1）Newzoo最近调查报告显示，苹果iOS创造收益占美国总体手机游戏营收的84%（游戏邦注：其调查样本为1.7万用户，并搜集了iOS及Android游戏营收榜单前200名应用的营收数据进行分析）。

Mobile_Gaming_2012_USA(from Newzoo)

美国各个平台手机游戏用户已从7500万增长至1.01亿，其中有69%是智能手机游戏玩家，还有21%是平板电脑游戏玩家。付费手机游戏玩家为3700万，增幅达35%，他们在iOS游戏上的开销比在Android平台多5倍。

Newzoo认为iOS游戏比Android游戏更易创收的原因与苹果绑定用户的信用卡帐号，提供便捷的支付服务有关。

报告指出，来自IAP模式的Android和iOS手机游戏收益占比高达91%；有62%“核心掌机及PC游戏玩家”也玩智能手机或平板电脑游戏。

2）Funzio近日宣布4月19日发布的最新iOS游戏《Kingdom Age》装载量已超过100万次，参与PvP战斗的玩家达到2000万。据GREE业务及企业发展高级副总裁Shanti Bergel所称，Funzio所取得的成就正是GREE投入2.1亿美元收购该公司的主要原因。

Kingdom Age(from behance.net)

3）Rovio日前宣布《愤怒的小鸟太空版》发布35天已收获5000万次下载量，成为史上发展最快的手机应用；该游戏打破了Zynga游戏《Draw Something》之前所创下的50天5000万次下载量的纪录。

angry_birds_space(from multiplayerblog.mtv.com)

4）据pocketgamer报道，诺基亚股东Robert Chmielinski日前宣称该公司的Windows Phone智能手机策略误导了投资者，并在纽约对诺基亚提出了集体诉讼，声称Lumia智能手机策略实际上无助于扩大公司收益。

Nokia-Lumia-900(from technomarket)

Chmielinski的律师表示，诺基亚曾告诉投资者转向Windows Phone平台有助于扼制公司在智能手机市场节节败退的情况，但实际上并非如此。这一点在2012年4月11日时表现尤其明显，当时诺基亚公布第一季度财报可能不如预期。

此外，Chmielinski还指出Lumia 900产品出现的一些故障也让人甚为担忧，公司曾因这一问题不得不向美国用户出让100美元，导致该设备“几乎变成免费产品”。

5）据insidesocialgames报道，6waves日前终于发布由Silverlake团队开发的Facebook游戏《Ravenshire Castle》（游戏邦注：Silverlake是由前Lolapps设计师在3月份公司裁员之后成立的新团队，该团队目前仍在6waves工作室办公，其投资者包括Lolapps创始人Arjun Sethi, Kavin Steward和Brian Rue，他们目前同其他开发商一样保持发行合作关系）。

Ravenshire Castle(from insidesocialgames)

在这款角色扮演和建设管理模拟游戏中，玩家要扮演一个Ravenshire Castle失散已久的继承人，他们要砍树挖矿以获取建筑材料，也可以购买虚拟货币加速建设进程，并邀请好友参与建设或拜访他们的城堡。

该游戏的管理玩家与之前的Raven系列游戏相似，不过其格调与故事与《Ravenskye Castle》更为相似。据公司产品主管Brady Flynn所称，早期的Raven游戏弱点在于重复性过强，导致游戏迅速丧失人气。《Ravenskye City》在2011年11月份最高峰时的DAU为150万，但现在只有35万，《Ravenwood Fair》在2011年3月份最高峰的DAU达125万，但现在已跌至18万。

《Ravenshire Castle》是出自Lolapps团队的最后一款游戏，其未来发展方向仍未明确，6waves仍掌握该系列游戏IP，但并未公布该系列之后的新项目。6waves曾将《Ravenwood Fair》推向中国腾讯平台，但《Ravenshire Castle》目前仅发布Facebook版本。

6）《哈宝旅馆》（Habbo Hotel）开发商Sulake日前向开放新平台，支持第三方游戏开发商向该平台发布内容，并与首家入驻开发商英国Remode Studios公司签署发行合作协议。Remode Studios代表作是iOS游戏《Magic Muddle》和《My Star》，其首款登陆该平台的游戏预计于7月发布。（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）Apple dominating Android with 84 percent of mobile gaming revenue

Meghan Kelly

There’s a reason why so many developers feels iOS users are more valuable than Android: Apple is killing it in mobile gaming with 84 percent of all mobile gaming revenue in the US.

“When analyzing Apple’s successful monetization, there is one dominant factor outside of differences in audience demographics and preferences: Apple requires users to connect their credit card information directly to their account, thus creating a seamless purchase experience,” said Newzoo chief executive Peter Warman in a statement.

Newzoo surveyed 17,000 individuals and took revenue data from the top 200 grossing games in the iOS and Android marketplaces. In the United States, mobile gaming overall grew from 75 million to 101 million players across all platforms. That is broken down into 69 percent of people playing on smartphones and 21 percent on tablets. While more people are introducing games to their daily train commute, playing to procrastinate, or adding a new device into their gaming repertoire, the more important fact is that paying players on the rise. Indeed, Newzoo predicts mobile gaming will see another double-digit revenue year in 2012.

Paying players have grown 35 percent to 37 million players, and those individuals play 5 times more money in iOS games, than they do on Android. As Warman noted before, this is probably because of how easy it is to actually buy the game — or in app purchases. Once you’ve set up your Apple ID on your iPad or iPhone, you simply need to put in a password to buy games.

There’s no entering billing information or credit card numbers. It’s so easy, Apple has had to make it harder (i.e. more password check points) to protect parents from having children rack up in-app purchase bills.

According to Newzoo, in-app purchases are where developers are really seeing the money. Ninety-one percent of mobile gaming revenue comes from money spent inside the game on both Android and iOS.

Newzoo attributes the overall growth to tablets and smartphones getting better screens (see: the Retina display on the new iPad) and processing power. The company says 62 percent of “core console and PC gamers” are also playing games on smartphones or tablets — a noteworthy number as mobile games were once seen as a way to pass the time, as opposed to a place for serious gamers to practice their skills.（source:venturebeat）

2）Kingdom Age racks up 1 million downloads in 12 days – Funzio’s latest iOS game Kingdom Age has seen more than 1 million installs and 20 million player-vs-play battles since its release on April 19. The company’s success was a major reason behind GREE’s $210 million acquisition of Funzio, according Shanti Bergel, GREE’s SVP of business and corporate development. For more information on the deal read our interview with Bergel and Funzio COO Anil Dharni.（source:insidemobileapps）

3）Angry Birds Space hits 50 million downloads — Angry Birds Space is now the fastest growing mobile app in history, passing 50 million downloads in 35 days according to Rovio. The previous record holder was Zynga’s Draw Something, which took 50 days to reach 50 million downloads.（source:insidemobileapps）

4）Nokia shareholder files lawsuit, claims giant ‘misled’ investors over Windows Phone deal

by Keith Andrew

Nokia’s view that its shift to Windows Phone will up its smartphone share has been challenged by shareholder Robert Chmielinski, who claims the firm has wilfully misled its investors.

Chmielinski has filed a class action lawsuit against Nokia in New York, centering around the idea the manufacturer falsely talked up Lumia’s chances of reviving revenues at the company.

That’s something, in Chmielinski’s view, it has so far failed to do.

Costly slip ups

“The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants told investors that Nokia’s conversion to a Windows platform would halt its deteriorating position in the smartphone market,” said lawyers representing Chmielinski.

“It did not. This became apparent on April 11, 2012, when Nokia disclosed that its first quarter performance would be worse than expected.”

Said lawyers also make reference to a “glitch” with the Lumia 900, which resulted in Nokia offering customers an automatic $100 in the US, making the phone “essentially free.”

Nokia itself has reported mixed fortunes for its Lumia range so far.

While CEO Stephen Elop has claimed sales in the US have exceeded expectations, making ground in European markets such as the UK – where Nokia is traditionally strong – has proved harder going than previously thought.

Fraud and deceit

Chmielinski isn’t criticising Nokia for failing to judge the ups and downs of the smartphone market accurately, however – something even the most established of commentators and analysts are guilty of.

Rather, his view is Nokia knew exactly how tough times were going to be, but talked up its chances regardless in order to justify its wholesale move towards Microsoft’s platform to shareholders.

“During the Class Period, defendants had both the motive and opportunity to conduct fraud,” adds Chmielinski’s complaint, which can be viewed in PDF form.

“They also had actual knowledge of the misleading nature of the statements they made or acted in reckless disregard of the true information known to them at the time.

“In so doing, the defendants participated in a scheme to defraud and committed acts, practices and participated in a course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit on purchasers of Nokia securities during the Class Period.”

Chmielinksi’s chances of success are unknown, but either way, the mere suggestion of a revolt within Nokia’s shareholders is especially bad PR for the firm during what’s already an admittedly difficult period.（source:pocketgamer）

5）Ravenshire Castle launches, marks possible end for “Ravenworld”

Mike Thompson

6waves has launched the long-awaited Ravenshire Castle, the final title to come out of the defunct Lolapps side of the publisher. The company is hoping that the game’s competitive mechanics will make it stand out from other casual titles on Facebook.

Ravenshire Castle is developed by Silverlake, a team of former Lolapps designers spun-off during the layoffs in March. The team has a relationship similar to to 6waves like any other developer working with the company under its new publishing plan, except the studio is still working in 6waves’s offices and its investors include Lolapps founders Arjun Sethi, Kavin Steward and Brian Rue.

Ravenshire Castle is a role playing game and building management sim. Players take on the role of a noble lion revealed to be the long-lost heir to the Ravenshire Castle estate, which has fallen into disrepair over the generations. Players have to chop down trees and mine rocks to earn wood and stone, which are necessary components for most construction projects in the game; removing these items from the land clears it for castle expansions. Hard currency Tokens allow players to speed up construction, buy extra soft currency and recharge energy. Finally, players can staff their building with friends and visit other players’ castles.

When asked about the similarities to CastleVille — to which the game bears a striking resemblance —  Product Lead Brady Flynn acknowledges the games appear similar on the surface, but says Ravenshire Castle will distinguish itself with its stealth gameplay, which adds both player-versus-player and player-versus-environment elements into the title. Flynn says this “light PvP” breaks up the monotony of Ravenshire City and will help extend its life on Facebook. The mode has players sneaking into rival castles to loot soft currency and special resources. The PvP mechanic comes into play when the center piece of each room (which generates currency and special items) is deactivated once it’s looted. When burglarizing a castle, players have to avoid being spotted, lest they be captured by a roaming guard. In order to get the biggest haul, players need to time non-player character patrols and avoid traps. After a robbery takes place, the victims are alerted to the event and key items need to be reactivated and can watch a video replay of the burglary.

Players can make their castles harder to burgle by adding rooms. Spacing rooms out so they aren’t adjoining means there are more hallways for rival players to be caught in by roaming guards, but this takes longer to do because more land has to be cleared in order to acquire the necessary space. Guards, meanwhile, are recruited from among a player’s friends and need to be placed strategically so they can quickly capture a player once an NPC spots them.

Ravenshire Castle’s management gameplay isn’t much different from the previous Raven franchise games, though its tone and story seem more like Ravenskye Castle than Ravenwood Fair. Flynn tells us the earlier games’ weakness was that they became too repetitive too quickly, which drove a lot of players away after the initial popularity wore off.  Ravenskye City peaked in November 2011 with 1.5 million DAU but is now at 350,000. Ravenwood Fair peaked in March 2011 with 1.25 DAU has since dropped to 180,000.

Flynn refers to Ravenshire Castle as the final game from the Lolapps team and explains and says the future of the series is uncertain at the moment. He says 6waves still owns the IP, but no new titles for the series have been revealed. 6waves has been breathing new life into games like Ravenwood Fair by bringing them over to Chinese game network Tencent, too, but the publisher says Ravenshire Castle is a Facebook-only title for now.（source:insidesocialgames）

6）Sulake launches new social hub for third-party games — Sulake is launching a new platform to expand its offerings to its Habbo Hotel players. The hub will feature content from third party game developers and signed U.K.-based Remode Studios as the first publishing partner. Remode Studios created iOS games like Magic Muddle and My Star and its first title for the new platform is expected to debut in July.（source:insidesocialgames）