1）据pocketgamer报道，最近App Store平均每天有60款新版《Flappy Bird》克隆游戏上线，平均每小时新增2.5款。

目前App Store已经有300多款该类克隆游戏，相当于每24分钟就有一款此类游戏上线。

pocketgamer对《Flappy Bird》克隆游戏的定义就是，要求玩家引导游戏角色跳过障碍的游戏，这些角色可能是小鸟、小鱼、老鹰、山羊、彩虹猫，也可能是Justin Bieber、Miley Cyrus等娱乐圈人物，甚至还包括《Flappy Bird》开发者Dong Nguyen的头像。

flap-stats-flappy-clone(from pocketgamer)

pocketgamer指出，由于苹果仅在协调世界时15：00和8：00这个时间段发布应用，导致某些克隆游戏可以在一个小时内大量涌现。尽管苹果已经开始取缔这些Flappy Bird克隆游戏，但目前的局势仍然有所失控，苹果也没有跟进任何强力手段应对这一情况。

2）据venturebeat报道，Zynga日前确认了将取消关闭《YoVille》的决策。该公司曾在1月份透露将关闭这款于2008年上线的城建模拟游戏，以便节省从Facebook向移动平台转型的开支，但该游戏粉丝对这一决策不满，曾联名上书要求Zynga撤销这一决定。

Zynga’s YoVille(from thehackernews.com)

为此，Zynga于日前向这些玩家发表声明，表示不打算在3月31日关闭游戏，而是将把该游戏回售给Big Viking（《YoVille》原开发商），由后者继续运营这款游戏。

3）据gamasutra报道，《神秘海域》系列主要作者和创意总监Amy Henning日前离开Playstation游戏工作室Naughty Dog。

在此之前，她曾担任EA设计师，在Crystal Dynamics任总监，其最著名代表作是《Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver》以及《神秘海域》系列——甚至因后者而赢得美国编剧工会大奖。

Amy Hennig(from ctrlaltkill.org)

据IGN知情人士透露，Henning被Naughty Dog另一热门大作《最后的幸存者》创意总监“排挤”出门，但这一说法尚未得到索尼和Naughty Dog的官方证实。

4）据venturebeat报道，前Google Play营销元老Patrick Mork日前与数位移动和主机游戏业内人士创立新游戏工作室Unspoken Tales，计划面向玩家推出动作角色扮演游戏（含多人模式及合作功能）。

patrick_mork(from allthingsd.com)

目前加入该工作室的成员还包括前动视上海工作室美术开发副总裁Alessandro Tento（将任首席创意官，曾参与开发《使命召唤》、《吉他英雄》等游戏），前Kixeye工程副总裁Danielle Deibler（将担任首席技术官），前Big Head Mode首席创意官Scott Foe（将任首席产品官），以及一位拥有18年角色游戏开发经验的资深游戏设计师（Mork对此人姓名秘而不宣）。

Mork自2001年以来就已投入游戏领域，曾在西班牙创办了一家网游公司，并拥有在手机游戏公司iPlay和Glu的从业经验；于2009年加入GetJar成为该公司第6号成员；于2011年加入谷歌领导Android Market更名为Google Play的过程，去年7月曾离职加入Signia这家风投机构。

5）据pocketgamer报道，微软最近在其网站上发布了招聘广告，其中内容表明微软或许有意将Xbox Live服务引进iOS和Android平台，“我们将创造开源、轻量型，在包括Windows Store、windows phone、iOS和Android等多个平台可扩展可延伸的现代框架”——但目前该招聘广告已经删除了这一描述内容。

Xbox Live(from 3dmgame.com)

目前Xbox Live的使用需要微软的认证和许可，这种过程吓退了许多有意使用该服务的开发者。微软或将通过降低这些限制和门槛，吸引开发者将Xbox Live整合到自己的项目中，从而帮助微软与苹果Game Center等平台相抗衡。（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）60 new Flappy Bird clones hit the App Store every day

by Keith Andrew

An average of 60 new Flappy Bird clones roll out on the App Store every day according to a report on sister site Pocket Gamer, with 2.5 clones added every hour.

That’s based on the last 300 Flappy Bird clones to have launched on Apple’s mobile marketplace, meaning a new game aping Dong Nguyen’s infamous release hits the App Store every 24 minutes.

In a flap

“Our definition of a Flappy Bird clone, by the way, is any game in which you guide some character through an obstacle course of pipes (or similar objects) hanging from the ceiling and sticking out of the ground,” details Pocket Gamer editor Mark Brown.

“That character could be a bird, a fish, an eagle, a super goat, Nyan Cat, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Bear Grylls on a jet pack, Flappy Bird inventor Dong Nguyen, the floating head of Kanye West, or the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.”

Left to right, Bieber Fever Max and Flying Pig

Pocket Gamer notes that, because of Apple’s uneven release schedule – apps only added between the hours of 15:00 and 08:00 UTC – you “couldn’t set your watch by it.”

“On some days, 14 Flappy games can be added in the space of one hour, for example,” Brown concludes.

It had been claimed that Apple was clamping down on Flappy Bird clones, though Pocket Gamer’s data suggests the Cupertino giant has either lost control, or is simply not enforcing any notable action.（source：pocketgamer）

2）Zynga spares its YoVille social game from the ax

Jeffrey Grubb

Don’t let anyone ever tell you that a small group of people can’t make a difference. Just look at what fans of the social game YoVille have done.

Zynga confirmed today that it has reversed its decision to close down YoVille. The social game publisher revealed in January that it was ending the city simulator, which launched in 2008, to help cut costs while it shifts from Facebook to mobile. Long-time YoVille fans were unhappy with this decision and banded together to ask the company to keep it running. Those efforts paid off, and Zynga sent a message to its YoVille players today confirming that the game is safe for now:

Dear YoVille Players,

We want to thank you for your continued support of YoVille over the last five years. The outpouring of love you have showed for YoVille, and your dedication to the communities you have nurtured over the years in the game has inspired all of us at Zynga. As some of you might know, we’ve had ongoing discussions with Big Viking Games, the original creators of YoVille, about ways we can work together to help keep the YoVille community alive. We are continuing to have those conversations and explore the future of YoVille and, as a result, will not be shutting down the game as planned on March 31.

GamesBeat can confirm that Zynga is potentially looking to sell YoVille back to Big Viking, and the game will continue running while the two parties are in negotiations.

Zynga is still in a transitional phase. The company established itself as a top publisher of casual Facebook games over the last few years, but that market stagnated. As its players head elsewhere, the publisher has started shutting down some of its products to cut costs. That includes once-big hits like The Ville, CityVille 2, Empires & Allies, and around a dozen more.

Zynga announced it was cutting off YoVille in January, which was only a month after the company said it would not shut it down. That original assurance led some fans to purchase in-game products and VIP passes. When the January announcement came down, many felt like they were tricked. The “YoVillians” — as they call themselves — took to Facebook to protest the closure.

While YoVille may live, it’s clear that Zynga doesn’t want it. Under new chief executive Don Mattrick, the social game publisher is focusing on mobile going forward. That includes revamped versions of its popular titles for smart devices, Words with Friends and Zynga Poker, as well as a mobile version of FarmVille 2. These releases are in addition to the games from NaturalMotion, the studio that Zynga acquired in January.（source：venturebeat）

3）Uncharted lead writer Amy Hennig leaves Naughty Dog

By Mike Rose

Amy Hennig, lead writer and creative director for the Uncharted series, has left PlayStation studio Naughty Dog.

Hennig has previously worked at Electronic Arts as a designer, and Crystal Dynamics as director. She’s best known for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and the aforementioned Uncharted series — the latter in particular won her a Writers Guild of America award.

In a statement to IGN, Sony confirmed that Hennig has left Naughty Dog. “Amy has made significant contributions to the game industry and we appreciate all she has done for Naughty Dog,” said the company. “The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted.”

Notably, Hennig was creative director on the upcoming Uncharted installment for PlayStation 4. The same IGN sources who told the website about her departure also allege that Hennig was “forced out” by the creative directors on Naughty Dog’s other big franchise The Last of Us, adding that they will now take over the Uncharted series — although this has not been officially verified. Gamasutra has contacted Naughty Dog.（source：gamasutra）

4）Former Google Play marketer gathers veterans for a new mobile game startup

Dean Takahashi

Former Google Play marketing boss Patrick Mork has teamed with industry veterans to form a new game studio called Unspoken Tales. It plans to make an action role-playing game with an eye toward providing gamers with a next-generation mobile experience.

Mork saw a lot of games come over the transom while he was at Google and indie app store GetJar before that. Now he wants to take a turn at running a game studio with a number of console and mobile game veterans. Mork has been an entrepreneur-in-residence at Signia Ventures while incubating the startup.

The company will focus on action RPGs such as Diablo. It will have multiplayer and cooperative features.

“It’s games that provide that tried mechanic of developing a character, but is also very much action related,” Mork said. “Games are supposed to be entertaining. The hardcore fans are not really finding that on mobile today.”

Joining him are Alessandro Tento, former vice president of art development at Activision’s Shanghai studio; Danielle Deibler, former vice president of engineering at Kixeye; and Scott Foe, former chief creative officer of Big Head Mode and a pioneer in mobile social games. The team has another game designer with 18 years of experience in role-playing games, but he’s “in hiding,” Mork said.

Mork has been in games since 2001, when he started a company in Spain based on networked gaming. He spent years at mobile game firms iPlay and Glu. In 2009, he joined GetJar as employee No. 6 and he specialized in “snatching away” Android exclusives from the Android Market, including Angry Birds.

In 2011, he joined Google to lead the rebranding of the Android Market as Google Play. He left in July last year to work at Signia, a venture fund which was started by former Playdom chairman Rick Thompson. Mork has been focused on distribution, marketing, and strategy. So he has recruited others to lead creative.

Tento will serve as chief creative officer. He has worked on titles like Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and Skylanders. Most recently, he was general manager of studios at Lakshya Digital in Singapore. Deibler will be chief technology officer and bring expertise in the engineering of social games on Facebook from her former position at Kixeye. And Foe will be chief product officer. He was once called the “Quentin Tarantino of video games” by the Escapist game publication. A 15-year veteran, Foe started his career with the team that launched the Sega Dreamcast.

Mork said it wasn’t as hard as he thought to recruit console veterans to a mobile game company.

“We believe that console is in decline, and it doesn’t have long-term staying power,” Mork said. “I wanted people with deep experience with console franchises, in game design and art, and high-quality game experiences. There are good reasons to build a multidisciplinary team with experience in backend infrastructure and customer support too.”

While the company will emphasize strong design, Mork will also bring ideas about how to monetize and market games amid a sea of competitors. And he wants to monetize players without “nickel and diming them.”

The company’s first title is slated for 2016. It is in talks about raising money but doesn’t have anything to announce yet. It is looking for established distribution partners too.

“We are in exciting times,” Mork said. “But it is a brutally competitive market. We’ll see a lot of fallout in the next 24 months, as mobile game studios will shut down because they can’t compete or come out with good marketing plans. To me, the ones who will win the mobile wars are the ones who will have great games and the best marketing.”（source：venturebeat）

5）Microsoft looks set to bring Xbox Live to iOS and Android

by Chris Kerr

Microsoft is looking to broaden Xbox Live’s presence on smartphones in a bid to make it easier for developers to integrate the service into their apps and games.

The news comes via a job listing on Microsoft’s careers website, which suggested the firm is looking to streamline its online service in order to make it more accessible.

Also of note is the suggestion that Xbox Live – which is currently restricted to Microsoft’s own Windows Phone – could make an appearance on iOS and Android.

What devs want

“We will create a modern framework that is open-source, lightweight, extensible and scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android,” read the job listing, which has since been removed.

At the moment Xbox Live requires certification and permission from Microsoft in order to be used, processes that might scare away developers interested in utilising the service.

By having fewer restrictions, Microsoft will be hoping that developers will be more enthusiastic about integrating Xbox Live into their projects, helping the company gain a foothold on rival platforms and compete with existing systems such as Apple’s Game Center.

The move also opens up the possibility of new features, such as cross-platform play, becoming a reality in the near future. （source：pocketgamer）