1）手机社交游戏平台MocoSpace最近的Y U Play报告显示，在接受调查的1万名手机游戏玩家中，34%受访者表示自己为追求乐趣而玩游戏，32%称自己为消遣时间而玩游戏，剩下的34%称自己为参与竞争，结识新友，与家人和好友沟通，以及调情等目的而玩游戏。

Y U Play(from MocoSpace)

31%受访者承认自己曾经在课堂上玩手机游戏，其中有42%受访者称自己觉得上课太无趣所以才玩游戏，41%称自己是在课间休息时玩手机游戏。

调查发现MocoSpace平台55%的活跃用户每天在该网站上玩游戏时间超过总计超过1亿小时。

2）据Hollywood Reporter报道，Zynga首席技术官Dave Wehner在日前采访中表示，公司大部分营收增长和玩法应归功于手机应用（尤其是Android和iOS应用）。

他表示公司看好移动领域的发展前景，Zynga在智能手机游戏领域虽然还算不上佼佼者，但已经占据一定席位，Zynga在这一市场拥有大量发展机遇。

3）据insidemobileapps报道，Zynga最近手机游戏是《Zombie Swipeout》，它是一款僵尸主题的街机游戏，采用了与Halfbrick热作《水果忍者》相似的玩法机制。

Zombie-Machete-Coins(from insidemobileapps)

该游戏出自Zynga Mobile德国团队之手，可算是团队之前的塔防游戏《ZombieSmash!》续作（游戏邦注：该团队原名GameDoctors，在2011年10月被Zynga收购之前就已经投入开发《Zombie Swipeout》），要求玩家在触屏上划动手指消灭僵尸，但同时又不可让游戏主角Joey遇害，如果不幸触碰了Joey，玩家可以使用医药道具包继续玩游戏，否则就会导致后者丧命而结束游戏。

《水果忍者》在iOS平台推出的是0.99美元付费版本，但Zynga这款游戏则采用免费增值模式，支持玩家付费购买虚拟货币，但也推出了一个0.99美元、无广告的付费版本。

该游戏目前已入驻加拿大App Store，不久后将进入其他市场，并计划推出Android版本。

4）据《华尔街日报》报道，有匿名知情者透露苹果正下订单制造更宽屏的新一代iPhone，路透社跟进报道也得出了同样的结论。

large-iphone(from techcrunch)

据称下一代iPhone除了屏幕更大之外，还将采用4G网络技术，以及新的手机芯片集。虽然新款iPhone无法比目前的iPhone更厚，但它的屏幕可能会更长。因为4G芯片集目前还不如3G芯片集成熟，它们需要更高的功率以及更大的电池支持，所以iPhone不会更厚，而是采用更长的屏幕以便支持Retina技术。

5）伦敦工作室Six to Start最近透露，他们开发的《Zombies,Run！》这款游戏获得了苹果iOS系统的预购支持，他们能够通过与苹果直接合作，确保这个成功的Kickstarter大众融资项目顺利获得3000多个游戏拷贝版本以回馈支持者。

Zombie Run(from insidemobileapps)

App Store过去一般只针对每款游戏分配50个促销码，而Six to Start这个项目在大众融资平台获得了3400多名支持者（游戏邦注：截止2011年10月，集资超过7.2万美元），这些用户几乎都要预购这款游戏。该团队与苹果商谈之后，创造了两个游戏版本，一个是7.99美元的付费版本《Zombies Run》，另一个则是免费版本《ZR Advance》。

这些支持者需设置一个与自己的邮箱帐号相绑定的密码，等到正式发售当天再通过免费版游戏，使用邮箱和密码解琐完整版内容。

6）由Patrick Curry、 Michael Hadwin、Neill Glancy和Stephen Palmer成立的工作室Fun Machine主要瞄准智能手机、平板电脑和智能电视开发游戏，其首款游戏《Awesome Eats》自今年3月发布以来已收获80万次iOS下载量，目前计划向其他平台发布这款推广健康饮食和园艺的游戏。

Awesome Eat(from clubgames888.blogspot.com)

该工作室联合创始人Curry之前曾是迪士尼旗下Wideload Games副总裁及创意总监，代表作是Xbox游戏《Stubbs the Zombie》；而Hadwin和Glancy此前则在迪士尼Junction Point团队担任总监职位，Palmer之前是Gearbox制作人。（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）Two thirds of mobile gamers play for fun or to kill time says MocoSpace survey

by Tom Worthington

Two thirds of mobile gamers keep up their habit to quell boredom and have fun according to MocoSpace’s latest ‘Y U Play?’ survey.

34 percent of the 10,000 mobile gamers on MocoSpace’s platform who were surveyed said they played games for fun and 32 percent said they did it because they wanted to kill time.

The remaining 34 percent said they played mobile games to compete, meet new people, connect with family and friends, and even flirt.

Not so hot for teacher

The classroom is also proving to be a gaming hotspot with 31 percent of those surveyed admitting to playing games during school.

When asked why, 42 percent said it was because they found classes boring while 41 percent said they would play mobile games when they had some downtime.

MocoSpace also found that 55 percent of its active users were playing games on its network accounting from more than one million hours of gaming clocked daily.

“This survey showed us that our gamers are really engaged with the titles we are offering,” said MocoSpace co-founder and CEO Justin Siegel.

“We are working on developing more games in-house as well as fostering relationships with third-party developers in order to churn out more fun HTML5 games that can be played on any mobile device.”（source:pocketgamer）

2）Most Zynga revenues come from mobile

by Zen Terrelonge

“Really excited” about the platform.

Social gaming giant Zynga started as a Facebook games developer, producing the popular CityVille and FarmVille games before rolling out to mobile as the smartphone era took off.

However, the Hollywood Reporter claims things have changed, as Zynga CFO Dave Wehner says the majority of the firm’s revenue growth and gameplay is generated by mobile apps, particularly Android and iOS.

Wehner, said: “We’re really excited about what we’re seeing in mobile.There’s a ton of connected wallets out there, people who are available as potential players and payers.”

“We’re one, if not the top game player, on smartphones. And yet we have a modest share. So we have a huge opportunity to grow the share in mobile.”

The firm recently paid out $180 million for mobile developer OMGPOP to acquire its Draw Something game, which has passed 50 million downloads, though gameplay has slowed in recent weeks.（source:mobile-ent）

3）Zynga takes a swipe at Fruit Ninja’s hack and slash gameplay with Zombie Swipeout

Kathleen De Vere

Zynga’s newest mobile game is Zombie Swipeout, an undead-themed arcade title that builds on the swipe and slash mechanic pioneered by Halfbrick’s hit game Fruit Ninja.

Developed by the German arm of Zynga Mobile, the game is a sequel of sorts to ZombieSmash!, the GameDoctors developed tower defense game that required users to flick, drag and smash advancing hordes of zombie using touch controls. Zombie Swipeout was in the early stages of development when GameDoctors was acquired by Zynga in October 2011, and is the first game from the team to be released under the Zynga moniker.

Zombie Swipeout follows the further adventures of Joey, the hero of ZombieSmash!. As with Fruit Ninja, players swipe their fingers across their devices screen, with the goal of swiping through some objects while avoiding others. In Zombie Swipeout the goal is to cut up zombies while avoiding Joey. If a player hits Joey, they can choose to use a consumable med-pack item on him to keep playing or leave him to die, ending their current game. Players also collect a soft currency called coins, which can be used to purchase new weapons, some of which give competitive bonuses or allow players to earn score multipliers more quickly.

While the gameplay is obviously similar to Halfbrick’s series of Fruit Ninja titles, Zynga adds some strategic and competitive elements to Zombie Swipeout to set it apart from other games in the genre. Here are the key differences:

•Social Features: Zombie Swipeout is heavily geared towards competitive play. Players can log in through Facebook Connect to compete with their friends, or trade ZombieSmash usernames directly in order to add more people to their leaderboards. Players compete in weekly tournaments, and Zombie Swipeout keeps a record of how many first, second and third place finishes a player has managed to amass. Players can also send each other gifts of soft currency in order to help each other progress through the game. By comparison, Fruit Ninja has leaderboards and achievements implemented through Game Center and OpenFeint, but players cannot send gifts to each other.

•Leveling up: Unlike Fruit Ninja, players in Zombie Swipeout also level up as they play. Leveling up grants players to additional power-ups that make it easier to cut up zombies such as liquid nitrogen and grenades.

•Energy and weapons: Players in Zombie Smash must balance the bonuses awarded by more advanced weapons against their energy consumption. A higher level weapon will give better score bonuses but it will also take more of a player’s energy to use it. While players can unlock additional weapons and backgrounds in Fruit Ninja through in-game achievements, they are only cosmetic and don’t affect gameplay.

•Monetization: While the full version of Fruit Ninja is a $0.99 paid title on iOS, Zombie Swipeout is free-to-play. The game monetizes through the purchase of its soft currency, coins (used to buy better weapons, Med Packs and restore energy) and gems, the hard currency used to buy premium weapons. Like Zynga’s other games players can also purchase a $0.99 premium version of Zombie Swipeout that does not show ads.

Despite Zombie Swipeout’s gory theme and visuals, GameDoctors co-founder and now Director at Zynga Mobile Matthias Hoechsmann tell us us the game was designed to appeal to a broad, casual audience. As such, the blood in the game can be red, green or turned off altogether.

Zombie Swipeout is out today in the Canadian iTunes App Store and will be rolling out to other countries soon. Hoechsmann tells us as with ZombieSmash! there are plans to bring Zombie Swipeout to Android eventually, but there is no set timeline for the game’s Android release.（source:insidemobileapps）

4）Reuters Agrees: The Next iPhone Will Be Larger

Matt Burns

The Wall Street Journal made waves yesterday. Citing unnamed sources, the Journal reported Apple is ordering larger touchscreens for the next iPhone. Now, citing its own unnamed sources, Reuters somewhat confirmed the reported. Prepare yourself, iPhone diehards. All signs point to a larger iPhone.

The thought of a larger iPhone clearly scares people. Read the comments on my post yesterday, “It’s Time For A Larger iPhone.” They say 3.5-inches is the best size. You don’t have to move your thumb to navigate the whole screen, they say. A phone with a 3.5-inch screen fits in my hipster jeans!

But really, the main underlying thread seems to be some people are afraid that, just perhaps, Apple will adopt something from Android like the trend of a larger screen. Scary, I know.

Change is hard. Apple has used the same form factor for 4 iPhone generations spanning 5 years. The iPhone 4, and the 4S for that matter, is still one of the best looking phones on the market, with an impossibly thin design and stunning good looks. But it’s time for a change. Besides, logic and other credible rumors point to an internal change that might be forcing Apple’s hand in using a larger screen.

Along with a larger screen, the next iPhone is said to have 4G data connectivity. This requires a new mobile chipset, which, as proven by the new iPad presents a new set of challenges. Instead of growing the iPad’s height and width (and therefore the screen size), the new iPad was made a bit thicker to accommodate the larger battery needed to power the 4G chipset and retina display. Apple doesn’t have that luxury with the iPhone. The next iPhone cannot be thicker than the current iPhone. But it can be taller.

4G chipsets are generally not as mature as their 3G counterparts. They require more power and thus require a larger battery. Instead of making the iPhone thicker, logic suggests that Apple would then make the phone a bit taller, making room for a larger, likely retina, display.

This change will likely upset the Apple diehards. As the screen size increased on Android phones, iPhone users took to Internet comments and forums to defend the smallish iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen. It seems sooner versus later now, Apple will use a different screen for the iPhone. Change is hard.（source:techcrunch）

5）Zombies, Run! developer reveals how Apple let it give away 3000 “free” copies of its iOS game

Kathleen De Vere

Zombies, Run! developer Six to Start has revealed that it’s complicated, but not impossible to set up a pre-order system for an iOS game. The London-based studio was able to work directly with Apple to ensure backers for its successful Kickstarter campaign would be able to receive the 3000 plus copies of the game they had been promised in return for their donations.

Typically, the iTunes App Store allots 50 promotional codes per version of a game — enough for reviews, but not enough for a crowd-sourcing campaign, where the most common reward for donating is a free copy of the finished product.

Six to Start’s campaign ended on Oct. 2011 with over $72,000 raised and more than 3,400 backers, almost all of whom had essentially pre-ordered a copy of the game. After discussing plans with Apple, the company created two copies of the game, the standard, $7.99 paid version of Zombies Run, and a free version called ZR Advance. Six to Start declined to explain in more detail how exactly Apple contacted them or who they talked to at the company.

Backers were asked to set up a password connected to their email account in advance, and on the day of release, Kickstarter contributors were able to use their email and password to unlock the full game’s content from within the free app.

While not an official strategy endorsed by Apple, its an efficient solution for an independent developer with a relatively small amount of product to distribute. It’s unclear, however, what sort of deal the developers behind bigger crowd-sourcing campaigns with iOS rewards (the successful République Kickstarter has promised over 7,000 copies of the game) will be able to strike with Apple, and if Apple will still allow such a workaround in the future if crowd-sourcing becomes more common.

Developers considering crowd-sourcing the funding for mobile games through platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo or AppStori, should carefully consider iOS distribution before launching their campaigns.（source:insidemobileapps）

6）Disney and Gearbox veterans join up to form Fun Machine

by James Nouch

Four veterans of triple-A console development have banded together to form Fun Machine.

The Austin, Texas-based developer will be focused on smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs.

Founded by Patrick Curry, Michael Hadwin, Neill Glancy and Stephen Palmer, Fun Machine is working on both games and proprietary technology. The studio’s debut, Awesome Eats, was the first product using its smarts.

Since its March 2012 release, Awesome Eats has gained 800,000 iOS downloads, and Fun Machine is currently planning to release the game – which promotes healthy eating and school gardening – on other platforms.

The times they are a-changin’

“The next generation of gaming isn’t going to come on a disc or be bought in a store. It’s going to be downloaded and streamed to every screen in your household – and in your pocket – in the blink of an eye,” explained CEO Patrick Curry.

Curry formerly served as VP and creative director at Disney-owned Wideload Games, best known for the Xbox horror comedy Stubbs the Zombie.

His co-founders have worked on titles such as worked on titles such as Epic Mickey, Borderlands, and John Woo’s Stranglehold.

Hadwin and Glancy worked at Disney-owned Junction Point in director-level role, while Palmer was lead producer at Gearbox.

All the screens

“This is an exciting time to be creating games and original intellectual properties,” said Hadwin, Fun Machine’s president and studio director.

“Our technology lets us focus on innovative ideas and instantly test them across several platforms and devices. One lesson from the console industry that still holds true: iteration and polish always win.”（source:pocketgamer）