1）手机游戏门户网站MocoSpace上月调查1.5万以上玩家的报告指出，用户在家玩手机游戏的时间多于外出的时候，96%受访者每天在家至少玩一次手机游戏，53%表示自己多数时候躺在床上玩手机游戏。

卧室是用户最常玩手机游戏的场所，其次是客厅（其比例达41%）。只有5%受访者表示自己在卫生间玩手机游戏，仅有1%表示自己在餐桌上玩游戏。

有83%受访者在等待之时玩手机游戏，72%在上班或旅行的往返途中玩游戏，64%在工作期间玩游戏，64%在与朋友相聚时玩游戏。

调查还发现，用户玩手机游戏的时间超过人们原先的预期。52%受访者称自己每天玩手机游戏约1小时，32%每天甚至玩3小时手机游戏，其中有10%是在上班期间玩游戏。

2）据InsideMobileApps报道，Rovio游戏《愤怒的小鸟：太空版》发布仅数个小时，就已经在28个国家或地区的App Store榜单登顶（游戏邦注：该游戏推出的是0.99美元iPhone版本和2.99美元iPad版本），迅速超越Zynga最近收购的OMGPOP旗下热门游戏《Draw Something》。

该游戏目前已是包括美国、中国、德国、法国、印度尼西亚、新西兰、俄罗斯、哥伦比亚、丹麦、挪威、墨西哥、印度、希腊、比利时、英国、西班牙和芬兰等国家App Store头号付费应用以及应用营收榜单冠军。

在日本、台湾、瑞士和韩国，该游戏是排名第一的付费iPhone和iPad应用，在澳大利亚、香港、以色列和捷克共和国则是头号付费和营收榜单应用。

由于Google Play排名更新较慢，目前暂不可得知该游戏在美国Google Play表现情况。该游戏在Android平台分为0.99美元付费版本和广告赞助免费版。该游戏在Android平台的下载数据尚未显示，但已经收获6048条用户评论和4.8颗星的评价。

该游戏在亚马逊Appstore推出的是广告赞助免费版本、0.99美元付费版本，以及一个2.99美元的Kindle Fire版本，在苹果Mac App Store则是4.99美元付费版本。

3）ABI Research最近报告预测，由于印度和中国等新兴国家平板电脑市场发展，以及高价平板电脑市场份额缩水，2016年售价低于400美元的平板电脑将占据60%的市场份额，分析师指出，价格并非新兴国家平板电脑市场发展的主要限制因素，针对这些地区的本土化内容不足才是最大阻力。

尽管拥有9英寸及更大屏幕的平板电脑在2011年占据75%以上的市场份额，但ABI预计尺寸更小、更具便携优势的平板电脑将在今后数年受到热捧。

4）据韩国财经媒体Maeil Business报道，最近有“行业知情者”声称苹果可能将在今年第2季度推出4.6英寸Retina屏幕的新款iPhone手机，并表示苹果已向设备供应商下了4.6英寸屏幕订单。但苹果目前的屏幕供应商三星和LG拒绝对此做出回应。

5）《消费者报告》最近测试报告指出，苹果新iPad如果插上电源运行游戏，其背面的温度可能达到116华氏度（约47摄氏度），而不插电源时的温度则是113华氏度。

该测试在72华氏度的房间中进行，以《无尽之剑2》为例，让游戏在新iPad上不间断地运行45分钟，并套上iPad Smart Cover。测试时采用的是Wi-Fi网络，没有打开4G网络设置。

与iPad 2对比发现，新iPad运行游戏时的温度比前者高12-13度，并且这些热度分布并不均匀，最热的区域位于屏幕边角，但短时间内并不会达到烫手或不适的程度。

测试结果还发现，尽管该设备在充电时略为升温，但在玩游戏过程中根本无法充电，只有在不玩游戏时才可以正常充电。

6）据games.com报道，EA推出的iPhone和iPad游戏《Fantasy Safari》（风格与Zynga游戏《Dream Zoo》相似）服务器将于3月31日下线并取消该游戏项目。该游戏发布仅5个月左右（去年11月份上线），为玩家提供40种不同的动物选择，但在今年情人节之后就已经被 App Store移除。

7）据venturebe报道，针对Zynga以2亿美元左右的价格收购OMGPOP一事，Sterne Agee分析析Arvind Bhatia认为Zynga出价过高，但投资者似乎另有看法，Zynga股票昨日上涨1.68%，每股达13.95美元，该公司市值也上升至97.6亿美元。

Lazard Capital分析师Atul Bagga认为，如果按照《Draw Something》每日创收20万-25万美元收益的情况来算，OMGPOP公司2亿美元的估值相当于其年收入的三倍左右，并预测Zynga股价将达16美元。而Wedbush SEcurities分析师Michael Pachter则认为，Zynga股价将会达到17美元。

Macquarie Capital分析师Ven Schacter却认为，《Draw Something》将遭遇《愤怒的小鸟：太空版》的挑战，他预计Zynga股价将落在10美元左右。

8）EA企业通讯代表John Reseburg在最近采访中表示，Zynga收购OMGPOP一事并不会给EA造成威胁。他认为收购未经考验的资产并不能保证将来的回报，而EA收购的PopCap却已经推出了大量过硬的IP。

但Panoptic管理顾问公司首席执行官Asif Khan却表示，EA没有收购OMGPOP实在是错失良机，还有不少人也认为如果EA是收购了OMGPOP，那么同时掌握了PopCap和Playfish的EA在手机游戏领域定会所向披靡。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版本的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）Not so mobile; Americans mainly play on their phones at home says MocoSpace

by Tom Worthington

Gamers spend more time at home – in bed – playing mobile games than out and on-the-go, according to a new survey from gaming portal MocoSpace.

Revealing the results of its ‘Where u play?’ survey, which studied over 15,000 gamers last month, 96 percent claimed to play mobile games at least once a day at home, and 53 percent said that in bed is where most of gaming takes place.

“This report should make every console gaming company nervous,” said MocoSpace co-founder and CEO Justin Siegel.

“Mobile gaming is not a companion to consoles, but rather it’s attacking them on their home turf: the couch, the La-Z-Boy and even the bedroom.”

Behind closed doors

The bedroom might be the most popular place to play out a quick game or two but the living room came at a close second with 41 percent.

Only five percent admitted to gaming in the bathroom and just one percent confessed to cheekily gaming at the dinner table.

Playing mobile games while waiting for an appointment, commuting, at work, and while out with friends were popular hotspots in MocoSpace’s research.

The report also found that mobile games are played for longer durations than you might expect.

52 percent admitted to spending an hour a day playing mobile games and 32 percent racking up three hours of game time on a daily basis – 10 percent of those claimed to do so during work.（source:pocketgamer）

2）Angry Birds Space rockets to the top of the App Store charts in over 28 countries

Kathleen De Vere

Only a few hours after its debut, Rovio’s Angry Birds Space has hit the top of the App Store charts in more than 28 countries.  Released last night at 1:00 am PST, or 10:00 am Helsinki time, Angry Birds Space costs $0.99 on iPhone and $2.99 on the iPad.

The game — which was highly anticipated thanks to a smart marketing campaign by Rovio that included a video from NASA actually filmed in space and a promotional campaign with WalMart — is the No. 1 paid and No. 1 top grossing app in dozens of countries including: the US, China, Germany, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, Columbia, Denmark, Norway, Mexico, India, Greece, Belgium, the UK, Spain and (no surprise here) Finland.

In Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland and Korea Angry Birds Space is the No. 1 paid iPhone and iPad app. The game is the No. 1 paid iPhone app and the No. 1 paid and top grossing iPad app in Australia, Hong Kong, Israel and the Czech Republic.  It’s also leading the paid and top grossing charts in some capacity in Bulgaria, Italy, Argentina and Sweden.

At time of writing, the game hadn’t yet registered on the U.S. Google Play charts, which tend to be slower to update due to the algorithm Google uses to determine chart rankings. On Android the game comes in both the standard $0.99 paid format and a free, ad supported version. Neither of the app’s pages had updated yet to show how many downloads they have received, but the free version has already amassed 6,048 reviews and 4.8 star rating.

The game is available in the Amazon Appstore with a free, ad-supported app, a $0.99 paid app, and a $2.99 Kindle Fire App. It’s also available in the Mac App Store for $4.99.

Rovio’s Angry Birds games have been downloaded more than 700 million times already, and its likely the series is now well on its way to cresting the 1 billion download mark.（source:insidemobileapps）

3）ABI Research forecasts significant growth for sub-$400 tablet market

by James Nouch

A report from ABI Research forecasts significant growth in the sub-$400 tablet market over the next five years.

The company expects this sector to account for more than 60 percent of the overall tablet market by 2016.

Growth will be driven by tablet adoption in emerging markets such as India and China, and will coincide with a reduction in the market size for higher priced tablets.

Forget about the price tag…

Cost isn’t the primary factor which will prevent tablet growth in emerging markets, though.

ABI research analyst Aishwarya Singh explained that “the slower pace of digitisation of local content will be the key market inhibitor for adoption of […] media tablets.”

Finally, despite ‘wide aspect display media tablets’ (those with nine inch displays or larger) accounting for more than 75 percent of the total tablet volume in 2011 – with iPad 2 dominating the field – ABI expects smaller tablets to be favoured in the next few years, citing portability advantages as a factor in their adoption.（source:pocketgamer）

4）Apple’s new iPhone rumoured to sport a 4.6-inch display

by Tom Worthington

Apple’s new iPhone will have a sharper and bigger 4.6-inch Retina display according to a South Korean business newspaper.

Maeil Business Newspaper reported on comments provided from an unknown industry source who claimed Apple has started placing orders with suppliers for the larger 4.6-inch display and will be ready to roll out the new phone in the second quarter of this year.

Apple’s current display suppliers LG and Samsung have declined to comment.

Size that matters

The 326 dpi Retina resolution display first appeared on Apple’s iPhone 4, but a 4.6-inch screen would be a significant upgrade from the current standard iPhone 3.5-inch screen.

A larger display would see the iPhone 5 taking on the likes of Samsung Galaxy S2′s 4.6-inch OLED screen.（source:pocketgamer）

5）Consumer Reports says new iPad runs hot, doesn’t charge while gaming

By David Oxford

We all know that the new iPad is a hot item, but few likely expected that it would be hot like this. After reports of the device becoming hotter than other Apple devices while in use, Consumer Reports opted to do a study to find out just how hot these things will get.

The results of their tests have revealed that while running a game, the back of the device can reach temperatures of 116 degrees Fahrenheit, though this was only while the device was plugged in. When unplugged, their thermal cameras only registered a temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

The test was run in a room with a temperature of 72 degrees while running Infinity Blade II uninterrupted for 45 minutes and propped on the iPad Smart Cover. The 4G connection was not turned on, though Wi-Fi was.

When compared with the iPad 2, these tests resulted in a difference of 12 and 13 degrees higher than the older model, respectively. These areas of higher temperature were unevenly distributed, with the highest area being near the corner of the display. According to the tester, “when it was at its hottest, it felt very warm but not especially uncomfortable if held for a brief period.”

Though this alone may not concern some people, a more troublesome issue was brought to light during the tests.

While iPad gamers may be used to being charged for various currency, add-ons, and so forth while playing their chosen software, the idea of something not being charged may sound like a relief, but not when it’s the battery. But according to the tests conducted, though the temperature of the device would increase slightly while plugged in, the device would not charge during gameplay. In fact, it continued to drain, though it would charge normally when not running a game.（source:gamezebo）

6）EA to shutter Fantasy Safari on iOS after only five months

by Brandy Shaul

Fantasy Safari, EA’s version of Zynga’s Dream Zoo on iPhone and iPad, is next on the chopping block, as Electronic Arts has announced that the game’s servers will be taken offline, killing the game, on March 31.

After being launched in November, Fantasy Safari allowed players to choose from 40 different animals with which to fill their magical land, including dragons, unicorns and even Pixies (if you can consider Pixies animals). Up until Valentine’s Day, the game had been receiving regular updates, but has since been pulled from the App Store, making any new downloads impossible.

News of the closure comes by way of EA’s Service Updates announcement this morning, which also sees the plugs being pulled for Ghost Harvest and Battlefield 3: Aftershock, two other iOS games. If five months seems like a short lifespan for a game, remember that EA / Playfish’s Pet Society: Vacation, which launched at the end of July, didn’t even make it to the end of the year before it too was shut down.

There’s no news as to what will happen to Fantasy Safari’s premium currency, but we doubt users are looking at any sort of credit transfer or refund. Unfortunately, this looks to simply be another game to add to the pile of unfulfilled potential. Take some screenshots of your progress now people, and then prepare to say goodbye to the game later this month.（source:games）

7）Zynga-OMGPOP deal draws mixed views from Wall Street analysts

By Dean Takahashi and Ben Popper

Zynga’s purchase of OMGPOP for a price reported to be around $150 million to $200 million has drawn mixed reviews on Wall Street. The deal gives Zynga the team that made Draw Something, a Pictionary-style mobile game that has been a phenomenal success over the past six weeks.

Zynga’s bear, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, wrote in a report, “If the media speculation of the acquisition price ($150M-$250M) is anywhere close to being accurate, the deal may look expensive. Recall, Zynga previously acquired Words with Friends creator Newtoy for $53M in late 2010. Reiterating Underperform; $7 target.”

Investors evidently disagree, as Zynga’s stock price is up 1.68 percent today, at $13.95 a share. That values Zynga at $9.76 billion. OMGPOP was valuable in Zynga’s eyes because Draw Something has been downloaded more than 35 million times since its launch.

Atul Bagga, an analyst for Lazard Capital, was more bullish. He said in his report that he estimates Draw Something is generating about $200,000 to $250,000 in revenues a day. At that rate, then the $200 million valuation would be about three times the current revenue run rate.

“We believe that he acquisition makes a lot of sense for Zynga,” Bagga wrote. “With more than 13.3 million daily active uses (versus 15 million DAU for all of Zynga’s mobile games), Draw Something could help Zynga meaningfully grow its footprint in the mobile space.”

Bagga said that mobile games are the fastest-growing segment of the video game market with a 39 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years. A larger footprint in mobile will help Zynga cross promote its mobile games. Bagga expects Zynga to continue to be aggressive in mobile with internal launches and acquisitions. He has a $16 price target for Zynga’s stock.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, is an even bigger bull. He has a 12-month price target on Zynga of $17. He said that the deal would give Zynga a better mobile presence and the company is well-positioned for long-term growth.

Zynga has not yet confirmed the purchase price of the deal. But Ben Schacter, an analyst for Macquarie Capital, said that he believes a bidding war for OMGPOP led to “too high of a price.”

“We remain concerned that Zynga is a single-platform company and is much less dominant on its own platforms,” he wrote. He thinks Zynga will be challenged to continually establish hits. And he raised the question of whether the new Angry Birds Space game will siphon away mobile users from Zynga and OMGPOP.

He has a neutral rating on the stock and a $10 price target.

Bhatia has been a bear on Zynga since before its IPO. While sinking at first, Zynga’s stock began rising this year as a result of speculation that its Poker and casino games could benefit from a legalization of online gambling in the U.S.

“While this may be a coincidence, it is interesting that Words with Friends seems to have seen a bit of decline in recent weeks following the launch of Draw Something. In fact, Words with Friends recently lost its position as the top App on iPhone to Draw Something. Another article has speculated that Draw Something has been generating on average $250K in daily revenue in recent days,” Bhatia wrote. “We suspect that most of this revenue, at least currently, is being generated from the one-time purchase of the paid version of the App. In other words, it would be incorrect, in our opinion, to assume the $250K daily revenue run rate (if that’s accurate) is sustainable.”（source:venturebeat）

8）EA undaunted by Zynga’s acquisition of OMGPOP

By Brad Hilderbrand

After the Zynga acquisition of Draw Something creator OMGPOP, all eyes have been turning to the company’s rivals to gauge their reactions. In the case of EA at least, the response has been little more than a yawn and a dismissive wave of the hand. According to EA Corporate Communications rep John Reseburg, buying up unproven properties really doesn’t mean much.

“This reinforces the value of PopCap, a studio with multiple proven intellectual properties,” he told GamesIndustry.biz. PopCap, which created such multiplatform hits as Peggle and Plants vs Zombies, has basically been a cash cow for EA, with a string of hits that have all spent time atop the bestseller charts.

Not everyone sees EA’s decision to lay off as wise though, as others believe they missed a major opportunity. “Of course EA would spin it as how good their PopCap deal was,” said Panoptic Management Consultants CEO Asif Khan, “but their stock is down because they didn’t buy OMGPOP.” Khan and others believe that if EA had opted to buy OMGPOP and added them to the stable alongside PopCap and Playfish that they would have created an unstoppable mobile juggernaut.

While it’s true that OMGPOP has a fairly sizable roster of games, Draw Something is really the first one to capture widespread attention. Yes, the company has the capacity to create another hit game, but if publishers chased down every one-hit wonder out there then they’d be holding hundreds of companies, only a handful of which are profitable. If the OMGPOP acquisition ends up being a masterstroke for Zynga then EA can give themselves a thorough kicking, but in the meantime we’ll just have to wait and see if discretion is the better part of valor.（source:gamezebo）