1）据insidesocialgames报道，Zynga日前宣布更新Zynga.com平台，将于下周开始允许用户创建一个仅用于玩游戏的帐号（但Zynga.com玩家仍可以选择通过Facebook帐号接入游戏，并且仅分享自己想展示的内容）。

该公司首席技术官Cadir Lee表示，新版Zynga.com仍将保留Social Stream、Fast Load和Online Presence（支持查看谁在玩游戏）等功能。

Zynga.com(from zyngablog.typepad)

2）据gamezebo报道，PlaySpan与Frank N.Magid Associations最近调查报告显示，77%美国游戏玩家（1.1亿美国人）在免费游戏中投入时间超过付费游戏（游戏邦注：调查时间为2012年12月，调查样本是年龄介于13-54岁的玩家，其中男性占比52%，女性占比48%）。

82%女性更偏爱免费游戏模式，男性的这一比例则是72%；但男性在游戏中的IAP消费意愿比女性多三倍，平均每月消费30.59美元；但男性更经常玩主机游戏，而女性更喜欢在智能手机和平板电脑上玩游戏。另一个有趣发现是，18-24岁女性在免费游戏中的平均消费额比男性多10美元左右。

US gamer(from holdtheline)

最热门的游戏类型包括战略、街机游戏，以及智能手机/平板电脑游戏。在社交网站中，模拟游戏、音乐/节奏游戏最为领先。男性在RPG、动作和体育类游戏中的投入时间是女性的两倍，而女性玩社交游戏的时间是男性的三倍。

3）据venturebeat报道，Epic Games创始人Time Sweeney在最近采访中表示，腾讯于去年6月购买了Epic公司48.4%的流通股，这相当于Epic公司40%的股票期权，这是2012年游戏行业最大的投资交易之一，并让Epic Games身价上升至8.25亿美元。

Epic-Games-Tencent(from appgame)

腾讯现在有两名成员加入Epic董事，该公司最近发布财报显示，公司市值已约500亿美元左右，已向Epic支付3.3亿美元（游戏邦注：腾讯还掌握了《英雄联盟》开发商Riot Games公司的多数股权）。

在这笔交易公布之后，Epic Games流失了数名元老级开发者，Mike Capps已辞去总裁职务，设计总监Cliff Bleszinski也离开公司，Rod Fergusson也已转投《BioShock Infinite》开发商Irrational Games的阵营。

4）据9to5Mac报道，苹果开发者网站最近宣布App Store将于5月1日起不再接受访问UDID的应用程序，要求开发者更新应用和服务器，使用iOS 6所推荐的Vendor或广告标识符来跟进用户情况。

UDID(from haogongju.net)

苹果曾于2011年底首次提到将开始禁止应用程序使用可能侵犯用户隐私的UDID，在2012年9月引进一个替代UDID的广告标识符。

除此之外，那些未针对Retina屏幕进行优化的应用，以及未针对iPhone 5的4英寸屏幕进行升级的应用未来也很可能被移除。

5）据Pocketgamer报道，苹果最近移除了一款名为《Sweatshop HD》的iPad游戏（这款策略游戏出自开发商Little Loud公司之手，要求玩家担任一家服装厂的中层管理人员，剥削工人以最大化工厂的利润），理由是这款游戏“以经营血汗工厂这种令人不舒服的话题为卖点”（游戏邦注：苹果在今年1月份还移除了一款有关叙利亚内战的游戏《Endgame:Syria》）。

Sweatshop HD(from reallyfancy)

Little Loud公司主管Simon Parkin表示，苹果声称这款游戏涉及压榨劳动力、雇佣童工等严肃话题，所以不合适在App Store销售，但他认为这款游戏旨在拷问血汗工厂对工人的剥削，让玩家了解自己身上的名牌服装的来源。不幸的是，这些解释并没有让苹果动摇，游戏仍无法重返App Store进行销售。

6）据pocketgamer报道，社交游戏公司Pocket Gems最近发布图表显示，目前拥有分辨率达1280*720最新Android智能手机的用户价值比分辨率仅为480*320的手机用户高10倍，比分辨率为640*480设备的用户高5倍。

从iPhone平台来看，拥有iPhone 3GS（分辨率为480*320）的用户价值比iPhone 5（1130*640）的用户价值低3倍。比起480*320的Android设备，iPhone 3GS的用户盈利性更接近于640*480的Android设备。

至于iPad平台，无论是原版iPad还是最新的iPad mini，各个版本的用户收益比率差别并不大。

screen-resolution-vs-monetisation-2012(from Pocket Gems)

7）据games.com报道，为庆祝卡牌战斗游戏《Rage of Bahamut》上线一周年，开发商Cygames及发行商DeNA最近发布数据指出，该游戏每月活跃用户达1000万；

在过去一年中，这款游戏有253天位居美国Google Play游戏收益榜单第一名；有202天位居美国App Store游戏收益榜单前10名；在25个国家/地区的Google Play应用收益榜单位居前3名。

rage-of-bahamut infographic(from games)

（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）Zynga reveals updates for Zynga.com web platform

Mike Thompson

Zynga today revealed its planned update for its web platform of Zynga.com.

In a blog post, CTO Cadir Lee explains that the past year was an extended beta period for the platform. During this time, the beta “gave us an opportunity to have a real dialogue with you about things you want and care about,” he writes. As a result, he explains, Zynga listened to users’ desires to share progress in games, earn achievements and create unique player names for games beyond Words With Friends and Draw Something.

As a result, Zynga is now getting ready to roll out a new version of the site. Lee says that starting next week players will encounter a new “streamlined” sign up process that allows users to create an account solely dedicated to playing games (though all Zynga.com players will continue to the option to connect their Facebook accounts and only share what they want with the gaming community).

Lee says features like live Social Stream, Fast Load and Online Presence (a way to check and see who’s playing what games) will also remain.

Finally, Lee re-affirms the company’s commitment to its publishing partners, calling out Mob Science’s Legends: Rise of a Hero and Playdemic’s Village Life as examples of successful games that have helped introduce players to other kinds of games outside of Zynga’s regular purview.（source：insidesocialgames）

2）More than 100 million Americans prefer free-to-play games

By Joe Jasko

We’ve heard a lot of talk lately around these parts that more and more established game developers are going the way of the free-to-play model. Well it turns out there’s a very good reason for that. A recent study conducted by PlaySpan, in conjunction with Frank N. Magid Associations has shown that an astounding 77% of gamers (and 110 million Americans) spend more time playing free-to-play games than pay-to-play games. The December 2012 study surveyed current gamers between the ages of 13-54, where it was deemed that 52% of these gamers were men and 48% were women.

PlaySpan also unearthed some interesting numbers in regards to age and gender demographics of gamers. While the study revealed that 82% of women preferred the free-to-play model over 72% of men, it also showed that men were three times more likely to make in-app purchases than women, with an average of $30.59 per month spent on free-to-play games. However, despite these figures, men were also more likely to play games on dedicated consoles, while women mostly preferred gaming on smartphones and tablets. Another interesting revelation is that 18-24 year-old women tend to outspend men on pay-to-play games by an average $10 margin.

According to the same survey, the top genres played include (in order) strategy, arcade games, and games on a smartphone or tablet; while games on social networking sites, simulation games, and music/rhythm games are bringing up the rear. Men have been shown to spend twice as much time playing RPG, action, and sports genres than women, while women are three times more likely to play games on social networking sites.

So what do we do with all of this new information? Andre Machicao, head of PlaySpan has a few choice words on what this could mean for the future of gaming: “Developers are faced with more platform choices and monetization channels than ever before, and these survey results offer a clear view into where developers should be placing their bets to broaden their audience.” Will we start to see the free-to-play model venture more into traditional home gaming consoles? After all, Sony’s recently announced PlayStation 4, which caters to the independent developer, plans to offer full game trials of everything in their catalog at no initial cost to the user. But perhaps most shockingly were the PlaySpan results that smartphones are now on equal ground with home consoles as the preferred gaming platform of choice.

So what do your personal statistics look like for free-to-play games? How much have you spent on free-to-play titles in the last month?（source：gamezebo）

3）Tencent paid $330M for 40% of Epic Games

Dean Takahashi

Last year, Epic Games sold a 40 percent ownership stake to China’s Tencent, according to an interview with Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney. That makes the deal one of the biggest investments in games last year, and it values Epic Games at $825 million.

Tencent bought a minority stake in the Gears of War game studio last year, but didn’t disclose how much it paid. But Sweeney confirmed to Polygon that Tencent bought 48.4 percent of the outstanding shares of Epic in June. That amounts to 40 percent of the company when you consider employee stock options. Tencent has two representatives now on Epic’s board.

“As part of the investment, two Tencent representatives joined Epic’s board of directors, in addition to the three directors and two observers appointed by Epic,” Sweeney told Polygon.

“We’re thrilled to have a world-leading partner in Tencent, who gives Epic unique access to the Chinese market as we head into the next chapter of our 21-year history as a leading independent developer.”

Tencent recently published financial documents reveal that the Chinese company, which has a market value of around $50 billion or so, paid $330 million for its stake in Epic. The move was part of the company’s strategy of working with and learning from the best game developers in the world.

After the deal was announced, Epic Games lost some of its veteran developers. Mike Capps retired as president. Design director Cliff Bleszinski also quit, and Rod Fergusson left to become an executive at BioShock Infinite creator Irrational Games.

Tencent also owns a majority stake in League of Legends developer Riot Games.（source：venturebeat）

4）Apple warns developers it will stop accepting apps that access UDIDs on May 1

By Erica Ogg

t’s been hinted at and implied in the past, but Apple is now serious about apps using universal devices identifiers (UDIDs): starting May 1, such apps will be rejected from the App Store, the company told its third-party developers on Thursday.

On its developer site Apple writes:

Starting May 1, the App Store will no longer accept new apps or app updates that access UDIDs. Please update your apps and servers to associate users with the Vendor or Advertising identifiers introduced in iOS 6.

UDIDs, which were intended to be anonymous, have been used by publishers, developers and advertisers to track their app’s usage and more accurately target advertisements almost since the App Store opened in 2008. But there are huge privacy implications with that practice: with just a bit more identifying data, a device’s UDID can be traced to a specific owner.

Apple first mentioned it would start rejecting apps that used UDIDs, due to privacy concerns, in late 2011. Then almost exactly a year ago, there were signs the company’s app review team had begun enforcing that rule. In September 2012, Apple introduced a replacement system for advertisers to use — the Advertising Identifier, an anonymized number that users can choose to reset, or opt out of altogether.

By May 1, the Advertising Identifier will have been available for eight months; plenty of time for those who want to understand how their apps are being used to switch over to the new system.

Besides UDID use, 9to5Mac notes that App Store reviewers will also be looking for apps that aren’t optimized for Retina displays and will reject them, along with iPhone apps that are not optimized for the 4-inch screen of the iPhone 5.（source：gigaom）

5）Apple drops ‘uncomfortable’ Sweatshop HD game from App Store

Jeffrey Grubb

We already know Apple’s stance on games that explore controversial subjects. The company explicitly states that people who want to tackle touchy subjects should write a book and not make a game. In January, Apple blocked Endgame: Syria — which explores the Syrian civil war — from the App Store.

Apple is at it again. The company recently removed an iPad game called Sweatshop HD from its app platform, according to Pocket Gamer. Developer Little Loud produced the game to challenge young people to think about where their designer clothes come from.

Apple says it is “uncomfortable selling a game based around the theme of running a sweatshop.”

Similarly, I’m uncomfortable when people start talking about “that weird smell” after I skip my morning shower.

Littleloud’s Sweatshop HD is a strategy game where players control a middle manager in a clothing factory. The only way to rake in the maximum cash is to mistreat your employees.

Throughout last year, Apple made headlines for hiring suppliers like Foxconn, which employ questionable labor practices. Apple isn’t alone in using Foxconn, but it is the one blocking a game about sweatshops.

“Apple specifically cited references in the game to clothing factory managers ‘blocking fire escapes,’ ‘increasing work hours for labor,’ and issues around the child labor as reasons why the game was unsuitable for sale,” Littleloud head of games Simon Parkin told Pocket Gamer.

The developer attempted to get the game back on the App Store by clarifying that it is a work of fiction and that it doesn’t force players to exploit the workers.

“Rather, Sweatshop is a sympathetic examination of the pressures that all participants in the sweatshop system endure,” said Parkin. “Sadly, these clarifications and changes weren’t enough to see the game reinstated for sale.”（source：venturebeat）

6）Chart of the Week: Higher the screen resolution, higher the monetisation

by Jon Jordan

Given the millions of downloads it’s experienced and the millions of dollars it’s generated, social mobile publisher Pocket Gems is in a good position to provide some industry insight.

In an interesting research project, it’s looked back at how its games monetised during 2012 across devices of differing screen resolutions.

Considering Android and iPhone devices, we really shouldn’t be surprised that as resolution increases, so does the relative level of monetisation.

What is significant, however, is how much better the biggest resolution devices monetise.

Big, better

In terms of Android, users on the newest smartphones packing 1280×720 resolutions are 10 times more valuable than those on puny 480×320 devices, and five times more valuable than those running 640×480 devices.

In comparison, when it comes to iPhones (Pocket Gems doesn’t compare across platforms), the difference between a 480×320 resolution iPhone 3GS and an 1136×640 iPhone 5 is just three-fold.

We’d also assume that the 3GS monetises closer to a 640×480 Android phone than a 480×320 one.

As for iPad, as a different type of device compared to a phone, the relative monetisation ratio is around the same for each type, regardless of whether it’s an original iPad or an iPad mini.（source：pocketgamer）

7）As Rage of Bahamut turns one, take a look back with this stat infographic

by Brandy Shaul

It’s a good week for Cygames and DeNA, as the two companies are now celebrating the one-year anniversary of Rage of Bahamut, the incredibly popular card battle game that has found great success across both iOS and Android. One year after launch, Rage of Bahamut still pulls in 10 million active players each month, but that’s not the only stat we have about the game on this great occasion.

No, DeNA and Cygames have many more stats for us, like the fact that over 172 million cards were collected in the month of December 2012 alone. Over the last year, Rage of Bahamut spent 253 days as the #1 top grossing game on Google Play in the US, with the longest stretch lasting over 199 days from April until November. While many players may be satisfied in simply collecting cards, others are all about the battles, as over 10.5 million player versus player battles have taken place so far.

For more fun stats, including ones about Twitter mentions, popular card trades, and more, make sure to check out the full infographic below. If you’ve yet to dive into the world of Rage of Bahamut, or are one of the game’s newest players, make sure to check out our tips and tricks to get ahead.（source：games）