1）Juniper research最近报告预测，2016年消费者应用程序下载量将超过660亿次（2011年是310亿次），其中免费应用占比87%，开发者将通过IAP和订阅模式实现盈利。

智能手机应用在应用市场中仍将占据主导地位，但每4个应用下载量中就有一者来自平板电脑。

报告还指出，开发者需发挥创意，通过观察用户使用习惯，与支付服务公司进行实时更新合作，方有望从竞争中脱颖而出。此外，游戏仍是最受欢迎的下载应用，其次是多媒体内容，而HTML5等基于网页的应用将在未来引领潮流。

2）《Game Developer》杂志2011年游戏行业薪资调查报告显示，美国独立游戏开发者在去年收入显著增长。个人独立开发者从2010年平均1万1379美元年薪双倍增长至2011年的2万3549美元，而独立开发商团队成员同一时期的收入也明显提升，从平均2万6780美元增长至3万8239美元。独立承包人同一时期的收入则增长至5万6282美元（比2010年增加800美元）。

这些独立开发者的游戏收益也高于2010年，游戏销售额低于500美元的独立开发者比例为48%，低于2010年的55%；16%独立开发者在2011年销售额超过6万美元，而2010年的这一比例仅为8%。

但与2010年相比，2011年立志在失业之后走向独立道路的开发者比例已经下降，更多独立开发者喜欢与团队成员合作而非单兵作战。

该报告还指出，约有13%受访者在2011年失业，这一比例略低于2010和2009年的14%。有58%受访者表示自己在去年失业后又在主流游戏公司找到了新工作，其比例高于2010年的52%。

66%受访者自称在2011年收入高于上一年，而2010年的这一比例则是56%（游戏邦注：美国主流游戏行业开发者在2011年平均年收入达8万1192美元，2010年则是8万817美元）。

有65%受访者对自己在游戏行业的事业发展潜力“感到满意”或者“非常满意”，而2010年的这一比例则是61%。

3）尼尔森2011年第四季度调查报告显示，88%美国用户每月至少有一次在看电视的同时使用平板电脑（80%英国用户每月至少一次），还有45%受访者每天至少一次，26%受访者每天达到好几次。

86%美国智能手机用户每月至少一次在看电视时玩弄手机，英国智能手机用户的这一比例为78%。

4）comScore最近报告称，87%英国iPhone用户同时使用Wi-Fi和移动网络上网，而同时使用这两种连接方式的Android用户的比例仅为57%，可见iOS用户更常通过移动设备上网。

在美国有71%的iPhone用户使用Wi-Fi和移动网络，而Android手机用户的这一比例仅为32%。这表明高达68%的美国Android用户仅使用移动网络。

5）RIM最近宣布黑莓应用商店App World上线达3周年，至今下载量已达20亿次，目前共有7万款应用。这些数据意味着，该应用商店每月平均新增1940款应用，每月平均下载量约5600万次。

RIM指出Rovio游戏《愤怒的小鸟》是黑莓PlayBook平台头号付费应用，但需要注意的是PlayBook问世尚不足一年，《愤怒的小鸟》既是RIM本次唯一提到的一款游戏，也是唯一上榜的平板电脑应用，其他热门黑莓应用基本上是标准的智能手机应用。

6）据App Annie数据显示，《Draw Something》目前在中国App Store热门iPhone游戏榜单中位居第9名，同时也是第9大付费热门游戏。在iPad付费应用榜单中，该游戏居于第7位，在iPad免费游戏榜单则是第12名。《无尽之剑》、《愤怒的小鸟太空版》以及《水果忍者》也都跻身中国App Store前10名热门应用榜单。

值得注意的是，《Draw Something》尚未推出汉化版本，该游戏主要基于画出英文单词和短语，其中还有一些俚语。而中国市场热门榜单上的其他西方应用，基本上是《愤怒的小鸟》这类并不需要多少本土化处理的

游戏产品，可见语言障碍和本土化处理并不是《Draw Something》虏获中国用户的障碍。而Zynga其他手机游戏，例如《Scramble with Friends》、《Words with Friends》和《Hanging With Friends》甚至没有出现在中国市场的前300名付费/免费iPhone和iPad榜单上。

7）社交手机游戏公司Glu Mobile日前宣布从雅达利手中收购《Deer Hunter》IP。该公司使用该游戏名称开发产品时间已达7年，向多个手机平台推出了相关游戏。在此之前，Southlogic Studios也针对Windows平台开发了《Deer Hunter》游戏，但现在Glu Mobile已成为这个IP的持有人。

据Glu所称，公司已通过Deer Hunter品牌创收超过2100万美元，计划将该游戏系列引进Mac、Chrome Web Store和智能电视等平台。

8）分析公司Mobile Future最近发布的移动数据发展信息图显示，移动用户对社交媒介和应用程序的需求不断增长，2011年用户平均每秒下载792款应用，视频内容在所有移动数据流量中占比52%。

平均每秒都有1627个来自手机平台的Facebook状态更新，Twitter在移动平台的用户已达1300万。

每出现一代新设备，移动数据流量就会成倍增长。从普通手机到智能手机，移动数据流量使用率增长了35倍，到平板电脑时代则增长了121倍。

（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）Mobile app downloads to pass 66bn by 2016

by Zen Terrelonge

The hunger for consumer apps will reach its highest point in 2016 when downloads will pass 66 billion, more than doubling the 31 billion downloads in 2011, according to Juniper research.

Meanwhile, 87 per cent of downloads will be free apps, though developers are set to profit post-download from in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Smartphones will continue to occupy the majority of the app market, though almost one in four downloads will be made via tablet.

Dr Windsor Holden, report author, said: “Consumers are now demanding 24/7 access to services –  retail, financial, information, entertainment – wherever they are.

“As a result, brands that wish to remain competitive have turned to apps as part of a integrated multichannel distribution system: they have become a critical mechanism to increase engagement and reduce churn.”

Further results show that developers need to be innovative in order to separate themselves from rivals by observing consumer usage patterns, and to partner with payment firms for real-time updates.

Additionally, gaming will be the most popular apps downloaded, followed by multimedia, while browser-based apps of the HTML5 kind are set to lead the way in future.

Juniper urges operators to launch third-party app stores in order to further drive app sales.（source:mobile-ent）

2）Indie developers earned much more in 2011

by Staff

U.S. independent game developers working by themselves or in teams earned a lot more money last year, according to Game Developer’s 2011 Game Industry Salary Survey.

While salaries remained virtually flat for the mainstream U.S. game industry last year, individual indie developers more than doubled their average earning from $11,379 in 2010 to $23,549 in 2011.

Members of independent developer teams also made significantly more in 2011, bringing in an average of $38,239, compared to $26,780 in the previous year. Independent contractors averaged $56,282 in 2011 (up $800 from 2010).

Those numbers might not look great to a senior developer accustomed to triple-A salaries, but if you’re tired of working on sequels or just looking to break in the industry, there are more avenues available for you than ever before.

Their games made more money last year, too — 48 percent of independent developers made less than $500 from the sale of their game, down from 55 percent in 2010. 16 percent of independent developers made over $60,000 from the sale of their game in 2011, compared to 8 percent in 2010.

Despite independent developers making more money in 2011, the indie industry appears to be consolidating somewhat. Compared to 2010, fewer developers said they went into indie development after getting laid off, and more indie developers are working in teams rather than going solo.

More information on the survey is available in the April 2012 issue of Game Developer magazine, and worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website. The Game Developer Digital version of the issue is available for iPad now, and will be available to purchase online later this week.（source:gamasutra）

Survey: Game industry workers happier, laid off less often in 2011

The game industry was slightly more stable last year, as developers experienced fewer layoffs, and reported feeling more satisfied with their work, according to Game Developer magazine’s 11th annual Game Developer Salary Survey.

In the magazine’s survey results, revealed exclusively today on Gamasutra, around 13 percent of respondents working in the game industry said they were laid off in 2011, down from 14 percent in 2010 and 2009.

And somewhat more people who were laid off last year said they found a new job elsewhere in the ‘mainstream’ games industry during the same year (58 percent, up from 52 percent in 2010).

Survey participants said they made slightly more money, too, as the average salary across the entire “mainstream” games industry in the U.S. increased to $81,192 last year, compared to $80,817 in 2010. 66 percent of survey respondents said they made more money in 2011 than they did in 2010, compared to 56 percent from 2010 to 2009.

Having a little more money and stability made developers feel more optimistic about their careers as well as the industry as a whole.

In the “self-reportage” area of the survey, where developers can voice their thoughts about working in games, 65 percent of respondents said they felt “Satisfied” or “Extremely satisfied” with their potential career path in the game industry (up from 61 percent in 2010).

More information on the survey is available in the April 2012 issue of Game Developer magazine, and worldwide paper-based subscriptions to Game Developer magazine are currently available at the official magazine website. The Game Developer Digital version of the issue is available for iPad now, and will be available to purchase online later this week.（source:gamasutra）

3）Tablets taking over the living room: 88% of owners use them while watching TV

Jennifer Van Grove

New research from analytics firm Nielsen confirms what most have suspected about the symbiotic relationship between tablets and television, and offers some hope for a growing crop of startups looking to capitalize on the second screen experience.

In a 2011 fourth quarter survey of connected device owners, Nielsen found that 88 percent of tablet owners in the U.S. use their device while watching TV at least once a month, 45 percent do so on a daily basis, and more than a quarter (26 percent) go into multitask boob-tube mode several times a day.

The trend of tablets taking over the living room crosses borders too. Eighty percent of U.K. device owners indicated that they touched their way to entertainment heaven while watching TV at least once in a month.

Tablet usage in conjunction with television-watching trumps that of smartphone usage, according to Nielsen’s data, though not by much. In the U.S., 86 percent of smartphone owners said they used their device while watching TV at least once during a 30-day period. In the U.K, 78 percent of the smartphone-owning population said they were simultaneous consumers.

Multitaskers are, by and large, checking email (how boring), but Nielsen found one other popular activity that has important implications for apps such as GetGlue, Miso, and IntoNow focused on enhancing this extended, second screen experience.

“Device owners also seem to engage with content related to the TV as well, either by looking up information related to the show or looking for deals and general information on products advertised on TV,” Nielsen said in its report.

That last nugget could point to a movement in the making where mobile users embrace social television applications, a class heretofore relegated to the edges of social media land, for extra content. The findings also suggest that when consumers have a smartphone or tablet handy, they’re interested in learning more from advertisers, a clear opportunity for marketers and Shazam as it pushes ahead with its ad-tagging initiatives.（source:venturebeat）

4）iPhone owners connect to wi-fi more than Android phone owners

by Zen Terrelonge

While the UK leads the US for usage rates.

A couple of years ago, UK operators enforced data allowance restrictions on all mobile devices, so it’s perhaps no surprise that comScore has found 87 per cent of British iPhone owners connect their devices to wi-fi as well as the mobile web.

Presumably, connecting to the wi-fi is an attempt to avoid high bills coming through.

However, while most iPhones are connected to the dual platforms, this falls to just 57 per cent for Android phones, suggesting that iOS is used for more online activity.

Although the UK leads for mobile wi-fi connectivity, the US also shows a similar trend to secure 71 per cent of iPhone owners that use wi-fi and mobile web, while Android has just 32 per cent using both platforms.

That means a massive 68 per cent of America’s Android users choose to connect to the mobile web only.

Serge Matta, comScore president of operator and mobile solutions, said: “With the rise in adoption of smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices, network operators have seen a surge in mobile web activity and face new challenges in keeping up with data demands while maintaining their quality of service.

“As bandwidth usage increases and the spectrum becomes more scarce, operators, OEMs, and others in the mobile ecosystem should understand the different dynamics between the use of mobile and Wi-Fi networks to develop strategies to optimize resources and provide their customers with continued high-quality network service.”

Additionally, the report shows that UK subscribers using Vodafone, Telefonica and Orange were more likely to use wi-fi ahead of other operators, while the same applied to the US with AT&T, suggesting rivals offer better data packages or mobile browsing speeds.（source:mobile-ent）

5）Angry Birds on top as BlackBerry App World turns 3

by Tom Worthington

RIM has released a bevy of stats to celebrate BlackBerry App World’s third birthday, with the firm’s marketplace generating a total of 2 billion downloads since launch.

That’s from a base of 70,000 apps according to the firm’s latest numbers – a figure that means the store has seen an average of 1,940 apps added each month, generating a monthly average of almost 56 million downloads.

Bird is the word

As for the apps themselves, RIM has named Rovio’s Angry Birds as the number one paid title on BlackBerry’s PlayBook.

It’s the only game mentioned in the rundown, however, and – given the relative age of the marketplace, with PlayBook less than a year old – is also the only tablet app to make the list, too.

The rest of the top slots are filled up standard smartphone apps, with German outfit Bellshare taking two of the best-selling spots with BeBuzz and BeWeather.

Shazam Entertainment’s Shazam Encore and Motek Americas’ Color ID fill out the rest of the top five.（source:pocketgamer）

6）Draw Something’s unlikely power boost: China

By Ryan Kim

OMGPOP’s Draw Something, as we’ve reported, has become a huge mobile gaming success, prompting a quick acquisition of OMGPOP by Zynga . And while I went into some of the factors for Draw Something’s success, one reason that may have gone overlooked is how well the game is doing in China, home to the second-largest download market for iOS apps after the U.S.

Now, it might not sound that interesting that Draw Something is doing well in China when many other top western apps are also hits there. According to App Annie, the free app was the 9th ranked iPhone game in the App Store in China and also the 9th-ranked paid game. Among iPad apps, Draw Something is ranked  for 7th for paid and 12th for free games. Infinity Blade, Angry Birds Space and Fruit Ninja are also top ten apps in China.

But stepping back, you realize this is for a game that is based on drawing English words and phrases, some of them slang terms. Almost all of the other top western hits on the Chinese charts are games, like Angry Birds, that need little localization support or can stand alone. But Draw Something is a huge hit (probably more than 50 million downloads worldwide at this point) even despite its language barrier in China and lack of localization.

Consider the fate of Zynga’s other top With Friends games in China: Scramble with Friends, Words with Friends or Hanging with Friends do not appear on the top 300 paid or free iPhone or iPad charts. This might help explain why Zynga was willing to pay about $180 million for the company.

China’s booming app download market

China’s share of downloads has grown considerably, according to app analytics firm Distimo. From early 2011 to November last year, China’s share of combined iPhone app downloads between it and the U.S. went from 18 percent to 30 percent in the course of 10 months. And China recently surged past the U.S. in the number of free iPad app downloads. That’s key for companies like Zynga that make their money more from in-app transactions and advertising in free apps.

I reached out to Dan Porter, the CEO of OMGPOP, to ask what he thought of the Chinese support for the game. He agrees it’s pretty surprising considering the game has had no marketing in China and is only available in English. He said that at one point last week it hit No. 1 in the App Store.

“It’s so crazy that something like this is so far away in another language and they’re still finding a way to use it. That’s part of the way it grows, it’s enough of a blank slate, that people can do that,” Porter said.

I came across an image of some Draw Something pictures out of Hong Kong, and they showed that despite the use of English words, the Chinese users were drawing pictures that would get recognized by fellow Chinese players. For example, for the word “Fox,” a drawer drew an image of a woman recently in the news for having an affair with a famous wealthy man. The slang for home wrecker in Chinese is “fox” spirit or demon.

Porter can’t talk about future plans for tapping the China opportunity or just how many downloads there are in China. The game is built for English and with China’s character-based language, it would be harder to translate the game’s word guessing feature. But it could happen through Pinyin, a system of spelling Chinese words with English letters.

For now, it’s a reminder of just how big the opportunity is in China and also how Draw Something’s simple approach for a drawing game can appeal to a wide audience. The game is less about competition but more about collaboration and communication. And with its open-ended style, people can use it for creatively expressing all kinds of words.

“It’s mystifying really,” said Porter. “But the way people have used the local slang and converted it into the game, that’s interesting.”（source:gigaom）

7）Glu Mobile buys Deer Hunter brand from Atari

by Tom Curtis

Newsbrief: Social mobile game publisher Glu Mobile on Wednesday announced that it has acquired the Deer Hunter IP from Atari, and now possesses exclusive rights to use the license.

Glu Mobile has been working with the Deer Hunter name for some seven years now, making titles for numerous mobile platforms. Before the recent acquisition, companies like Southlogic Studios had developed Deer Hunter titles for Windows, but now Glu Mobile has become the series’ sole proprietor.

The company said that up until now, it has generated more than $21 million in revenue from the Deer Hunter brand, and it plans to bring the series to the Mac, the Chrome Web Store, and Smart TVs. （source:gamasutra）

8）Infographic: Mobile Data Growth and What It Means For You

by Zen Terrelonge

29m mobile users streamed music in 2011.

Analyst Mobile Future has created the Mobile Data Growth infographic to observe the way mobile phone use has changed over the past five years.

Calls and texts aren’t enough for most users, which have now adopted smartphones and tablets to feed their hunger for social media and apps.

29 million mobile users streamed music in 2011, while 792 apps are downloaded per second.（source:mobile-ent）