1.据venturebeat报道，位于伦敦的新兴企业TeePee日前获得了时代华纳旗下的特纳广播系统公司（Turner Broadcasting Systems）的投资，但并未公布具体款项。

teepee-games-logo

TeePee Games的跨平台游戏搜索服务，支持玩家在同一个网站搜索社交网站、手机应用商店、Falsh游戏网站等平台的游戏，目前正处于测试阶段，现有2.5万左右的用户。除此之外，该平台还可根据用户的喜好，向其提供个性化的游戏推荐服务。TeePee公司于2010年6月开业，并于去年11月份在种子轮融资中获得50万美元资金，现有7名成员，包括首席执行官Tony Pearce（游戏邦注：他是Player X公司前CEO）、董事长Nick Alexander（游戏邦注：世嘉欧洲前CEO）、首席内容总监Simon Jones（Game Jacket联合创始人）、首席运营官Charles Macleod（Metaflow前CEO）。

特纳广播系统公司欧洲总裁Jeff Kupsky表示，公司希望通过这项合作在数字及游戏领域找到更多发展机遇。

Tap Zoo

2.手机游戏公司Pocket Gems日前宣布旗下游戏已实现2800万次下载量。在该公司已推出的五款游戏中，以《Tap Zoo》战绩最为明显，它在过去31周中有27个星期进入了手机游戏前十强的行列。目前该游戏是全美排名第一的综合类手机游戏（游戏邦注：但该公司并未公布这款游戏的MAU或DAU等其他参数）。

观察者认为《Tap Zoo》在下载量上大获成功离不开一些因素：首先，它是一款植入内置付费功能的免费游戏，假如它是付费版本的游戏，下载量可能会比现在少十倍；其次，它并不通过干扰性的插页式广告，强迫用户购买虚拟货币，但玩家如果没有虚拟货币，就无法得到其中的许多动物和道具，所以他们需要通过购买或者通过广告推广服务下载其他应用，来获得虚拟货币。最后，这款游戏持续对内容进行更新，还推出了可杂交培育出狮虎等特异品种动物的多项新功能。

infinity-blade

3.Chair Entertainment公司创意总监Donald Mustard在最近的媒体采访中表示，掌机游戏将“不可避免”地采用更快捷、更符合用户需求的内容更新方式。该公司团队最近根据用户在论坛发布的贴子、电子邮件反馈以及其他沟通渠道获取的信息，更新了热门iOS游戏《无尽之剑》的大量免费内容。Mustard认为，在更新该游戏的过程中，“快速根据市场需求来添加内容非常关键”，并表示自己相信掌机游戏开发商最终也将不得不采用这种方式更新内容，因为这是不可避免的市场需求，我认为社交和手机游戏领域正在发生的情况，也终会改变掌机游戏的发展方式。因为新兴游戏领域及其市场灵活的发展方式的影响，掌机游戏在未来五年的面貌将与现在大为不同。

Adobe website

4.Adobe公司宣布推出更新版本的Creative Suite 5.5工具，支持开发者面向Android、黑莓、iOS等主流智能手机及平板电脑开发内容。这个新版本专门增强了HTML5，以及Flash和Flex授权工具的创新功能。该公司表示，Flash Builder 4.5、开源的Framework Flex 4.5支持开发者利用单独的工具链、编程语言和代码开发应用，减少开发者面向各个平台推出多个版本应用的时间和精力。

Brian Wong

5.加拿大新兴公司Kiip日前与Sephora、1-800-Flowers、Carl’s Jr和Sony Dash等品牌进行合作，向用户推出玩手机游戏赢取实物奖励的推广活动。该活动仅限iOS和Android手机游戏用户，如果玩家闯过了某个关卡，或者完成游戏中的某项任务，就可以在系统中输入邮件地址以兑换奖品。

Kiip的品牌营销活动的定位介于低端超市折扣和高端金卡奖励项目之间，由广告合作品牌提供奖品赞助，Kiip则根据CPE（游戏邦注：cost per engagement basis，用户的实际参与成本）进行收费，只有在用户获得奖品后才能收到款项。该公司19岁的董事长Brian Wong表示，“游戏化”正成为时下最流行Foursquare和Gowalla的签到服务特征，但用户并不会满足于获得某地市长头衔或者徽章之类的奖励，对他们来说只有满足实际需求的奖励才有意义。

jim-balsillie

6.RIM的一名首席执行官Mike Laziridis在《纽约时报》的采访中表示，公众不应该“只看消极面不看积极面”，不可仅关注黑莓智能手机失势等RIM负面新闻，而应正视RIM的发展和努力。

该公司另一名首席执行官Jim Balsillie补充表示，RIM在后iPhone时代的转型其实很值得称道，因为除了苹果以外，没有哪一家公司可以安然无恙地完成这种巨大的转型，并称这种转型远比人们想象的更困难，它甚至关系到一家公司的生死存亡。在他看来，对于一家在2007年iPhone登台前就推出智能手机平台的公司来说，RIM能够成功转身并且仍然没有出局，已经算是一项了不起的成就了。Balsillie同时还指出，公众应该认识到，RIM并不一定非得成为智能手机市场冠军才能站稳脚跟或者创造利润。

1.Turner Broadcasting Invests In TeePee For Game Discovery

London-based start-up TeePee, which operates a games discovery platform for social, Flash, and mobile titles, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting System division in Europe.

TeePee’s Geronimo platform offers a single hub where users can locate and store online games across social networks, mobile game stores (e.g. Apple’s App Store, Google Marketplace), and hundreds of thousands of Flash game sites. It’s currently in beta testing and has over 25,000 users, according to a report from VentureBeat.

The firm hopes to offer a platform comparable to Pandora’s music discovery service, helping users find new titles by picking from the tens of thousands of online and mobile games available on different sites and stores. Geronimo also features a recommendation engine that is designed to learn users’ tastes to customize its suggestions.

TeePee opened in June 2010 and announced its securing of $500,000 in seed funding last November. It has seven employees, including CEO Tony Pearce, former head of Player X; chairman Nick Alexander, previously CEO of Sega Europe; CCO Simon Jones, co-founder of Game Jacket; and COO Charles Macleod, once CEO of Metaflow.

“This series of deals signals Turner Broadcasting’s readiness to act on relevant investment and partnership opportunities in the digital and gaming space,” said Turner Broadcasting System Europe president Jeff Kupsky. （source:gamasutra）

2.Pocket Gems Passes 28 Million Downloads, Largely On Tap Zoo Hit

Birds aren’t the only animals that can make a top-grossing mobile game.

Pocket Gems, one of the handful of mobile game developers that has recently taken funding from a top-tier venture capital firm, just passed 28 million downloads with its casual, free-to-play title Tap Zoo leading the way. While the company has five apps out, Tap Zoo is one that’s been a fixture at the top of the charts for virtually all of its seven-month existence.

The game, which lets players manage a virtual zoo by buying and breeding animals, has been in the Top 10 grossing games for 27 out of the last 31 weeks. It’s the #1 highest-grossing app today in the U.S. (The company isn’t disclosing other metrics like MAU or DAU.)

“We like to think about games that are going to have a universal appeal,” said chief executive Daniel Terry. “They have to be easily accessible and attract a huge audience with a lot of diversity.”

There are a couple factors that have led to Tap Zoo’s success. First, it’s a free game that monetizes with in-app purchases of virtual currencies, meaning the game’s downloads are probably at least ten times what they would be if Tap Zoo were a paid app. The game doesn’t use in-your-face pressure to get its players to buy currency with invasive interstitials. But there are a number of animals and items that a player simply cannot get without having “Stars,” a virtual currency in the game that they can only get through in-app purchases or downloads of other apps. Pocket Gems constantly refreshes the content with new animals. Plus there are other unique features like cross-breeding, which leads to entirely made-up animals like ligers and more.（source: insidesocialgames）

3.Chair’s Mustard: In-App Purchases, Quick Updates Will ‘Inevitably’ Come To Console

In Gamasutra’s latest feature interview with Chair Entertainment, developers of iOS hit Infinity Blade, creative director Donald Mustard says that quicker, user-driven updates to console games are “inevitable.”

The team at Chair recently updated Infinity Blade with a large free content update — as well as delivering improvements and requests gleaned from forum posts, email feedback, and other user communication.

Gamasutra asked if Mustard would like to do this for Chair’s Xbox Live game Shadow Complex if he could.

His reply? “Absolutely.”

When it comes to Infinity Blade, he said the ability to “put in new content and adjust quickly to what the market’s doing is key.”

Said Mustard, “It’s empowering to us, and it’s empowering to the consumer. The ease with which we can do it is the lessening of the barrier; that means that we can do it frequently.”

He believes that console manufacturers will be forced to open up this style of updating on console games. Presently, even in downloadable titles, all patches and updates have to go through a lengthy certification process. Contracts are also not structured, in some cases, to allow for it.

However, said Mustard, “I think that the market will demand it, and that’s inevitable at this point.”

“I think that the things that are happening in the social space and the handheld space are going to completely change the way we look at console games moving forward. I think in five years the

console games will look very, very different than they do now, and it will be because of the work that’s happening in these spaces and the agile — I think ‘agile’ is probably the right word — just the agile way that the market’s developing,” Mustard said.（source: gamasutra）

4.Adobe looks to streamline cross-platform development with Creative Suite 5.5′s release

As part of what it bills is an attempt to keep developers on top of advances in smartphone and tablet platforms, the latest version of Adobe’s Creative Suite has support for mobile languages at its core.

Creative Suite 5.5 is the first update in Adobe’s new model of offering milestone refreshes to its family of products once every 24 months.

These will be supported by more modest updates – such is CS 5.5 – in a bid to better support developers.

Level playing field

“Creative Suite 5.5 will drive the development of new digital experiences across devices, including all major smartphones and tablets,” said president and CEO Shantanu Narayen.

“As publishers, media companies, advertisers and enterprises transform the way they develop and distribute their content, Adobe will be there to support them with technology innovations in content

creation, management, measurement and distribution.”

Adobe claims Creative Suite 5.5 is equipped to deal with the continued development of HTML5, as well as innovations to its Flash and Flex authorising tools.

Platforms specifically mentioned are Android, BlackBerry and iOS, with delivering “rich browser-based content” the key aim.

Time saver

In particular, the release of Flash Builder 4.5 and open source Framework Flex 4.5 have been highlighed by Adobe, as enabling developers to leverage a single tool chain, programming language and

code base to reduce both the amount of time and money spent on each app.

“With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, enterprises now need to ensure that their applications work seamlessly across many different types of devices,” added VP of development tooling Ed Rowe.

“Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5 will now allow companies to standardise on a common platform capable of delivering rich and consistent application experiences that perform great across Android,

BlackBerry Tablet OS and iOS devices.”（source:pocketgamer）

5.Kiip Brings Real-Life Rewards To Mobile Gaming

For gamers, leveling up or climbing a leaderboard is a basic part of game play. A new start-up, Kiip, however, provides real-life rewards for gamers.

The company has partnered with brands like Sephora, 1-800-Flowers, Carl’s Jr. and Sony Dash to provide in-app promotions.

The  service, which is currently only on iOS and Android on mobile games, pops up a screen with a promotion when a gamer moves up a level or achieves something else in a game. Players can enter their email addresses to redeem the promotion later.

Beyond gaming, “gamification” has grown as  check-in services like Foursquare and Gowalla have used badges and mayorships to reward activity. But people eventually will want more than just pixels and digital trophies, says Kiip Chief Executive Brian Wong.

“The world is focused on gamification and achievements,” Wong says. “Achievements are great but they only go so far. You can only get a mayorship or badge and only fulfill so much personal desire. It’s pretty limited until real elements are incorporated.”

The Kiip rewards are designed to have some value and occupy a middle ground between low-end supermarket coupons and high-end Gold Card-style programs.

The brands themselves provide the fulfillment of the promotion. Meanwhile, Kiip charges on a “CPE” or cost per engagement basis and only gets paid when people redeem an offer.

Kiip has started in the mobile market where gaming is more fragmented–and it can aggregate developers for marketers to target–but it seems a natural for games on PCs and other platforms.

While many start-ups have focused on advertising (think Admob),  promotions, particularly from large consumer packaged goods companies, are an overloooked sector, Wong says.

The company, founded by former Digg employees, last year raised seed funding from True Ventures and has just raised a $4 million Series A round led by Hummer Winblad, along with Dave Morin and Crosslink Capital.（source:forbes）

6.Smartphone transition is where tech companies go to die, says RIM CEO Balsille

It might sound churlish, but RIM co-CEO Mike Laziridis’ call for critics to recognise the company’s successes comes with a pertinent point.

Laziridis made the statement in an interview with the New York Times, claiming that people are all too keen to focus on the negative – in particular, BlackBerry’s loss of share in the smartphone market to rivals iOS and Android.

In his view, however, the last few years at RIM have been the opposite of  doom and gloom; not that analysts and the press will call it.

Going global

“Why is it that people don’t appreciate our growth?” he said.

“Why is it that people don’t appreciate the fact that we spent the last four years going global? Why is it that people don’t appreciate that we have 500 carriers in 170 countries with products in almost 30 languages?”

Lazaridis view was been backed up by RIM’s other co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who added that RIM’s transition post-iPhone comes in an environment where such wide scale change can be killer.

“No other technology company other than Apple has successfully transitioned their platform,” he said.

“It’s almost never done, and it’s way harder than you realise. This transition is where tech companies go to die.”

In other words, iOS and Android represented fresh efforts. For the companies that offered up smartphone platforms before iPhone launched in 2007 – Microsoft, Palm, Nokia – transition has not been so easy.

His argument is for RIM to come out the other side and still in the game is an achievement.

Moving forward

Balsillie also believes the press should realise you don’t have to be number one in the smartphone market to still be valid and, most importantly, profitable.

“To be pretty blunt about this: how many people in the world have computing devices in phones, and how many do we have to sell to ensure that we’re a rip-roaring success over the next five years?” he concluded.

“You’ll find that you don’t have to be all things to all people.”

The first test of that approach will come with the April 19 release of the company’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. （source:pocketgamer）