1）Distimo最近数据显示，一款应用要跻身美国苹果App Store免费iPhone应用榜单前10名，其5月份日均下载量就必须达到7.2万次。而付费应用榜单前10名的日均下载门槛则是4000次。

若要进入美国iPhone应用营收榜单前50名，其日常收益门槛就是1.2万美元，而iPad对应榜单的收益门槛则是1万200美元，Google Play对应榜单的收益门槛则是6600美元。

Downloads-Revenues-Top-Apps-iPhone(from Distimo)

Disimo发现应用保持排名所需的日常下载量时有变化，一般而言，它们在周末时面临的竞争更激烈。在今年5月份每周四，应用进入美国iPhone免费榜单前10名所需的下载量仅是周一时的94%，若要在周日保持这一排名，其当天下载量就需要比周一时多11%。

Downloads-Per-Weekday-Rank-10-iPhone(from Distimo)

除此之外，一款应用若要保持在美国iPhone免费应用榜单前25名，其多数下载量就必须来自美国；而在日本，进入前25名免费榜单的应用，平均下载量比美国榜单同一名次的应用多38%左右。

2）据pocketgamer报道，苹果App Store最近再度调整欧洲市场的售价点，允许面向英国市场的开发者选择99便士或在欧元国家选择0.99欧元的售价。

目前来看，最先采用新售价点的是Chillingo游戏《Bridgy Jones》（原先售价为69便士或0.89欧元）。

App-Store-Europe(from todaysiphone)

此前英国iOS应用的最低售价点曾是59便士，后来在2011年6月提升至69便士；至于欧洲市场的最售价，也曾从0.79欧元上升至2012年10月份的0.89欧元。

3）据socialgamesobserver报道，KLab Inc.日前宣布公司已获得微软工作室授权，将开发基于《帝国时代》的手机游戏。

这个手机版游戏将首先瞄准英语国家的iOS和Android平台，并计划针对其他地区推出本土化版本，两者还将合作向Windows Phone平台发布该游戏。

lord-of-the-dragons(from serkantoto)

KLab Inc.是日本领先的社交手机游戏公司，在日本拥有超过2800万的注册用户。2012年发布首款面向全球市场的游戏《Lord of the Dragons》，该游戏在美国App Store上线仅两周就晋升至免费游戏榜单第一名，并于今年3月16日同时进入日本和美国付费榜单前10名。

4）据insidemobileapps报道，Juniper Networks最近发布报告显示，2011年移动平台的恶意软件增长155%，从2012年3月至2013年3月，这一增幅更是高达614%。

有92%智能手机曾遭到黑客威胁，其中以Android平台最为典型。数据显示，如果用户采用了最新版本的手机操作系统，就有可能避免77%的恶意软件威胁。

android_malware(from digitizor.com)

iOS设备甚至少遇到恶意软件的原因并非苹果产品安全性不断增长，而只是因为网络不法分子就是瞄准了更为盛行的Android平台（预计到2017年投入使用的Android手机将达10亿台）。

5）据venturebeat报道，id Software总裁Todd Hollenshead日前宣布离开其已就职17年的公司，他曾负责主导公司的运营业务，而开发层面的工作则主要由John Carmack负责。

ZeniMax Media于2009年收购id Software，它旗下运营的另一家游戏公司则是Bethesda Softworks。此后Hollenshead在这个更大的公司中的地位相当于中层管理。

todd-Hollenshead(from gametrailers.com)

Hollenshead于1996年加入id Software并担任首席执行官，公司被ZeniMax收购后则担任总裁。在2011年，id游戏《Rage》历经多年开发终于面世，但销量和反响都很令人失望，之后推出的《毁灭战士4》也同样遭遇了开发上的问题。

6）据venturebeat报道，Zynga联合创始人Eric Schiermeyer日前加入Bee Cave Games，担任该公司股东和董事会顾问（游戏邦注：Bee Cave Games是一家位于德州的社交博彩游戏初创公司，成立于2012年，曾推出Facebook纸牌游戏《Blackjack Casino》，该游戏已成为Facebook发展最快的第二大博彩游戏）。

Blackjack Casino(from beecavegames.com)

Schiermeyer是2007年Mark Pincus创办Zynga时的首批元老之一，带领团队开发了社交扑克游戏《 Texas Hold’em Poker》（后更名为《Zynga Poker》），他同时还是Zynga参数导向型设计方法的中坚力量。（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）Breaking into the iOS leaderboards, Distimo shares required revenue and downloads to place in the charts

Jonathan Espinosa

For app developers, finding top placement in a respective app store charts can be helpful for discoverability and viral growth. However, breaking into the top charts has become increasingly difficult for the iOS store. Mobile app analytics firm, Distimo, has released some statistics on what it takes for an application to break into the top charts in the iOS app store.

According to a monthly report, the company found that:

An app that ranked number 10 in the top overall free charts in the Apple App Store for iPhone in the U.S. generated 72K downloads per day on average during May 2013. An app in the paid charts that ranked number 10 generated 4K downloads on average.

An app that ranked number 50 in the top grossing charts in the Apple App Store for iPhone in the U.S. generated $12K on average per day during May 2013, while on iPad this number was $10.2K. The revenue was significantly lower in Google Play at $6.6K.

Of the downloads required for rank 10 in the top overall free on an average Monday in May 2013, only 94% of these downloads were required on Thursdays for this position in the Apple App

Store for iPhone in the U.S. In order to obtain this position on a Sunday, an app needed 11% more downloads than on the average Monday.
Some additional findings that Distimo found was that the number of downloads required to ensure a top position can vary on a daily basis, for example, what may be enough downloads to place at the top of the charts on a weekday, is typically not enough for the weekends. The differences in the size of app markets across the world also makes a difference in terms of the number of downloads an app has to generate to reach top chart positions. In order to obtain rank 25 free in The Apple App Store for iPhone, most downloads are required in the United States. In Japan, an average app that ranked 25 in the free charts generated 38% of the downloads of an average app with that position in the U.S.

From these findings, it can be seen that Apple needs to introduce updates to its app discoverability tools for both developers and users. In iOS 7, the app store will introduce new category options for children apps and app popularity by location. It will also be removing the Genius component of the app store which would help users find other apps they might be interested in
using. The company has yet to introduce a significant update to how applications can be promoted or discovered easier.

For developers, these types of findings may make ensuring proper app discovery to seem like a daunting task. If the company is developing a free application, it is not easy to surpass the

72k download a day threshold for proper top 10 placement. However, there are many different platforms that can drive more downloads such as Facebook’s App Install Ads or proper search
placement.（source：insidemobileapps）

2）Dollar rules: Apple rolls out new 99p/0.99 euro price points to UK/European App Stores

by Jon Jordan

Europeans often feel they get a raw deal in terms of currency conversion compared to the mighty US dollar.

That’s why we stock up on iPads and jeans when we’re stateside.

And when it comes to the App Store, Apple has steadily been tightening the screw.

In the UK, the lowest price for apps and games used to be 59p, but this was bumped up to 69p in June 2011.

For Europeans, the lowest price rose from 0.79 to 0.89 euros in October 2012.

Up yours

Now Apple has done something rather subtle.

It’s allowing developers to choose a new price point – 99p in the UK or 0.99 euros in Euro-zone countries.

The first game that was noticed at this new level was Chillingo’s Bridgy Jones (previously 69p or 0.89 euros).

Certainly it will be interesting to see how many (or how quickly) these new prices becomes the dominant ‘lowest’ price point for new apps and games.

If that happens, the UK government won’t be impressed.

It’s trying to reduce inflation so – if this happens – an effective 43 percent increase in prices won’t do anything to improve the mood of a nation of consumers in the grip of austerity.（source：pocketgamer）

3）KLab Announces Licensing Deal for the Age of Empires Franchise

By Camilla Noon

KLab Inc. announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement to develop a mobile game version of Microsoft Studio’s Age of Empires franchise.

Under the terms of the agreement, KLab will develop a mobile game based on one of Microsoft Studio’s flagship franchises, Age of Empires. The game will initially be developed in English for iOS and Android and will be launched globally. Localization for other languages is also planned. KLab and Microsoft Studios will also collaborate to bring the game to the Windows phone
platform.

KLab is an industry leader in the social mobile network gaming with over 28 million registered users in Japan and is growing at a rapid pace, expanding beyond the Japanese market. In 2012,

KLab released its first global title “Lord of the Dragons”, a medieval fantasy card battle game that was created specifically for the global market in mind. Just two weeks after its release in the US App Store, it reached the # 1 spot on the Free Games chart. It also reached the top 10 Grossing charts in both the Japan and US App Stores on March 16, 2013.

KLab plans to work with the Microsoft Studio’s team to provide its know-how and experience in social mobile gaming with a common goal to extend and bring the Age of Empires excitement in new ways to the new and existing fans.

“I am honored we have the opportunity to create and offer a mobile game version of Microsoft Studio’s Age of Empires franchise. We look forward to contributing our knowledge in social mobile gaming as well as our experience in the Japanese market,” said Tetsuya Sanada, CEO of KLab.

The Age of Empires series has been in development for more than 15 years, and spans seven award-winning games (and three spin-offs) that have sold more than 22 million copies to customers all over the world. It is one of the highest selling PC franchises of all time.

Microsoft Studio’s Age of Empires Executive Producer, Kevin Perry, commented: “The Age of Empires is an epic as broad as human history. I’m proud to work with KLab, especially given their social mobile gaming expertise, to expand the range of excellent gaming experiences available to Age of Empires fans, as well as introduce our stories to a new audience. Everyone deserves the chance to wield the power of history.”（source：socialgamesobserver）

4）Android Mobile Malware on The Rise

Brian Mossop

Mobile malware increased 155% in 2011, and 614% from March 2012 to March 2013, according to CNET and a white paper by Juniper Networks.

Most smartphone hacks –92%, in fact – aimed for the Android platform. Data suggest that 77% of threats could have be eliminated if users were running the most current version of the operating system, which patches security threats using system updates.

The fact that phones running iOS rarely get malware is not due to increased security in Apple’s mobile products. Rather, it simply means that cyber criminals focus on the more prevalent

Android platform, which is expected to run on 1 billion phones by 2017.（source：insidemobileapps）

5）Bethesda confirms departure of id Software’s longtime biz guy

Dean Takahashi

Todd Hollenshead, the president of id Software, has left the company after 17 years. The departure marks another milestone in a tumultuous time for the game studio that has made first-person shooters such as Doom, Quake, and Rage.

The chief executive officers of id Software were known early on as the “biz guys.” But Hollenshead was a longtime head of the company who handled all of its business matters while the development was handled by others such as graphics wizard John Carmack.

ZeniMax Media acquired id Software in 2009 and ran it alongside Bethesda Softworks, a game publisher it also owns. After that, Hollenshead was more like a middle manager in a larger company.

In a statement, Bethesda Softworks wrote, “After many years with the studio, Todd Hollenshead decided to leave id Software to pursue other personal interests. While Todd was not part of the development teams, he was an integral part of id Software’s success as the business head of the studio, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

Hollenshead joined id as CEO in 1996 and became president of the division after the ZeniMax deal. In 2011, Rage debuted after many years of development, but the title was a disappointment on both a sales and a critical level. The company said it was focusing its efforts on Doom 4, but that game has had a troubled development as well. ZeniMax and Bethesda recently revealed that developer Machine Games has been working on Wolfenstein: The New Order, based on id’s long-running Wolfenstein series.（source：venturebeat）

6）Zynga cofounder joins social casino game maker as investor and adviser

Dean Takahashi

Zynga cofounder Eric Schiermeyer has joined Bee Cave Games as an investor and board adviser.

The Austin, Texas-based Bee Cave Games is the developer of Blackjack Casino, a Facebook card game that’s rising in the charts. Social casino game startups have been hot for the last couple of years as the category has soared in popularity and real-money gambling barriers come down in various territories.

Schiermeyer was part of the group that joined Mark Pincus in starting Zynga in 2007. Schiermeyer led the team that created the social poker game Texas Hold’em Poker, which was renamed Zynga Poker and became the company’s ticket to riches in social gaming. He was a force behind the metric-driven approach that Zynga adopted for managing its live game services.

“Of all my founder interviews, it was my time with Eric that made me choose to sell GoPets to Zynga instead of other companies.” said Bee Cave Games chief executive Erik Bethke. “When I asked Eric ‘Which genres of games do you want to build here at Zynga: RPG, RTS, Casino, etc.?’ he smiled, looked at me intently, and said, ‘I don’t think about which genres; that is not the right question — I want to build products that reach 100 million people a day in all genres.’ And I was hooked instantly.”

Bethke went on to work with Schiermeyer on Zynga’s popular Mafia Wars game, the company’s second hit.

“It was Eric that trained me, along with all the other great product leaders on the best practices for data-driven game development and execution, such as the numbers review and roadmap processes that I still use to this day,” said Bethke. “I am so happy to have him as an adviser to our board. He will make Bee Cave Games a far stronger company with his vision and energy pushing us.”

Schiermeyer said, “I’m proud to invest in Erik Bethke and Bee Cave Games, having worked with Erik for many years and watched his ability to execute and adapt to changing circumstances makes me very confident in his abilities. He has done this several times before — building companies and being successful is old hat for him, and he has all the qualities I look for in an entrepreneur. The bottom line is that Erik won’t give up, won’t give in or fail as CEO of Bee Cave Games.”

Blackjack Casino is the No. 2 fastest-growing casino game on Facebook. The company is adapting the title for iOS, Android and 14 additional languages. Bee Cave Games was founded in 2012.（source：venturebeat）