1）据venturebeat报道，少儿虚拟世界Woozworld日前融资600万美元，支持者包括 Telesystem和iNovia Capital以及一些未知名的天使投资者。 该公司将利用这笔资金进军手机平台，加强市场推广力度。

Woozworld(from venturebeat)

在去过18个月中，Woozworld用户注册的虚拟形象超过700万个，创建了1400多成个虚拟空间。据称Woozworld目前在180个国家的月独立访问用户超过1500万，每月综合浏览量是7600万次，其用户规模在过去半年中增长了三倍，活跃用户每天访问时间超过70分钟。

该公司首席执行官Eric Brassard表示，Woozworld的目标是成为排名第一的少儿群体安全网络站点。

2）移动营销平台Fiksu日前分析其每月追踪的数据指出（游戏邦注：该平台数据取自用户对手机应用的27亿次访问行为，包括运行、注册、IAP消费行为等），美国苹果App Store前200名免费iPhone应用在今年7月的下载量为425万次，6月份则是451万次，5月份是378万次。

app-store-competitive-july-2011(from fiksu)

调查还发现每名忠实用户（游戏邦注：这里指那些下载应用后访问量不低于三次的用户）获取成本在7月份是1.2美元，6月份是1.27美元，5月份是1.1美元。

the cost per loyal user index(from Fiksu)

Fiksu认为7月份的用户获取成本下降，可能与苹果限制iOS非自然下载行为有关，这一点有利于发行商以更低的成本获得更高的忠实用户转化率。

3）comScore七月份数据表明，Android和苹果这两者目前已占据将近70%的美国智能手机市场份额，其中Android手机占42%，iPhone占27%。Android市场分额比4月份增长5.4%，比6月份增长1.7%，而iPhone则比6月份增长0.4个百分点，在三个月时间中增长1%。

top smartphone platforms(from comScore)

RIM所占份额比4月份低4个百分点，目前占21.7%，微软手机操作系统目前比例为5.7%，下降了1个百分点，Symbian仅占1.9%的市场份额。

从用户使用习惯上看，70%的用户自称经常拿手机发短信，还有41%用户常使用手机浏览网页和下载应用。

4）黎巴嫩三人游戏开发团队于8月22日发布了一款带阿拉伯特色的手机游戏《Birdy Nam Nam》，目前已收获40万次下载量，成功跻身阿拉伯国家前10名热门游戏之列，备受该地区游戏玩家的好评。

Birdy Nam Nam(from allinmac.de)

该游戏已推出一个免费精简版和售价分别为99美分、1.99美元的完整版本，并于不久后植入IAP功能。

该游戏开发者之一Lebnan Nader表示，这一结果实在出乎意料，他们原来对这款游戏的盈利性并不抱有希望，并预计只会收获10至2万次下载量，只希望这款游戏能够为阿拉伯用户带来更多乐趣。

5）继《Pet Soiciety》和《Restaurant City》之后，EA最近再次通过Playfish推出手机版游戏《FIFA Superstars》，支持iOS用户通过Appp Store免费下载该游戏。

FIFA Superstars(from games)

用户下载该游戏后将进入EA社交平台及数字下载服务Origin的注册流程，假如用户已经拥有一个EA帐号，也同样需要登陆体验游戏。该版本玩法与其Facebook游戏相同，但有人观察发现它目前存在一些加载问题。

6）德国盈利解决方案供应商SponsorPay日前推布针对手机平台推出CPA服务（mobile-optimised cost per action，按操作付费模式），支持Android、iOS和Windows phone合作伙伴优化游戏盈利性。

sponsorpay-logo(from offenes-presseportal.de)

这项服务包含移动视频广告、调查和试用等互动广告。与此同时，该公司还宣布聘请Tapjoy前发行销售主管Tehyon Kim任开发商关系副总裁（Tapjoy是该公司竞争对手）。

7）Juniper Research最近报告预测，2016年全球触摸屏手机出售量将达7亿部，与此同时，支持3D的手机出货量将达8000万部。该报告其他发现还包括：

iphone_touchscreen(from bruckbauer.at)

·2010年全球智能手机出货量为3.02亿部，预计2016年将达10亿部；

·未来五年内，售价不超过150美元的中端智能手机出货量将达三分之一左右。

8）gamezebo近期走访俄罗斯跨平台游戏公司Playrix（游戏邦注：该公司成立于2004年，目前是最具影响力的休闲游戏公司之一，它针对PC、手机及Facebook多个平台开发游戏，代表作包括《4 Elements II》、《Royal Envoy》和《Fishdom》），并发布了一组该公司办公环境的照片：

Playrix团队制定决策的会议室(from gamezebo)

团队喝下午茶的地方(from gamezebo)

办公室布置(from gamezebo )

娱乐场所(from gamezebo)

娱乐场所 (from gamezebo)

美工常在白板上画草图(from gamezebo)

有些员工特别喜欢吃糖果(from gamezebo)

程序员的办公环境比较严肃(from gamezebo)

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）Woozworld raises $6M to take tween virtual world into mobile

Dean Takahashi

Woozworld, maker of a user-generated virtual world for kids ages 9 to 14, has raised $6 million.

The company will use the money to expand Woozworld to mobile platforms and boost its marketing for the virtual world. It’s one more sign that game companies that get a foothold on the web are scrambling to establish themselves in the fast-growing mobile apps market as well.

Over the last 18 months, Woozworld users have registered more than 7 million virtual characters, known as avatars, and have built more than 14 million virtual spaces.

In Woozworld, tweens can build their own worlds to set up virtual businesses such as restaurants or games. The company says it gets more than 15 million monthly unique visitors from 180 countries and has 76 million monthly page views. Its user base has tripled over the last six months. Active users play for more than 70 minutes a day.

The money came from Telesystem and iNovia Capital as well as unnamed angel investors. Bernard Gerson, a former senior vice president of Disney, has joined the board. Gershon is currently president of GershonMedia, a digital media strategy practice. Eric Brassard, chief executive, said the company’s goal is to make Woozworld the No. 1 safe destination for tweens.（source:venturebeat）

2）Fiksu launches App Store indices: reckons acquisition cost of a loyal iOS user is $1.20

by Jon Jordan

When we spoke to Micah Adler, CEO of mobile acquisition platform Fiksu a couple of months ago, the ex-computer science professor was all about tracking the numbers.

And now, as with many companies in this space, he’s breaking out his smarts for a wider audience.

Welcome to the App Store Competitive index and the Cost per Loyal User index.

Analyse this

Both are calculated on a monthly basis using the raw data Fiksu tracks in real-time so its clients can maximise their advertising spend when it comes to getting people to download free apps.

Taking them in turn, the App Store Competitive index provides an average for the number of daily downloads achieved by the top 200 free iPhone apps on the US App Store.

For July, the figure was 4.25 million downloads, compared to 4.51 million in June and 3.78 million in May.

The other index is really interesting however. The Cost per Loyal User index measures the cost of acquiring a loyal user – defined as someone who opens an app they’ve downloaded three or more times.

In July, this was $1.20, down compared to $1.27 in June, but up from $1.10 in May.

Fiksu comments that the decline from June to July could be due to the tailing off of incentivised downloads on iOS, which it says has reduced the ability of publishers to quickly gain rank through bulk downloads, but which delivers higher loyal user conversion rates at a lower net cost.

Data for the indices was sourced from 2.7 billion mobile app actions – such as app launches, registrations and in-app purchases – recorded by apps marketed via the Fiksu for Mobile Apps user acquisition platform.（source:pocketgamer）

3）Android And Apple Now Command Nearly 70 Percent Of U.S. Smartphone Market Share

Erick Schonfeld

Android and Apple together now account for nearly 70 percent of smartphone subscribers in the U.S., according to new estimates for July put out today by comScore. Android phones command nearly 42 percent market share, while Apple’s iPhone grew slightly to capture 27 percent. Android is growing faster, up 5.4 percent from April and up 1.7 percent from June, whereas Apple’s share is up 1 percent for the three-month period and 0.4 percent fro the previous month.

The two smartphone powers keep taking share from RIM’s Blackberry, Microsoft, and Symbian. Blackberry took the biggest hit, down 4 points since April, 2011 to 21.7 percent. Microsoft’s mobile OS share is down 1 percent to 5.7 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers. And Symbian is barely hanging onto 1.9 percent share in the U.S.

In terms of how people are using their smartphones, text messaging still tops the activities with 70 percent of subscribers stating that they use their phones to text. Browsing and downloading apps come in next with about 41 percent of users doing those activities, which kind of makes you wonder what the other 60 percent are doing with their smartphones. People, these are like computers. Please use them accordingly. That means open those browsers and download some apps! Otherwise, get a flip phone.（source:techcrunch）

4）400,000 downloads for Arabic game Birdy Nam Nam

by Tim Green

Lebanese games developer tops iTunes app stores across the Middle East.

The successful launch strikes a blow for localised iPhone content since he game was developed by a local three man team with a vision of making a game especially for gamers in the Arabic region.

So for example, the characters are are each dressed as per the country they represent.

One of the developer team, Lebnan Nader, said: “The intention was to develop something funny and for our own fun. We didn’t have expectations on how to launch or make money out of it. We simply wanted to create something that the Arabic population will remember us for.

“We decided to have the levels of that game or the happenings of that game in the “Arabic” countries. Hence, we developed the levels of the game that each happen in a different Arabic country.”

At first, the game was launched at a high price to gather feedback from dedicated gamers, and then changes were made before the full launch on August 22nd, with a lite version for free and two full versions at 99c and $1.99.

Days later, the decision was made to make all versions free and the result was 400,000 downloads and a top ten hit in all Arabic countries. In-app purchases will be enabled shortly.

Nader said: “I must admit, I didn’t see this coming. We really thought we will achieve a ten to 20,000 downloads. This is something astonishing for us.”（source:mobile-ent）

5）FIFA Superstars now available on iPhone: Manage your dream team on the go

by Brandy Shaul

Electronic Arts has had a heck of a summer in the mobile gaming space, especially where its Facebook games are concerned. Via Playfish, both Pet Society and Restaurant City have taken the leap of faith to the mobile platform, and now FIFA Superstars has joined suit. For the low, low price of “free,” you can now download FIFA Superstars from the iTunes App Store for either iPhone or iPad (note: the game can be played on iPad, but is optimized for iPhone-only).

Once you download the game, you’ll be greeted with the mandatory EA Origin sign-up process. Origin is EA’s attempt at a social network and digital download service, of course focusing solely on EA’s titles, and if you already have an EA account, they’re one in the same, allowing you to login and start playing. From there, the gameplay seems to have been ripped straight from the Facebook game, allowing you to collect cards containing players and various stats, and then build a team using the best-of-the-best. You’ll then collect different equipment, implement new tactics to give your team the advantage, and can then take to the field to test your prowess.

As of right now, all of that sounds just fine, but the game itself seems to be running into some loading issues. We’ve tried on three devices to get the game to load, but it locks up after logging into Origin. We’d assume that these are just early-launch bugs, and that they will be cleared up shortly, but don’t panic if the game doesn’t work for you upon downloading it: You’re (unfortunately) not alone.（source:games）

6）SponsorPay launches new mobile cost-per-action campaigns for iOS, Android and Windows Phone

by Jon Jordan

Innovation in the mobile advertising sector continues apace. German monetisation outfit SponsorPay has announced the launch of mobile-optimised cost-per-action (mCPA) campaigns on its network.

Allowing it to diversify from the standard per-install model, co-founder and CRO Janis Zech said this will enable its partners to significantly improve their in-game monetisation across iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

It includes mobile video ads, Android-focused engagement campaigns, and the ability to offer interactive advertising such as surveys and trials from renowned brands that are optimised for a mobile interface, and in some cases, mobile-only.

Building the team

In addition, SponsorPay has hired Tehyon Kim as veep of developer relations. Previously, he was director of publishing sales at rival Tapjoy.

“Tae is impressively results-driven and committed, which makes him the perfect fit for us,” said Andreas Bodczek, SponsorPay’s CEO.

“His vast network, understanding of developers’ needs and knowledge of the mobile and games industries will further accelerate our growth.”

A virtual currency monetisation specialist for online and mobile games and social apps, SponsorPay gives users access to virtual currency or premium features through participation in targeted advertising offers.（source:pocketgamer）

7）Touchscreen-only phones to ship 700m in 2016

by Tim Green

That’s seven in ten of the whole market.

Juniper Research’s study Smartphone Evolution Strategies says the quota was just over half of all phones in 2010.

Pretty staggering really, when you think that before the iPhone arrived in 2007, touchscreens were extremely scarce, mostly came with a stylus and were widely ridiculed by market watchers.

Report author Daniel Ashdown said: “Touchscreen displays not only provide a superior user experience for many activities, but free-up space on the device for a larger display: that extra two to three inches can make a world of difference in the range of activities that can be performed more comfortably on the smartphone.”

Elsewhere Juniper predicts that 3D-enabled shipments will reach 80 million by 2016, with the ability to capture 3D images and video – and potentially play 3D games – driving adoption.

Other key findings include:

* Global smartphone shipments will reach one billion per annum in 2016, up from 302 million in 2010.

* Mid-pricemartphones, with a retail price of $150 or lower, will account for nearly one-third of shipments in five years.（source:mobile-ent）