1）据StatCounter数据显示，从移动设备网络连接情况来看，采用Symbian操作系统的智能手机仍占最大的市场份额，其全球比例高达31%。

mobile_os(from StatCounter)

这一数据表明，尽管Android和iOS设备在2011年的激活量节节攀升，但人们不可忽视全球还有3亿左右的活跃Symbian用户这一事实。

2）分析公司Chitika最新报告显示，Google+用户已达6200万。在2011年9月至11月之间，Google+用户在该平台总体活跃度增加118%，在9月至10月间的发展最为明显，该时期的增幅达55%。

Google+(from Chitika)

观察者称Google+能够获得稳步发展主要与该平台逐渐绑定谷歌移动及网页应用，添加Google Reader、Gmail、Google Apps和Blogger等服务有关。

social network traffic(from Chitika)

但Google+目前在社交网络中所占流量仍与Facebook存在巨大差距，甚至不敌Twiiter。Facebook占据91.4%的社交网络流量，而Google+仅占1.1%。

3）世嘉最近通过官方论坛宣布将于2012年向iOS、Android和Windows Phone推出手机游戏《Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II》，并指出将针对采用Tegra芯片Android移动设备的优化版本，以及一个针对Tegra 3四核设备的加强版本。

Sonic The Hedgehog 4(from appadvice.com)

但该公司并未透露游戏具体玩法，仅称将推出“全新的角色，扩展《Sonic 4》中的故事情节，增加更多挑战”。

4）据Economic Times报道，Zynga游戏《CastleVille》创意总监Bill Jackson最近表示，《CastleVille》主要根据用户反馈来调整游戏。

castleville-opening-beastie-fight(from castlevillecheats)

Jackson指出，由于用户声称这款游戏中的Beastie出场过于频繁，所以开发团队就降低了后者的出现频率，并称Zynga发布游戏时，团队总会向玩家咨询如何让游戏变得更有趣。

但他同时也表示，协调所有的用户反馈信息并据此调整游戏是一项“挑战”，公司计划在2012年打造一个让玩家随时可玩游戏的平台（但并未透露这是否就是传说中的Zynga Driect项目，或者仅指Zynga将把游戏推向更多手机等平台）。

5）据Globes报道，美国博彩业巨头Caesars Entertainment Corporation已彻底收购以色列社交游戏开发商Playtika。

Caesars在今年5月份时出价9000万美元收购后者51%的股份，最近则以不具数额的价格完全收购该公司。

Slotomania(from insidesocialgames.com)

Playtika代表作是《Slotomania》，该游戏现已推出iOS版本，并于4月份推出中文版。据AppData数据显示，Playtika最近在Facebook的MAU是580万，DAU为168万。

7）据mhtml5报道，在11月29日举办的HTML5年度Home Party暨首届原创游戏大赛颁奖典礼上，创新工场李开复在致辞表示，他认为HTML5技术即将进入主流，1、HTML5是工程师和草根领跑；2、现在大公司开始投入，包括参会的谷歌，微软，Facebook，甚至Adobe；3、浏览器支持已经很普及，从最近谷歌彩蛋可以看出这一点；4、电子商务，新闻，游戏都开始使用；5、国外预测2013年将有10亿台手机支持；6、明年期待杀手级应用。

李开复(from mhtml5.com)

这次典礼的重头戏之一就是HTML5原创游戏评选颁奖，HTML5研究小组在北京、上海共举办3次 HTML5 Code Jam，征集数个优秀作品，最终有6款游戏入围，由NTFusion团队开发的益智物理小游戏《拯救PAPA》获得一等奖，二等奖是《3D炸弹人》，《兔子的旅行》获三等奖。

8）由人人游戏打造的SLG页游《骑士战争》最近已上线，这款以西方古代文明为题材的战争策略类游戏真实还原了西方征战场景和经典战役，支持玩家选择扮演埃及、罗马或蒙古三大帝国之一的领主，通过运筹帷幄的能力，最终决胜千里。

骑士战争

（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）Symbian OS still on top, according to StatCounter

by Steve Litchfield

Thanks to a reminder from WebProNews, it’s instructive to look again at the smartphone world via StatCounter, a pro service embedded on many web sites which tracks the browser and OS used to access them. And, reflecting the still enormous installed base of Symbian-powered smartphones across the world, Symbian still (for web access, at least) still dominates the world, at 31%. The full graph is below, along with some comments.

The counter-intuitive nature of the chart, i.e. that Symbian still dominates despite Android and iOS activations reportedly running very high through 2011, is explained by the difference between sales marketshare and installed base ‘share’. Earlier this year, actual sales of Android-powered smartphones per quarter overtook Symbian. But the 300 million or so active Symbian users across the world – regardless of whether they’re using a three year old Nokia 5800 or even an older N95 – is a statistic that can’t be ignored for actual use. You may remember that I’ve talked before about not underestimating the inertia behind Symbian’s installed base – the numbers boggle the mind.

Added to the huge installed base of Symbian smartphones is the factor of the rise and rise of affordable data, even on pay as you go SIM cards, across the world. In other words, just about everyone is now getting online. In StatCounter’s eyes, web access is web access.（source:allaboutsymbian）

2）Google+ traffic & users jumped in final months of 2011

Jolie O’Dell

Google+ has seen a steady surge of new signups and user activity over the final quarter of 2011.

While more than a few doubters have wondered whether, after several failures, Google can succeed in the fickle world of social networks, new reports from analytics firm Chitika show the service has as many as 62 million users.

Google’s suite of social tools started out with strong user curiosity and great initial user statistics. Just three weeks after its launch, Google+ had already seen 20 million unique visitors.

However, both traffic to Google+ pages and users’ perceptions of activity on the service began to level off. A couple months after its launch, some of G+’s most ardent advocates were complaining that it was a ghost town and a graveyard.

A September study showed a 40 percent drop in public posting on Google+. Then, a widely circulated study published in October stated that visits to the service peaked quickly then dropped by 60 percent.

But one major strategic move has helped Google achieve steady growth: Google+ has been slowly integrated with other Google mobile and web applications, starting with Google Reader’s integration back in October. Now, you’ll find G+ features in Gmail, Google Apps, Blogger and more.

As the social tools and connections become more ubiquitous throughout Google’s sizable slice of the web, Google+’s statistics are climbing.

According to Chitika’s data, Google+ had a 118 percent increase in overall activity between September 2011 and November 2011. The service’s most significant growth happened between September and October, when Google+ grew 55 percent.

“When we look at engagement, we look at how often those users are coming back to Google, and they’re coming back all the time — for search, to look at maps, to read email,” said Google executive Bradley Horowitz in a recent exclusive interview with VentureBeat.

“Our engagement is extremely high, and this isn’t rhetoric. This is going to manifest in the products themselves.”

Still, Google+ has a long way to go to catch up with Facebook or even Twitter. Stats from the summer show G+ low in the rankings of social media traffic, with Facebook claiming around 90 percent of the pie.（source:venturebeat）

3）Sega announces Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II for iOS, Windows Phone and Android

by Jon Jordan

First announced on Sega’s official forum before Christmas, the publisher has released a few more details about Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II.

For one thing, it’s not coming out on 29 December, as that was yesterday. We assume that confusion came because that was the date the game was properly announced.

As for the actual release date, Sega is merely saying 2012, but obviously we’re assuming earlier rather than later.

Faster, faster

Platform-wise it’s coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 via their digital download channels, while on mobile it’s going whole hog with iOS, Xbox Live-enabled Windows Phone and Android supported.

Indeed, Sega is keen to point out there will be a version optimised for Android devices using Nvidia’s Tegra chips, including an enhanced version for the most recent Tegra 3 quad-core architectures.

But, in terms of gameplay, it’s playing its cards tight, mentioning ‘all-new character animations’, ‘a completely reworked physics engine’, ‘expanded Sonic 4 storyline with new areas to speed through and new challenges to face’ – plus the rebirth of a villain and the return of a sidekick, as you can see in the following teaser trailer.（source:pocketgamer）

4）Zynga looks forward to 2012 with better feedback from users

by Brandy Shaul

Zynga has had a rocky road when it comes to player feedback across its mighty catalog of Facebook games. Sure, the vast majority of players enjoy games like FarmVille and Pioneer Trail, but what about those vocal users that have legitimate concerns about games and are more than willing to offer their feedback? Does Zynga actually listen to them? Perhaps. According to the Economic Times, Zynga’s Bill Jackson (creative director behind CastleVille) says that this particular game has undergone changes due to feedback from players.

“These are not games that we just play. These are games that we make with our players,” Jackson says, and he explained that the reduced rate of Beastie appearance has been made due to players stating that they appeared too often. Jackson goes on to say that “Once we [Zynga] launch the game, we are asking players the same thing: ‘how can we make it more fun for you?”

While changes in CastleVille are one thing, it does leave a few remaining questions in other games in the Zynga network, as users routinely complain of too many goals or catering orders in Cafe World or of loading and rollback issues in Pioneer Trail. Is this an issue of the company not listening to users, or are there simply not enough staff members on-hand to deal with these technical problems? Whatever the case, Jackson says that managing all of the feedback and information from players is a “challenge,” but that the company is preparing for a better 2012 by “creating a platform” (says the Economic Times) where players can play whenever they want. Could this be the Zynga Direct program revealed in October? If not, does this signal more games coming to more platforms (mobile, for instance)? And what does all of this have to do with actually changing games based on user responses?

It’s an interesting time to be a social gamer in the Zynga network, as games like Pioneer Trail are bleeding players (that one has lost half a million players in a month, according to AppData) and even the former staples like Mafia Wars seem to be struggling. Whether feedback is really focused on or not, 2012 will be an interesting year for Zynga, and for players as well.（source:games）

5）Caesars Now Completely Owns Playtika

AJ Glasser

Israeli social game developer Playtika is now completely owned by U.S. casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corporation, according to a report from Globes filed late last week.

The Slotomania developer raised some eyebrows back in May when it was quietly announced that Caesars (via its Harrah’s casino brand) had purchased 51% of the company for up to $90 million. We couldn’t get the developer to comment for the record at the time, but this week’s report reveals that the partial acquisition contained a an option to acquire the balance of shares within two years — which Caesars has apparently taken advantage of just seven months later. Globes cites an unnamed source that puts the current value of Playtika shares slightly higher than what Caesars paid the first time.

Since that time, Playtika has kept Slotomania growing at a steady pace and recently released an iOS version. A Chinese language version of the game launched in April, but hasn’t seen as much traction. Playtika’s other game franchise, Farkle Pro, has been in steady decline since about October. According to our AppData traffic tracking service, the developer enjoys 5.8 million monthly active users and 1.68 million daily active users across all its Facebook apps.（source:insidesocialgames）