1）据insidesocialgames报道，游戏开发商GameDuell最近发布的12个月调查数据显示，跨平台游戏玩家不但消费意愿高于单个平台玩家，而且其留存率也远超后者水平。

cross-platform players survey(from GameDuell)

以GameDuell旗下游戏《Fluffy Birds》系列游戏为例，在过去12个月中其跨平台用户月增长率达到125%（游戏邦注：用户可通过Facebook、iOS、Android设备及GameDuell官方网站体验该游戏）。在《Fluffy Birds》安装量中，社交网络用户占比44%，GameDuell.com占比48%，移动设备占比8%。

该公司还发现，跨平台玩家盈利性比单个平台玩家高25%，留存率也比后者多35%。

从iOS和Android用户对比情况来看，iOS用户在IAP上的消费额比Android用户多4倍，该公司认为这种现象主要与不同平台的支付系统有关，但亚马逊商店及其Kindle Fire平台在这一点上的表现也同样很出色。

GameDuell数据显示，约70%安装在平板电脑上的应用是游戏产品，成人用户比少儿群体更常在平板电脑上玩游戏。

该公司还指出，现在针对社交网络开发游戏的风险超过以往，因为这个市场已经趋于饱和，在Facebook上只有掌握大批用户的大型公司才能繁荣发展。而面向Google+开发游戏的公司将面临更严峻挑战，因为Google+并非游戏平台，并且缺乏成为游戏平台的潜力。

2）据Neowin报道，Mozilla最近宣布将于2013年向市场推出基于Linux和Gecko的手机操作系统Fire Fox OS。

firefox-os(from ghacks.net)

3）据insidesocialgames报道，日本DeNA公司最近与孩之宝签署为期三年的独家授权协议，将针对著名品牌“变形金刚”开发手机游戏。这些游戏将与DeNA旗下的Mobage平台绑定，并登陆日本之外的iOS和Android手机游戏市场。

transformers-dark-of-the-moon(from theappera.com)

4）Velti最近发布的移动广告行业报告显示，以色列用户对手机应用程序的粘性最高，其成人用户平均每天使用应用时长达80分钟，居于其次的是瑞典和新加坡，而美国用户平均时长却仅为38分钟（游戏邦注：其数据取自Velti对3.35万款应用中的广告监测情况）。

报告还指出，从5月到6月份，Velti平台上的体育应用内广告eCPM上升至76美分，增幅为23%；游戏中的广告eCPM则是90美分，增幅为20%。但最具盈利性的仍是天气及教育应用中的广告，这两者的eCPM分别为1美元和91美分。

从移动设备平台来看，iOS在6月份所占广告印象达62%，而Android则是38%；三星Galaxy设备广告印象增长缓慢，所占份额不足5%，而iPhone却高达31%，iPad也占比9%。

5）东京游戏开发商CyberX最近与Take-Two合作面向GREE平台推出社交篮球卡牌游戏《NBA 2K All Stars》。该游戏融入了30个NBA球队的500个球员的角色，其中的主打球员则是已经退役的迈克·乔丹，他是玩家创建首个球队时的默认“主力”，也是游戏中最为强大的球员。

gree-nba-2k-all-stars(from serkantoto)

玩家在游戏中可以到美国不同城市物色新球员，通过训练球员提升卡牌等级，并组合不同卡牌创建强大球队，或者与其他GREE用户结盟组建球队。

但有人指出篮球并非日本的热门体育项目，因此其大获成功的机率相对较小。该游戏支持运行于功能性手机和智能手机设备上的GREE平台。

6）据Guardian报道，有知情者表示谷歌“严重低估了用户对16GB、7英寸Nexus 7平板电脑的需求”，这款249美元的设备现在已经销售一空，由于库存不足谷歌现已不再接受这款设备的订单，但会满足上周已提交订单的用户需求。目前尚未公布该设备何时再上架的消息。

nexus-7(from techcrunch）

有报道称Nexus 7从屏幕、运行表现及用户界面等各方面来看都胜过Kindle Fire，该设备由华硕制造，但属于谷歌贴牌产品，华硕名称并未出现在该设备的任何产品页面。

观察者表示传闻称将于今年发布的iPad mini售价也是249美元，届时该设备有可能与Nexus 7展开正面交锋。

7）据venturebeat报道，社交媒介公司TBG Digital日前修正之前发布的报告并指出，Twitter移动广告点击率超过Facebook移动广告（游戏邦注：TBG之前报告称Facebook移动广告点击率是Twitter广告的4倍左右）。

tweet(from venturebeat)

TBG与Twitter发表声明宣称，桌面平台的Promoted Tweets广告点击率介于1-3%之间，而移动广告的点击率则更胜一筹，但Twitter拒绝透露其移动广告的具体CTR数据。

TBG之前报告称Facebook移动广告点击率为1.14%，其桌面广告点击率则是0.083%。但最近的更新消息则表明，Twitter移动广告CTR可能比Facebook移动广告多1-3倍左右（Twitter首席执行官Dick Costolo曾在6月份表示Twitter在移动平台收益超过桌面平台）。

8）Velti最近引用Jumptap、Smaato和inMobi等40多个移动广告网站数据制作的信息图表显示，iOS在英国市场的应用内置广告印象占比62%，Android占比38%。

虽然英法两国人口数量较为接近，但英国广告印象在欧洲市场份额高达91.7%，是法国（1.8%）的50多倍。但从广告点击率来看，法国广告点击率（1.58%）在欧洲最高，德国（1.57%）和英国（1.41%）位居其次。

2012-UK_infographic_FINAL(from Velti)

9）MBA Online网站最近发布一份信息图表指责Zynga是个“邪恶公司”，其中相关数据包括：

《Words with Friends》、《FarmVille》和《Scramble with Friends》这三款游戏是Zynga“邪恶帝国”的典型代表；Zynga日活跃用户达到5400万，玩家每天在Zynga游戏中累计投入时间超过200万分钟，每天在游戏和虚拟商品中投入金钱达300万美元，这些钱足以购买185部Toyota Corollas汽车；Zynga在2012年第一季度收益上升32%，在Facebook总收益中占比15%。

zynga-evil empire(from MBA Online)

（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）GameDuell: Cross-platform players monetize 25% more than those on a single platform

Mike Thompson

Developer GameDuell believes developers looking to break into the mobile and social game market are more likely to find success if they make their games cross-platform releases. Armed with 12 months of data, GameDuell says cross-platform players not only monetize better than single-platform players, but they have a significantly higher retention rate.

Using its popular Fluffy Birds series as a case study, the developer reports the past 12 months have seen a 125 percent growth of monthly cross-platform players. Users can play variations of Fluffy Birds on Facebook, iOS and Android devices and on GameDuell’s official site. Social networks accounted for 44 percent of Fluffy Birds installs, 48 percent came from GameDuell.com and 8 percent came from mobile devices.

Aside from providing developers multiple audiences to tap into, GameDuell also says that making a title cross-platform can have serious financial benefits. By launching Fluffy Birds across social networks, mobile devices and the company’s own website, it was revealed that cross-platform players monetize 25 percent more and tend to stay with a game 35 percent longer than single-platform players.

When asked how user spending on iOS compares to that of Google Play, Kalkowski tells us monetization is in keeping with the platform averages, with iOS users spending four times as much on in-app purchases than on Android.  When asked why this is the case, he says, “I think [the higher spending] comes from the frictionless pay system. But Amazon is also good in terms of monetization. We’re seeing Android become better and better for most companies. We like the Amazon store and the tablets there; it fits very well with our audience. The platform has a broader reach, but iOS is more of a gaming platform while Android is used more for other types of apps.”

Kalkowski also says tablets are especially useful mobile devices to build games for. Aside from the GameDuell’s data revealing that roughly 70 percent of apps installed on tablets are games, he tells us adults are more likely to play games on tablets than children or teenagers.

Creating games solely for social networks is a much more risky venture than it used to be because of how crowded the market’s become. In the case of Facebook, Kalkowski says only large companies with larger user bases can really thrive. However, developers like Zynga can migrate their users from one platform to another because there’s such a large pool to draw from.

Developers targeting Google+ are in for an even more more difficult challenge because, “Google+ isn’t a games platform and won’t ever become a games platform.”

Kalkowski admits, though, that if a developer wants to pursue a single platform for its games, success is still possible. “I know there are some companies that are only one platform and are profitable and doing well. But it’s become much more difficult.”（source:insidesocialgames）

2）Mozilla going mobile — Neowin reports Mozilla is throwing its hat into the mobile market with a new mobile operating system based on Linux and Gecko. The Firefox OS is scheduled to hit the market in 2013.（source:insidemobileapps）

3）DeNA lands Transformers license — DeNA has signed an exclusive three-year licencing deal with Hasbro that will allow the company to produce mobile games based on the popular franchise.

The games will be a part of DeNA’s Mobage network and will be available on iOS and Android everywhere except Japan.（source:insidemobileapps）

4）Velti Mobile Ad Report: Israel Sees Highest App Engagement, eCPMs Are Climbing

Anthony Ha Friday

Velti has just released its mobile ad industry report for June. As usual, the mobile marketing company has chosen to highlight disparate factoids that it culled from the data — for example, it says that Israel is the leader in app engagement, with adults using apps for an average of 80 minutes per day. Sweden and Singapore are next on the list, while the United States is way behind, with only 38 minutes spent in apps on average.

The report also looks at trends in eCPMs, i.e., the amount paid by advertisers for every thousand impressions. There’s a lot of talk about how those numbers are lower on mobile, but at least Velti says that for the most part, eCPMs increased from May to June. In sports, average eCPMs increased 23 percent (to 76 cents), and in games they increased 20 percent (to 90 cents).

However, the most lucrative categories are still weather ($1) and education (91 cents).

On the device front, iOS has claimed an increasing percentage of Velti’s ad impressions for the past few months, and the gap widened in June, with iOS accounting for 62 percent of ad impressions compared to Android’s 38 percent. (The breakdown was 59-41 last month.) And Velti says that Samsung’s Galaxy devices are seeing “slow growth”, at least in terms of ad impressions — collectively they account for less than 5 percent of impressions, compared to 31 percent for iPhones and 9 percent for iPads.

The data is based on data from Velti’s Mobclix Exchange, which supposedly serves ads to more than 33,500 apps.（source:techcrunch）

5）Take-Two’s NBA 2K All Stars Hits GREE [Social Games]

by Dr. Serkan Toto

Tokyo-based social game maker CyberX has teamed up with Take-Two to create NBA 2K All Stars, a social basketball card game using real players, for GREE.

The license makes it possible to feature a total of 500 real basketball players from all 30 NBA teams.

CyberX and Take-Two decided to put Michael Jordan, who is retired but used in the game as an “OB”, front and center in the game: he is in the title screen, the default “leader” of the first team users create, and of course the strongest player of all.

In NBA 2K All Stars, users can explore various cities in the US to scout new players for their team, level up cards by training players, combine different cards to create a strong team, or (of course) start matches with other GREE users.

Basketball isn’t popular at all in Japan, making it highly unlikely that NBA 2K All Stars will be a major success – even though there is a probability this will be a success in its small niche.

Last month, Take-Two announced Civilization and Pirates! for the GREE platform.

The game is now available on GREE for feature phones and smartphones.（source:serkantoto）

6）The 16GB Nexus 7 Is Sold Out On The Google Play Store

Matt Burns

Hope you got your 16GB Nexus 7 already. Google is no longer taking orders for the $249 model. It’s sold out. The product page on Google Play now sports a “coming soon” message and an input field for buyers to leave their email to be notified when the 16GB model is available again. The $199 8GB is still available with a shipping estimate of 3-5 days.

Citing sources close to Google, the Guardian reports that “the search giant seriously underestimated the demand for the 16GB version of its 7in Nexus 7 tablet.” Orders placed through last week will be fulfilled, but due to insufficient stock, Google is no longer taking orders for the model. There’s no word when the model be available again.

By all accounts the Nexus 7 is an impressive tablet with an even more impressive price. It outshines the Kindle Fire in nearly every regard with a better screen, improved performance, and a better user interface. Google has a winner with the Nexus 7, which is confirmed by the short supply.

The Nexus 7 is Google’s first entry into the tablet race. While the tablet is built by Asus, it carries Google branding. In fact, as far as I can see, the Asus name is nowhere to be found on either the Nexus 7′s product page or minisite.

A so-called iPad mini is rumored to hit the market later this year. With a rumored price of $249, the smaller iPad would likely steal some of the Nexus 7′s hype. Amazon is also rumored to release a revamped 7-inch Kindle Fire alongside a larger model that will directly take on the iPad. But as it sits right now, the Nexus 7 is the hottest small tablet available — but good luck getting one.（source:techcrunch）

7）Revised report suggests Twitter mobile ads are actually more engaging than Facebook ads

Jennifer Van Grove

Proving that it’s always good to dot those i’s and cross those t’s, social media firm TBG Digital has amended a report that originally concluded that Facebook’s mobile ad click-through rate (CTR) is four times that of the mobile CTR on comparable Twitter mobile ads. Turns out the opposite could be true.

Twitter, TBG said Friday in a statement, actually sees an engagement rate between 1 and 3 percent for Promoted Tweets on the desktop. On mobile, click-through rates are even higher. Twitter confirmed to VentureBeat that those numbers are accurate but would not provide specifics on the mobile CTR for Promoted Tweets.

Now, compare the revised percentages to the 1.14 precent click-through rate for Facebook’s mobile ad units, which, we should note, is already significantly higher than the 0.083 percent CTR Facebook gets on desktop ads. What we have here then is a completely different story: Twitter’s mobile CTR may in fact be one to three times higher than Facebook’s mobile CTR.

Why the flip flop? Apparently, TBG Digital wasn’t looking at comparable ad units. The company’s original report looked at Twitter Promoted Accounts — an advertising product that Twitter offers to brands looking to specifically promote their Twitter accounts –and found the mobile CTR to be just 0.266 percent. The problem is that Promoted Account mobile ad units aren’t comparable to Facebook mobile ad units.

“We took a deeper look at the data and, unfortunately, the engagement rates were not comparing like for like,” TBG said in a statement. “Twitter engagement rate measured click-through rate on Promoted Accounts, whereas the Facebook CTR was for newsfeed ads. A more comparable product for Twitter would have been Promoted Tweets, which typically see 1-3% engagement rates on desktop and even higher on mobile.”

In June, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said that Twitter’s ad platform is perfectly suited for mobile and that the company often generates more revenue from mobile usage than desktop usage.（source:venturebeat）

8）INFOGRAPHIC: Which OS reigns in the UK?

by Mike Shaw

UK is biggest market in Europe for in-app mobile advertising.

An infographic from Velti outlines the uptake of in-app advertising in the UK as compared to other core European markets.

The figures are from June 2012 and are aggregated from more than 40 ad networks, including Jumptap, Smaato and inMobi.

The results also show that iOS accounts for 62 per cent of ad impressions in the UK, but while the country leads the European market for total impressions, total UK clickthrough rates fall below both France and Germany.（source:mobile-ent）

9）Will the ‘Zynga is evil’ argument ever lose its luster?

by Libe Goad

For anyone in the trenches in the games world, there’s one phrase that you’re likely to hear repeated: “Zynga is evil.” Whether its an argument about how the FarmVille maker creates purposely addictive games, bilks its players for money or blatantly copies other games, there’s always someone ready to brand Zynga as the new ‘Evil Empire.” You’re off the hook, Microsoft.

The latest naysayer is a site called MBA Online, which rolled out this infographic tracking Zynga’s evilness. While I can’t say that Zynga is one of the most benevolent companies, this doesn’t make much of an impact. Instead of shelling out derivative arguments, how about contributing something new to this (seemingly) endless conversation?

In fact, I thought twice about covering this infographic, but just couldn’t resist Mark Pincus rendered as a cartoon vampire. I can just see him lounging in his office with a bottle of True Blood, muttering about how he vants to suck your blooood.（source:games）