1）NPD最近报告显示，2012年第一季度有5%美国在线游戏用户曾至少体验一款游戏，愿意下载游戏或购买在线游戏的玩家比例也从2011年的25%上升至今年的35%。

gaming-in-us(from techshout.com)

分析师预测主机及掌上游戏软件收益将在今年跌至6年来的最低点，其销售额将比2011年下滑四分之一左右，但可下载游戏（包括付费与免费增值游戏）的销售额将填补这一缺口。

报告指出这些接触在线游戏的用户平均下载6款游戏，而在实体店消费的用户平均仅购买3款游戏；同时玩实体盒装及在线游戏的用户平均接触15款游戏。

还有许多用户将主机设备作为消费媒体内容的渠道，每5个在线游戏玩家中就有一者表示，自己的其他家庭成员使用该设备体验非游戏活动（这一数据比2011年增长3%）。

2）据Gamasura报道，韩国网游公司Nexon将收购日本手机社交游戏开发商inBlue，但并未透露其中详情。

inBlue-logo(from inblue.co.jp)

Nexon最近还向韩国手机社交游戏开发商Moyasoft和JC Entertainment Corporation（游戏邦注：该公司最近推出的《Rule the Sky》在韩国App Store游戏营收榜单登顶）投资；inBlue成立于2010年，旗下代表作是发布于GREE平台的《Sengoku Pockets》。

3）据techcrunch报道，休闲游戏公司Big Fish Games日前宣布将推出一项基于云的游戏服务，支持休闲玩家包月付费玩游戏。该公司尚未最终明确定价点，最初将供应100款游戏，最后将开放至公司旗下的2500款游戏。

big-fish-cloud-games(from techcrunch)

这些游戏是基于云的服务，所以支持玩家在平板电脑、连网电脑等多个平台体验游戏。据Big Fish业务开发副总裁及云游戏总经理Will O’Brien所称，此举有利于公司在充斥盗版现象的亚洲市场拓展业务，因为云服务提高了盗版游戏的难度。

4）据Gamasutra报道，世嘉将于7月1日关闭在法国、德国、西班牙、澳大利亚及荷兰工作室以便进行业务重组，并将重心转向数字内容及原有游戏品牌（游戏邦注：包括《刺猬索尼克》、《全面战争》、《足球经理》和《异形》系列）。

sega-logo(from venturebeat)

Level03和Koch Media（旗下发行部门是Deep Silver）这家公司 将负责管理世嘉在欧洲地区的事务，而5 Star Games则接管其澳洲事务。世嘉英国工作室仍将正常运营，并负责监管公司的业务交接过程。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转裁请联系：游戏邦）

1）NPD: More gamers warming up to getting their games online

by Eric Caoili

As game sales at retail continue to suffer in the U.S., gamers have become more receptive to downloading or buying their games online thanks to lowered barriers of entry, according to a new study.

The NPD Group’s new Online Gaming 2012 report has found that 75 percent of U.S. consumers who play games online acquired at least one title during the first three months of 2012. It also says the percentage of gamers who prefer to download or buy titles online has increased considerably compared to last year (35 percent, compared to 25 percent in 2011).

This increase comes after several straight months of the game industry taking a beating at retail — analysts expect console and handheld software revenues to hit a six-year low this year, with sales down by as much as a quarter compared to 2011.

But sales from downloadable games, both paid and free-to-play, could help offset that decline in revenues for the industry. NPD notes that free-to-play titles on mobile devices have made it easier than ever for consumers to acquire their games online.

The market research group reports that consumers who only acquire games online have downloaded an average of six titles, while those who buy them only at retail purchased an average of three. Consumers open to both physical and digital formats acquired an average of 15 games.

NPD also noticed a slight increase of online gamers who say that entertainment features on their consoles distract them from gaming, as well as those who say that they’re spending less money on games because of those entertainment features.

Adding to evidence that more consumers are using consoles for their media consumption features, one in five online gamers say that another household member use their system for non-game entertainment activities (up by 3 percent compared to 2011). （source:gamasutra）

2）Nexon continues mobile social push with new acquisition

by Eric Caoili

Pushing more into the mobile social space, Korean free-to-play MMO company Nexon will acquire inBlue, a Japanese developer that specializes in titles for mobile social game networks Gree and Mobage. Terms for the deal were not disclosed.

Nexon is already developing iOS and Android titles internally, but it’s recently made investments in mobile social developers like Korean firms Moyasoft and JC Entertainment Corporation — the latter released Rule the Sky, currently the top-grossing game in Korea’s App Store.

Founded in 2010 and based in Japan, inBlue is best known for creating Sengoku Pockets for the Gree platform. With the growing popularity of services like Gree and DeNA’s Mobage — and their expansions to the West — a number of Korean MMO devs (e.g. WeMade) have made acquisitions and investments in the mobile social space game during the last year.（source:gamasutra）

3）Seattle’s Big Fish Games Launches A Cloud-Based Subscription Service

Kim-Mai Cutler

Big Fish Games may not be a household name, but they’re a notable force in the world of casual gaming (especially on the iPad). The company passed $180 million in revenue last year. Now they’re adding yet another revenue stream beyond paid apps and downloadable games.

The company is launching a cloud-based gaming service that casual players can pay a monthly subscription for. The price points aren’t finalized yet and the company will start out with roughly 100 games for now. But eventually, content will come from Big Fish’s library of more than 2,500 games. Big Fish launches about one game every day. (Yes. Every day, through its own in-house developers plus other studios they contract with.)

Because the games run in the cloud, they can be played on multiple devices from tablets to connected TVs. A gamer’s progress will get saved no matter where they are. Big Fish’s move mirrors a big industry transition toward games-as-a-service instead of games-as-finished-products.

The key advantage of this is that Big Fish will finally be able to tap into Asian markets where piracy runs rampant. Treating games as one-off finished goods doesn’t work well there because there quite elaborate schemes for pirating games and even fraudulently buying virtual goods. There are networks of scammer who use fraudulent credit cards to help gamers buy virtual goods at a discounted price on Taobao or China’s eBay, for example.

“Historically, it’s been really hard for us to penetrate Korea and China,” said Will O’Brien, who is a general manager of cloud gaming and a vice president of business development at Big Fish. “It’s much harder to pirate a streaming service.” Companies like Nexon have built up enviable businesses (and profit margins) by tapping into PC gaming in mainland China.

As for Big Fish itself, there had been talk that the company was looking at an IPO. But it now sounds like Big Fish is keeping its options open, especially with the founder Paul Thelen re-taking the CEO role.

“We’re profitable and we’re not in a bad place to have some optionality,” O’Brien said, pointing to the fact that the company had enough capital to buy casino gaming studio Self Aware Games recently.

Big Fish has raised more than $83 million from Balderton Capital, General Catalyst Partners and Salmon River Capital.（source:techcrunch）

4）Sega closes multiple offices worldwide and focuses on digital

Omri Petitte

In a mark of the further decline for a once-formidable video game company, Sega announced the closure of several global offices, the relinquishment of distribution duties in the affected regions, and a stronger focus on digital content and established franchises.

Gamasutra reports Sega’s branches in France, Germany, Spain, Australia, and the Netherlands close July 1. Companies Level03 Distribution and Koch Media — Nintendo’s U.K. distributor, which is known as Deep Silver (the publisher Deep Silver) in North America — now handles European areas for Sega, and 5 Star Games manages Australia.

Sega’s U.K. offices stay open and are overseeing the transition.

Sega Europe chief operating officer Jurgen Post said the Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager, and Aliens franchises round out the brands Sega will focus on.（source:venturebeat）