as a priority for most studios despite its larger userbase.

The numbers – sourced from Flurry’s analytics across more than 185,000 mobile apps – suggest Apple’s continued dominance in the tablet market and the sheer range of Android devices on the market are holding Google’s OS back.

Two for one

According to Flurry, Apple’s iPad boasts an 88 percent share of the tablet market, with the millions of iPad users around the globe acting as a compelling reason for developers to make iOS their priority.

“Not only does Apple offer a large, homogeneous smartphone base for which to build software, but also when developers build for smartphones, their apps run on Apple’s iPad tablets as well,” said Flurry’s Peter Farago on the firm’s blog.

“That’s like getting two platforms for the price of one.”

In contrast to iOS’s homogeneous approach, Flurry states Android represents an increasingly complex beast, with fragmentation on the increase thanks to the increasing range of devices on offer.

All pain, little gain

Flurry claims 17 of the top 20 Android handsets on the market hold a 6 percent of less share of the platform’s total userbase, meaning developers are afforded only small gains if they make the effort to support them.

What’s more, it’s claimed the majority of Android users run a version of the OS that’s three or four iterations old.

Android 4.0 – better known as Ice Cream Sandwich – continues to lag behind.

“At the end of the day, developers run businesses, and businesses seek out markets where revenue opportunities are highest and the cost of building and distributing is lowest,” concluded Farago.

“In short, Android delivers less gain and more pain than iOS, which we believe is the key reason 7 out of every 10 apps built in the new economy are for iOS instead of Android.”（source:pocketgamer）

2）More than 900,000 Android devices now activated each day

by James Nouch

Andy Rubin, Google’s SVP of mobile and digital content has announced that more than 900,000 Android devices are now activated each day.

It’s the first time Rubin has announced an activation milestone since February 2012, when he revealed that daily Android activations had reached 850,000.

Green army

Just months before that, a post on Rubin’s Google+ account confirmed that Android activations had hit 700,000 in December 2011.

The rate of growth is slowing, then, but Android seems to be continuing its slow, inexorable march towards 1 million daily device activations – albeit at a slower rate than some commentators had anticipated.

Rubin also tweeted that he has ‘no plans to leave Google’, responding to rumours that he was all set to jump ship and join a start-up called Cloudcar.

As Rubin elaborated on Google+, “Cloudcar are a group of friends who I give free office space to in my incubator in Los Altos.”（source:pocketgamer）

3）WWDC 2012: $5 billion paid out to iOS developers

by Keith Andrew

As is traditional, Apple kick-started its WWDC 2012 keynote with a bevy of stats detailing the progress of iOS, with news the App Store has hit 400 million accounts topping the bill.

Those 400 million have amassed 30 billion app downloads to date, meaning each user on average has downloaded 75 apps since the marketplace launched in late 2008.

The numbers have it

Those downloads – made from a selection of 650,000 apps in total, 225,000 of which are for iPad – have resulted in Apple paying out $5 billion to developers since day one.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also claimed the company is preparing to add support for a further 32 countries to the App Store, taking the marketplace to a total of 152.

It’s expected the rest of the keynote will play host to iOS 6. （source:pocketgamer）

4） iOS 6 promises new game promotion features for App Store

by Eric Caoili

Apple has announced that iOS 6, the next major operating system update for its line of smartphones and tablets, will release this fall with features designed to better promote applications on the redesigned App Store.

With more than 650,000 apps available on the marketplace (225,000 for iPad), many developers have complained that it can be difficult for consumers to discover their game on the App Store.

During a keynote presentation at its Worldwide Developers Conference today, Apple discussed a number of new changes that will come with iOS 6, including redesigns for its iTunes Store and App Store so that they will “[be more] fluid and better promote your app.” For example, each of the store’s home pages will nod display “the best of what’s new” in games and apps at the top.

The company did mention, however, that as part of its broad integration of Facebook features into the OS, users can now “Like” apps both in the mobile App Store and the desktop iTunes Store. Those apps are shared with their friends on Facebook, and they can see what apps their friends Like, too.

With iOS 6, developers can also integrate features allowing users to post updates to Facebook from within their apps, such as messages about achievements or about their favorite games.

Apple briefly discussed Game Center, its mobile social game network, and said it will soon allow users to send “challenges” to their friends with iOS 6. Players will be able to find their Facebook friends on Game Center, too.

It also reminded WWDC attendees that Mountain Lion, its OS update coming to Macs next month, will bring Game Center to Apple desktop and notebook computers with cross-platform multiplayer support across its tablets, smartphones, and PCs. Apple demonstrated that cross-platform play with a new game from Natural Motion, CSR Racing, which releases this fall.

More than 130 million users have registered for Game Center since its launch in September 2010, and of the top 100 games on the App Store, 67 percent of them have integrated the service.

Beyond that, Apple spent very little time talking about games during its two-hour WWDC keynote, bringing them up to mention how titles like Diablo III will be updated to support the new Macbook Pro’s high-resolution (2880 x 1800) Retina display, or how users can launch games like Temple Run on their phones through more powerful Siri voice commands.

iOS 6 will support iPhone 3GS and newer, second- and third-generation iPads, and fourth generation iPod Touches. A beta version of the OS is available to developers starting today. （source:gamasutra）

5）Mobile gaming is making handheld consoles a “niche”

by Zen Terrelonge

Sony/Nintendo shipments take a beating from phones and tablets.

A couple of years ago, if you heard gaming war cries like ‘Hadouken’ in public, it would have come from a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS – especially in 2008 when combined device shipments peaked at 47 million.

However, ABI Research says you’re now more likely to hear the sounds coming from smartphones and tablets.

It claims the mobile is pushing handheld consoles towards a “sustainable niche” market, estimating that Sony/Nintendo handheld gaming device shipments will fall to 38 million in 2013, and stay flat to 2017.

Michael Inouye, senior analyst at ABI, said: “Mobile devices will compete with dedicated handheld gaming devices, but select consumer segments like core gamers and those individuals who do not want or have a smartphone or tablet will still provide some demand.”

An example of the turning tide was demonstrated last year when the Nintendo 3DS started off strong during its Q1 2011 launch, but Q2 forced the Japanese firm to slash the price from $249 to $170 to keep buyers interested.（source:mobile-ent）

6）EA to make freemium games ‘the norm’

by Zen Terrelonge

Game giant admits it is behind and will migrate to the new model starting with The Simpsons this summer.

EA Mobile has done extremely well in mobile, but has focused to date on a premium paid-for approach for the handheld versions of its giant franchises such as The Sims, Tetris and Need For Speed – charging as much as £5 a pop.

Now, it admits that it underestimated the impact of the freemium model. In an interview with AllThingsD, EA mobile chief Nick Earl, said: “We started to see that freemium was coming in, and it took us a long time to move over. In all candor, we are behind.”

There are different freemium models, with some offering in-app ads, in-app purchases to upgrade, or a combination as both, but EA will opt for the virtual goods option.

Earl continued: “We are all over that. There will be a few one-time download games in the future, but they are such the exception, and the norm will be freemium games.”

The first game to mark the switch will come this summer with a version of The Simpsons.（source:mobile-ent）

7）Rovio denies plans to move headquarters to Ireland

by Mike Rose

Angry Birds developer Rovio may move its headquarters from Finland to Ireland, as it looks to take advantage of Ireland’s low tax rates.

The studio has been based in Finland since it was founded in 2003 — however, chief executive Mikael Hed told the Irish Times that he has been discussing moving the company headquarters to Ireland with industrial development agency IDA Ireland.

“The Irish authorities have been very active and we have been promoting that. We are considering it,” he said. “It is something that we need to look at. For now we have stayed in Finland. But it is on top of our minds. If we did make that decision then it would be a natural thing to do to have some production [in Ireland] also.”

Finland’s corporation tax rate is 24.5 percent, while Ireland’s is nearly half that at 12.5 percent. The news comes as Ireland looks to double the size of the video games industry in the country.

[Update: Rovio’s communications lead Sara Antila has now said that Hed's comments were hypothetical, and that Rovio is not planning to move to Ireland.] （source:gamasutra）