1）Rovio高管Peter Vestebacka日前宣布，《愤怒的小鸟》的所有版本在各个平台的下载量已达2.5亿次（游戏邦注：该游戏在3个月前实现1亿次下载量，在上月宣布实现2亿次下载量）。

Rovio目前正开发一款基于地理定位功能的新版本《Angry Brds Magic》，其董事长Kai Hed曾表示Rovio打算在未来五年内进行首次公开募股。

angry-birds-magic(from game.downloadatoz.com)

2）尽管鲜有社交游戏公司进军手机领域能够创造堪比Rovio、Pocket Gems和Storm8等开发商的辉煌战绩，但至少Zynga推出的几款手机版游戏已经显示出兆头。《Zynga Poker》过去一直徘徊在iOS综合应用榜单的前50名左右，但在上个月却跻身前5名，近日更是高居美国市场榜首。

zynga-ranking(from insidesocialgames)

由Zynga收购的手机游戏开发商Newtoy（现已并入Zynga With Friends团队）推出的新游戏《Hanging With Friends》最近也位居应用排行榜的第4名；还有不少人对Zynga日前发布的新版手机游戏《CityVille Hometown》寄以厚望。

3）据移动网络Millennial Media五月份数据显示，Android应用在该网站的广告收益已堪比iOS应用。调查指出，在虚拟货币销售和安装下载奖励这两方面的收益上，Android应用仍逊色于iOS应用，后者此类收益是Android应用的6至10倍左右。

App Revenue chart(from millennial media)

Millennial网站有一半以上的智能手机广告印象来自Android平台，这一数据几乎是iOS的两倍。该网站上智能手机广告印象发展最快的当属Windows Phone，WP7广告印象同比上月增幅达92%，而iPad同一时期的增长率为29%。

4）任天堂总裁岩田聪最近再度澄清，他并未在今年三月份的GDC大会上批评手机游戏行业，他称是媒体断章取义，误读了他的实际想法。他表示自己当时主要是想告诉开发者，“我们已经进入一个亟需重视并保护视频游戏价值的时代”，但不幸的是，他的发言结束后不少媒体误认为他是在传递质量重于数量的信息，或是在贬损手机和社交游戏领域，但这些想法实非他的本意。

岩田聪(from 3ds.pcgames.com.cn)

据All Things Digital报道，岩田聪在谈及免费模式时坚决表示，任天堂对这个策略“不感兴趣”。他称大部分玩家不会购买免费游戏中的虚拟商品，这类游戏仅有一小撮付费用户。他表示虽然有不少公司通过这种运营模式创造巨大收益，但整个产业不可仅偏重收益结果，因为这样会使游戏软件价值受挫，最终陷入难以挽回的局面。他坦言自己虽然也不知道免费模式能否长存，但很确信自己不会考虑往这个方向发展。

5）《光晕》开发商Bungie最近发布其首款手机应用《Bungie Mobile》，该应用主要锁定《光晕》玩家群体，支持他们时刻监查自己在《光晕：致远星》中的游戏进程，并通过其中的Bungie.net网站获取新闻和新功能。

Bungie Mobile(from appscout.com)

该公司高管Eric Osborne表示这款应用是他们向手机领域进军的第一步，他们已经制定了周全的Bungie.net Mobile的更新计划，未来还将推出更多手机应用。这款免费应用目前已投放苹果App Store，用户的平均评价是5颗星。

6）据TechCrunch报道，最近有传闻称Facebook打算推出一款照片分享应用，与Instagram、PicPlz、Path和Color等应用形成竞争之势。有观察者称这种功能单一，操作简单的应用，并不像是Facebook一贯的做法，因为Facebook过去的习惯是将其网站所有功能尽可能搬到手机版应用中。

facebook-photo-sharing(from insidemobileapps.com)

据称Instagram已通过抓取图片、选择过滤器然后发布图片的简单操作而迅速赢得人气，自其发布9个月以来，用户已达500万人，他们上传的图片超过1亿张。

7）Rockstar传统游戏元老Anthony Gowland（游戏邦注：他曾参与开发《侠盗猎车手：血战唐人街》和《荒野大镖客》）最近宣布退出AAA游戏领域，成立自己的工作室Mainly About Games，开发手机及网页游戏。

mainlyAboutGames_logo(from mainlyaboutgames)

他表示游戏产业的发展为开发者开辟了更多发行渠道，现在就是退出AAA游戏开发领域的绝佳时机，当下就是小型团队甚至是个人开发者独立打造成功项目的美好时代。据称Mainly About Games不仅专注于推出自己的原创作品，而且还将面向其他工作室或开发者提供游戏设计咨询服务。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）Angry Birds Hits 250M Downloads

by Mike Rose
 
iPhone and Android mega-hit Angry Birds has now been downloaded 250 million times across all versions and platforms.

The figure, confirmed by Rovio founder Peter Vestebacka to TechCrunch, means that the franchise has seen 50 million downloads in the last four weeks, since the company revealed last month that it had seen 200 million total downloads.

Only three months ago, Rovio said that the franchise had seen 100 million downloads overall. The original Angry Birds was among the top selling iOS apps in 2010, and led first day sales on Apple’s Mac app store in January.

Rovio is currently working on a location-based platform for the series called Angry Birds Magic, which will eventually be built into all Angry Birds titles.

After receiving $42 million in funding earlier this year, Rovio chairman Kaj Hed said the company was aiming for an initial public offering of stock sometime in the next five years.（source:gamasutra）  

2）With Three Titles in iOS’ Top Grossing 15, Is Zynga Starting to Get Mobile Right?

By Kim-Mai Cutler 

It’s been no secret that many of the Facebook platform’s stars have had a hard time reaching the same level of dominance on iOS where mobile-focused companies like Rovio, Pocket Gems and Storm8 have flourished.

But perhaps the 800-pound gorilla of the social gaming world, Zynga, is starting to get some things right.

For example, at the beginning of the year, the San Francisco-based company’s poker app hovered around the 50s on the top grossing list. It was being trounced by Texas Poker from Siberian developer (yes, Siberia) Kamagames Ltd. But now Zynga Poker has climbed to consistently rank in the top 5 over the past month and was even briefly #1 yesterday in the U.S.

With Zynga’s acquisition of Newtoy, the company bought Words With Friends, an app that is a reliable top 15 performer on the grossing list. The studio, which became part of Zynga With Friends, also just launched another hit last week called Hanging With Friends, which is now #4 (see right).

And today, the company’s introducing a mobile extension of its CityVille franchise called CityVille Hometown. （source:insidesocialgames）  

3）Android Apps Nearly Even With iOS In Mobile Advertising Revenue Share, Millennial Says

By Kim-Mai Cutler

Android applications pulled in nearly as much mobile advertising revenue as iOS apps in May, according to Millennial Media, one of the largest remaining independent mobile ad networks. This excludes revenue earned from sales of virtual currency or offers, an area where iOS still shines relative to Android as developers tell us they’re still making six to 10 times as much on Apple’s platform as Google’s.

Millennial says Android now makes up more than half of the smartphone impressions it serves — almost double what iOS has.

“We expect Android to start to steal share from Apple as developers start to create more applications for the Android platform to take advantage of the high volume of customers who have shifted to Android devices,” the company said.

Windows Phone is unsurprisingly the fastest growing platform in terms of smartphone impressions, probably because it’s growing from the lowest base. Millennial says Windows Phone 7 impressions are growing 92 percent month-over-month while the iPad is growing at a 29 percent month-over-month rate.（source:insidemobileapps） 
 
4）Iwata: I wasn’t criticising mobile devs at GDC

by Rob Crossley

Satoru Iwata’s stark warning for mobile game developers at this year’s Game Developers Conference had been widely misunderstood, the Nintendo president has said.

In March, the Nintendo chief tried to crystallise the dramatic business shifts taking place across the entire games industry, and made a series of observations in a significant GDC keynote speech.

But Iwata today says his words were taken out of context, misunderstood and misinterpreted.

During an investor meeting made last week, Iwata explained his intention was to tell developers “that we were coming to an era where it was important to consider how to protect the sense of value that we have in video games”.

He added: “Unfortunately, after I gave that speech, I think there may have been some misunderstanding that the message that I was trying to deliver was that quality was more important than quantity, or that perhaps I was criticising social platforms and mobile platforms, and the games that they had to offer, which wasn’t my intention.（source:develop-online）  

Free-to-play games are becoming more and more common in the industry, and while a number of companies — like EA and Ubisoft — are giving the model a try, don’t expect Nintendo to join in anytime soon. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has emphatically stated that Nintendo wants to preserve the value of software and is therefore not keen on releasing free-to-play titles.

“If we were simply going to say OK, the only the way we could sell more products is by decreasing the price, then there wouldn’t be a bright future and the entire industry will fold,” Iwata told All Things Digital. “When we look at the entire system of freemium, it’s not always that everyone is happy with the offers. Actually, there’s only a limited number of people who are willing to pay and many others are not paying for game titles at all.

“Nintendo is not interested,” he said simply.

Free-to-play games are, as the name suggests, given to users for free. The developer then makes money by offering premium microtransactions — XP bonuses, clothing, new weapons; whatever is appropriate for the game in question. In most cases, the large majority never pay a dime, leaving those who do pay to support the game.

When asked to address the success that some companies are seeing with F2P games, Iwata said it’s not all about the money you end up with right now. “It’s a little different. It’s not just the end result,” he said. “We can’t simply compare the total revenue generated at the consequence of developing one thing. My point is about how we can keep the public’s perception of the software. If we are going to destroy the value of the game software — once we have done so, it’s a difficult job to recover from that situation.”

So while a company like Zynga (no specific companies were mentioned by Iwata) is doing well now, the Nintendo boss is unsure if it’s something that’s sustainable long-term.

“Yes, it is true. There are great examples of advertising and doing the microtransactions, and several companies who have come up with that kind of system. But on the other hand, if you ask me, is this the system that can be sustained for the long time? I don’t know the answer. And, my point is that I’m not willing to go that direction, as well.” （source:1up）  

5）Bungie Enters Mobile Market With Community iOS App

by Frank Cifaldi

Halo creator Bungie launched its first mobile application this week in the form of Bungie Mobile, a community-oriented app that the company says will be “the first of many.”

Bungie Mobile allows users to monitor their progress in Halo: Reach and access news and features available on its Bungie.net website.

“It’s our first, small step into the mobile world,” says Bungie’s Eric Osborne.

“It really is just a beginning – our first, super cute baby step. We already have adult-type plans to keep updating Bungie.net Mobile with new features and enhancements in the months and years to come.”

The application is free, and is available worldwide on Apple’s App Store. As of this writing, it is averaging five stars based on 814 ratings. （source:gamasutra）  

6）Facebook Appears to Be Finally Moving Away From Its All-in-One Mobile App Strategy

By Kim-Mai Cutler 

Since launching its first native iPhone app in 2008, Facebook has taken an all-in-one approach to building mobile apps with most major features of the site accessible in a single application.

But it looks like that may be about to change with leaked photos of a forthcoming photo-sharing app obtained by TechCrunch, which would push the social network into a competitive, but nascent field of apps like Instagram, PicPlz, Path and Color.

Building standalone, feature-centered apps isn’t unanticipated. When Facebook acquired group messaging app Beluga earlier this year, it raised speculation that the company might also build a standalone messaging or chat app.

Upstarts have also captured sharing behavior that Facebook might think it should rightfully own. By honing the action of sharing a photo down to as little as snapping an image, choosing a filter then posting, Instagram has quickly amassed close to 100 million photos and 5 million users since its launch nine months ago.

We wouldn’t be surprised if this photo-sharing app is the first in a few experiments in this new direction. Lastly, this shows how Facebook has continued to be a fast-follower on concepts with traction like location-sharing and group deals.（source:insidemobileapps） 

7）Former Rockstar ace Anthony Gowland founds mobile micro-studio Mainly About Games
 
by Keith Andrew 

With 10 years’ worth of experience under his belt, former Rockstar man Anthony Gowland has officially unveiled his new venture: Mainly About Games.

The Edinburgh based studio is to develop games for both mobile and web, though Gowland – who has worked on the likes of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Red Dead Redemption – has said the firm’s real talent will be to create small scale titles with big ambitions.

The outsider

“My passion is in creating small titles that have solid gameplay hooks and big budget polish,” Gowland said of the move.

“With the varied distribution opportunities now available to developers, it felt like the perfect time to move away from AAA development. It’s totally viable for a small team, or even a single dedicated guy, to create and market a successful game independently.”

Mainly About Games won’t be solely focused on its own releases, however, with Gowland confirming that the studio will also offer freelance game design consultancy services.

“Each year there are a lot of games that are very good, when they could have been great,” added Gowland, who started out his career at Particle Systems (later part of Argonaut) in Sheffield.

“Playing through them you often get the impression that it’s the little details that are missing or have been overlooked. I think there’s a real benefit to having an outsider with a proven track record play through your game with a fresh pair of eyes.”（source:pocketgamer）