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每日观察:关注iPad等移动设备Wi-Fi使用率(6.22)

发布时间:2011-06-22 16:51:45 Tags:,,,

1)Take-Two Interactive首席执行官Strauss Zelnick近日表示,他认为平板电脑提供的出众游戏体验堪比零售包装游戏,所以平板电脑游戏的售价如果向后者看齐也并无不妥。他称《侠盗猎车手:血战唐人街》的iPhone版本“极为成功”,但iPhone游戏的价格点却并不能让该游戏获得可观的经济效益。

Strauss-Zelnick(from community.blogs.wesleyan.edu)

Strauss-Zelnick(from community.blogs.wesleyan.edu)

据他所言,开发商都希望制作可获得大量用户,同时又能以较高价格出手的游戏,平板电脑是一个出色的游戏平台,它可以提供极富吸引力的游戏体验;iPhonw游戏售价较低是因为这个平台创造的只是5分钟左右,而非数个小时的游戏体验,小型屏幕的互动娱乐体验快速而易消化,而中等和大型屏幕的娱乐体验则极具沉浸感。Take-Two将继续推动《Duke Nukem》这一原创作品的项目发展,未来也有可能将其推向视频游戏之外的领域。

2)前EA高管Ben Cousins日前加盟手机游戏公司Ngmoco,负责组建该公司的瑞典工作室。Cousins之前是EA免费游戏工作室Easy Studios总经理,他在今年3月份宣布离职。

位于瑞典斯德哥尔摩的Ngmoco新工作室将专注于针对DeNA社交游戏平台Mobage开发免费游戏,该公司不久前还收购了长期合作伙伴Rough Cookie,以建立公司在欧洲的影响力。

Ben Cousins(from next-gen.biz)

Ben Cousins(from next-gen.biz)

3)休闲游戏公司Big Fish Games最近在iPad平台发布新款管理类游戏《Hospital Haste HD》,用户可免费下载游戏,但需付费4.99美元才能体验完整版游戏内容。该游戏与《美女餐厅》和《Taper World Tour》风格类似,要求玩家扮演医生接待源源不断的病人,随着游戏发展和升级,玩家将遇到数量更多的疑难杂症病人,不但需同时应对多名病人,而且还需提供多种不同治疗方案。

Hospital-Haste-HD(from eng.gamecentrix.com)

Hospital-Haste-HD(from eng.gamecentrix.com)

从各方面来看看,《Hospital Haste HD》都堪称一款趣味十足,继承了Big Fish Games高质量传统,值得用户一试的好游戏。

4)地理定位服务应用Foursquare日前宣布全球用户在两年时间内已超过1000万,其中以北美用户规模最为庞大;目前用户在非美国地区的签到次数已达3.58亿,Foursquare美国用户总共访问了169个国家。

foursquare map(from readwriteweb.com)

foursquare map(from readwriteweb.com)

5)手机游戏《Battleheart》开发商Mika Mobile最近发贴表示,Android开发者难以盈利的原因在于Android操作系统本身以及Android Market固有的技术性障碍。该文指出,常有用户发送邮件向公司抱怨他们无法下载或安装游戏,但这实际上并非应用本身的问题,而应归咎于Android自身的麻烦。

除此之外,Android Market绑定的Goolge Checkout帐号也让开发者备感头疼——用户如果有所不满或者怨言,他们就会直接将矛头指向开发者,但在iOS平台上,用户的意见基本上由苹果来处理。

Battleheart(from missroad.com)

Battleheart(from missroad.com)

尽管如此,该公司仍表示他们还是会继续面向Android平台开发游戏,《Battleheart》Android版本的每日收益与iOS版本十分接近,可实现相当于后者80%的收益,而且这一版本在Android平台的排名也比在iOS平台更靠前(游戏邦注:它在Android应用榜单中跻身前50名,在App Store甚至无缘前200名),在Android Market获得的评价是4.8分,而在App Store则是4.5分。对他们来讲,高质量的产品在Android平台仍会很有市场。

6)手机应用公司Outfit7日前与好莱坞人才机构William Morris Endeavor(WMR)签订协议,将把包括《Talking Tom Cat》在内的Outfit7产品推向电视、电影和书籍等传媒领域。

Outfit7应用在不足一年时间中的下载量已超过1.35亿次,目前平均每月下载量达1500万次,用户向Facebook和YouTube上传的Talking系列视频超过40万次。

Talking-Tom-Cat(from getandroidstuff.com)

Talking-Tom-Cat(from getandroidstuff.com)

7)Needham & Co.最近调查表明,今年第一季度,Android在美国智能手机市场份额已从原来的52.4%下滑至49.5%,在世界首次出现了下降趋势。该调查还指出,这还只是Android市场份额流失的一个开端,随着威瑞森和AT&T相继推出iPhone手机,苹果的份额仍将持续上扬并且蚕食Android市场蛋糕。苹果在第一季度的市场份额已从上一季度的17.2%上升至29.5%,之前的NPD报告也显示,Android在第一季度市场份额(50%)比上一季度下跌3个百分点,而iOS在同一时期则增加了9个百分点,所占比例为28%。

Apple-vs-Android(from rssphone.com)

Apple-vs-Android(from rssphone.com)

8)SuperData Research最近更新其2011年在线支付报告,并通过对200多万笔交易纪录的观察预测,2015年采用信用卡支付方式的美国虚拟商品交易将占30%,比目前的37%略为下降,届时将流失6.14亿美元左右的信用卡交易额。该报告指出,出现这种情况的原因在于,基于现金的支付手段已成为青少年用户的首选,另外由于2009 CARD ACT法案提高了用户申请信用卡的年龄要求,游戏储值卡、手机支付方式仍将在这个市场中发挥重要作用。

9)据云网络服务供应商Meraki最新报告显示,以iPad、Android手机和平板电脑为代表的移动设备对Meraki的Wi-Fi网络使用率已超过电脑设备。

2010 vs 2011 Wi-Fi Device Type Comparison(from Meraki)

2010 vs 2011 Wi-Fi Device Type Comparison(from Meraki)

该报告指出,2010年Windows和Mac OS X约占访问Wi-Fi网络设备的64%,而iOS(包括iPhone、iPod Touch)仅占32%,Android甚至才1%。但现在iPad和Android在Wi-Fi设备中所占比例已达58%,Windows和Mac OS X仅占36%。

Average Monthly Wi-Fi Data Consumption(from Meraki)

Average Monthly Wi-Fi Data Consumption(from Meraki)

iPhone是Wi-Fi网络最受欢迎的移动设备,所占比例达32%;Android与iPod Touch相同,其比例均为11%;iPad对Wi-Fi网络使用率最高,每月消耗200MB流量,几乎是Android、iPhone和iPod Touch三者平均值的四倍。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

1)Ngmoco Hires Former EA Exec Ben Cousins To Establish Swedish Studio

by Mike Rose
 
Ben Cousins, formerly general manager at Electronic Arts, has been hired by mobile games company Ngmoco to form a new studio in Sweden.

Cousins was originally general manager of EA’s free-to-play-focused Easy Studios, and announced that he was departing from the company back in March as Battlefield Play4Free was launched.

The newly-formed Stockholm-based studio will focus on creating free-to-play games for DeNA’s Mobage social gaming platform, as well as titles for a global audience.

“The games industry is at an inflection point,” explained Cousins. “These platforms are bringing hundreds of millions of new gamers into the fold, and at the same time existing core gamers are discovering the innovation, immersion and connectivity they bring.”

“I’m excited to participate in helping shape what we believe is the future of games.”

Neil Young, CEO at Ngmoco, said of the move, “From pioneering downloadable content for handhelds to helping spearhead bold moves into free-to-play gaming for core games franchises, Ben brings a keen understanding of delivering great freemium games and AAA game development to Ngmoco. We’re thrilled to have him leading Ngmoco Sweden.”

Ngmoco also recently revealed that it had acquired long-time collaborator Rough Cookie as a means of establishing the company’s presence in Europe. (source:gamasutra)  

2)Take-Two: $40 Tablet Games Feasible

by Mike Rose
 
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick believes that, if a tablet game offers the same robust experience as a retail title, it should be reasonable to sell it as the same price point.

Talking to business site Forbes, Zelnick said that, while Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on iPhone had been “creatively successful,” the iPhone price point meant that the game was not “economically meaningful.”

“At the end of the day, we are interested in creating economic value, and what we intend to do is make something and sell it to millions and millions of people, and sell it at a high price,” he explained. “You don’t want to spend lots and lots of money to make something you are going to sell to a small amount of people at a low price.”

Asked whether a company should be able to charge $40 for a tablet game, Zelnick said, “I don’t see why not.”

“Tablets are ubiquitous. And tablets are a great game platform. And it’s the right sized screen. And you use the tablet to have an engaging experience,” he noted.

“So if all of that’s true, I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to sell a robust product for the same price point. The reason the price point is currently lower for an iPhone app is it is used for five minutes, and not for a hundred hours.”

“My take is that small screens will be used for a quick but interactive entertainment experience. Mid and large screens can be a robust and engaging entertainment experience.”

Zelnick also revealed that Take-Two will continue to take advantage of its ownership of the Duke Nukem IP in the future, potentially taking the franchise outside of video games.(source:gamasutra)  

3)Big Fish Games Steps Away From Adventure With Hospital Haste HD on iPad

By Christopher Mack

In recent weeks, casual and mobile games developer Big Fish Games has seen its share of new games rise up the top iOS app charts with its recent surge of new adventure-style puzzle games.

However, the company is releasing a new title that is moving away from that focus with an arcade-like time management game, Hospital Haste HD.

Akin to titles such as Dinner Dash and Tapper World Tour, this new game makes players treat ever increasing numbers of hospital patients with growing varieties of quirky ailments. Free to download, but requiring an in-app purchase to unlock the full game, the app is fun to play, offering a quickly growing series of challenges. Long story short, the game is about what one would expect from Big Fish Games.

Players have just finished medical school and they’re off to build their own clinics. As dreamy as that sounds, there is one problem: In order to do so, players must not only earn enough cash for all the equipment, but also possess five medical certificates proving their skill. In order to do both, users work for different medical facilities around the world and in a Diner-Dash-fashion, they treat patients over the course of the day, juggling ever increasing amounts of responsibility.(source:insidemobileapps)  

4)Foursquare hits 10 million users in 2 years

Boasts 358 million check-ins outside US  
 
by Keith Andrew 

Time was when news from location-based service companies were as common as press releases detailing Angry Birds downloads milestones.

Foursquare, nonetheless, continues its march forward, with an interactive infographic released by the company claiming it now boasts more than 10 million registered users across the globe.

Indeed, the infographic focuses on the global footprint its users are generating.

Checking out the world

Though a map identifying users across the world shows North America as an inevitable hotspot, Foursquare points out that 358 million check-ins have now been made outside of the US, including 1,105 in beer halls in Germany and 6,230 in Sake bars in Japan.

Even within the service’s US base, Foursquare has managed to make its mark across the globe, with American users visiting a total of 169 countries.

“One of the most amazing things about building Foursquare has been seeing a tool we designed for our friends turn into something now used by over 10,000,000 people,” the firm adds on the infographic.

“And, as our community grows larger, we get to build things that start top fulfill our larger vision for the future.”(source:pocketgamer) 

5)Battleheart on Android generating 80% of iOS’ daily total says Mika Mobile

by Keith Andrew 

A quick scan of the latest blog post by Battleheart developer Mika Mobile, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the studio held Android in complete contempt.

“There are days where I just want to pull the plug on the whole thing because I’m sick of 12 year olds (or people with comparable communication skills) trying to convince me they’ve been wronged and I should give them their 3 dollars back,” the post concludes.

Indeed, much of Mika Mobile’s assessment of life on Android Market focuses on the little nuances that make the platform – and dealing with the problems that arise – so much more difficult than on iOS.

When it comes to pure numbers, however, the developer is keen to do away with the myth that working on Android isn’t a profitable exercise.

Rolling in revenue?

“While it’s still a much smaller market than iOS, there’s money to be made through paid apps,” the entry states.

“Daily revenue from Battleheart on Android is fairly close, within 80 percent, of its iOS counterpart at the moment.”

The studio does go on to clarify that ratio, however, pointing out that Battleheart is currently charting higher on Android than it is on iOS – inside the top 50, compared to outside of the top 200 on the App Store.

The iOS release also enjoyed a much stronger start on the App Store thanks to some early promo by Apple, though the tablet version of the game has recently received a similar push on Android Market.

“Still, despite those disclaimers, Battleheart for Android has become a meaningful source of revenue, and has proven that the platform isn’t a waste of time,” the entry continues.

“In fact, I’d go as far as to say that a polished, high quality product is more likely to be embraced on Android than on iOS because the quality bar on the Android Market is so pathetically low.”

Mika Mobile points out that Battleheart currently has a user rating of 4.8 on Android Market, compared to 4.5 on the App Store – an all the more impressive feat, given the problems users have installing games on Android handsets according to the developer’s feedback.

Teething problems

“The most frustrating part about developing for Android is actually just dealing with the deluge of support e-mail, most of which is related to download and installation problems which have nothing to do with the app itself, and everything to do with the android OS and market having innate technical problems,” the studio states.

“Based on the amount of e-mails I get every day, download problems effect 1-2 percent of all buyers, or in more practical terms, somewhere between two and three shit-loads.”

Mika Mobile also complains that having a hand in Google Checkout (as all vendors on Android Market must) means consumers suffering problems come straight to the developer, rather than – as on iOS – directing their complaints towards Apple.

“I just want to make games, not listen to people whine about how their app won’t install (due to user error nine times out of 10) and they missed the 15 minute window to give themselves a refund, or didn’t even know there was such a policy.”

Nonetheless, while Mika Mobile laments the lack of a ‘shield’ as provided by Apple’s platform, it confirms it plans to continue working with Android, given there is – contrary to popular belief – money to be made.(source:pocketgamer)  

6)Talking Tom targets the big screen as Outfit7 inks deal with WME

by Stuart Dredge
 
Talent agency hoping to take mobile characters into TV, books and films.

App developer Outfit7 wants its talking mobile characters to beat Angry Birds to bigger screens, having signed a deal to be represented by Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME).

The company will be looking to strike TV, film and book deals for Outfit7′s stable of content, including the hugely successful Talking Tom Cat app.

The company’s apps have been downloaded more than 135 million times in less than a year since the first made its debut, and it is currently averaging 15 million downloads a month, with users uploading more than 400,000 videos of their virtual pets to Facebook and YouTube.

“With over 65 million downloads, Talking Tom Cat has secured his place in people’s hearts the world over, and he has already had a cameo appearance on NBC’s Modern Family,” says CEO Andrej Nabergoj.

“He’s a character that people want to see in new entertainment mediums and we have been getting the same feedback about the newly launched Talking Ben the Dog.”(source:mobile-ent)  

7)IPhone gains eat into Android dominance. Can it last?

By Ryan Kim

Tweet The Android smartphone onslaught may have hit its peak, at least in the U.S., according to an analyst who thinks the expanded rollout of the iPhone to other carriers will check the rise of Google’s mobile OS. Charlie Wolf of Needham & Co. pointed out that Android’s market share of smartphone sales in the U.S. fell to 49.5 percent from 52.4 percent in the first quarter, its first loss in any region in the world.

Wolf believes this is the beginning of more market share losses for Android, which began with the introduction of the iPhone on Verizon, and will continue with the release later this year of the next iPhone on Verizon and AT&T, and perhaps other carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile. Apple’s share of sales during the first quarter grew to 29.5 percent, up from 17.2 percent in the previous quarter. This tracks with a previous NPD report that found that Android sales in the first quarter fell to 50 percent of total, down three points from the previous quarter,while iOS grew by 9 percentage points for 28 percent of smartphone unit sales.(source:gigaom)  

8)Credit Cards to Lose $614 Million in Total Online Gaming Transactions by 2015

By Thorsten Bleich

After its Payment Mix Report 2011, SuperData Research released of an updated version of their report. Building on empirical data collected from over 2 million unique transactions, the second edition of the report includes a forecast and projection of payment preferences for 2015E. SuperData Research estimates that credit cards will account for 30% of virtual good sales in the US in 2015E, down from 37% today. Year-over-year this amounts to a cumulative total loss of approximately $614 million, according to the report. “A key driver behind the increased share of cash-based payment methods is their adoption by especially teenage audiences,” says lead analyst Janelle Benjamin. “Moreover, with the 2009 CARD Act having raised the minimum age requirements for credit cards, alternatives like prepaid game cards and mobile payment methods will continue to gain significant market share in the coming period.”(source:socialgamesobserver)  

9)Mobile devices overtake computers on Wi-Fi networks

By Ryan Kim

Tweet Mobile devices, led by the iPad and Android phones and tablets, have overtaken computers on Wi-Fi networks, according to a new report from cloud networking provider Meraki. It’s another sign that mobile is increasingly the way people access the Internet, bypassing traditional computers in their hunt for information.

Meraki said that in 2010, Windows and Mac OS X accounted for 64 percent of devices that accessed Wi-Fi networks, while iOS (the iPhone and the iPod touch at the time) accounted for 32 percent and Android was just 1 percent. A year later, iOS — bolstered by the iPad — and Android now represent 58 percent of Wi-Fi devices, while Windows and Mac OS X account for 36 percent. The numbers have gone up since March, when Om got some Wi-Fi usage statistics from Meraki, which found that the iPhone accounted for 23.5 percent of connections, while Android had 5.2 percent and the iPad took 3.4 percent.

Meraki said for the most recent study, it surveyed more than 100,000 devices accessing general use, public and educational Wi-Fi networks across the U.S., looking at usage and operating systems from 2010 to 2011. The study compared the first half of 2010 with the first half of this year.

The iPhone was the most popular device on Wi-Fi networks, with a 32-percent share. Android now accounts for 11 percent of devices on Meraki’s networks, equal to the iPod touch alone. Those numbers will certainly increase for Android as its installed base grows. Meraki also found that the iPad was a power device, consuming almost 200 megabytes per month, about four times as much as the average for Android, iPhone and iPod touch devices.(source:gigaom


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