1）据pocketgamer报道，苹果在上周的iOS 7发布会上宣布App Store将推出一个新的“儿童”应用版块，以便“根据年龄为儿童推荐最佳应用”，帮助开发者向目标用户（尤其是适龄儿童的家长）推广儿童游戏，但并未透露符合哪类标准的应用可以进入这一版块。

这个App Store儿童应用版本可能将包含一些关于IAP的警告（即应用中是否含有IAP内容），以回应英国公平交易局对儿童误用IAP功能现象的调查。

appstore_kids(from pocketgamer)

2）App Annie和IDC最新报告显示，95%的手机和便携式游戏软件收益来自付费用户，或者通过微交易付费的玩家，而广告收益仅占比5%。

advertising（from IDC & App Annie)

休闲游戏公司King在最近宣布移除游戏中的广告，或许就是这一报告结果的有力佐证；应用内置广告虽然并非开发者创收的绝佳途径，但也不可否认其交叉推广不同游戏的作用。

除此之外，该报告还指出，主机游戏ARPU（每用户平均收益）仍然高于手机游戏。

ARPU（from IDC & App Annie)

3）据serkantoto报道，截止今年6月8日，日本热门智能手机游戏《Puzzle & Dragons》在iOS、Android和Kindle设备上的用户已突破1500万。

值得注意的是，这1500万用户均为日本用户，除了日本市场，该游戏仅在美国和韩国上线。

puzzle & dragons(from serkantoto)

该游戏开发商GungHo日前在大阪证券交易所市值为150亿美元。

4）据gamasutra报道，Wedbush最近透露了于6月12日举办的EA投资者会议的相关内容，指出PopCap主要股东“不可能从EA的5.5亿美元收入中获得超过1亿美元的收益”。

ea-popcap-plants-vs-zombies(from en.nolapeles)

PopCap于2012年8月裁员50人，9月份关闭都柏林工作室是裁员将近100人。在今年的E3展会上，PopCap展示了三款即将面世的新游戏《Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare》、《Plants vs Zombies 2》以及《Peggle 2》。

5）据gamasutra报道，Square Enix最近在印度尼西亚成立新手机游戏工作室Square Enix Smileworks，该工作室拥有23名成员，其中有20人来自印尼，其他三人来自日本，将致力于扩展印度本土和国际市场。

Square-Enix-Smileworks-Logo(from finalfantasy-fxn)

（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 to launch dedicated ‘kids’ category on the App Store

by Matthew Diener

Without any fanfare of note, last week saw Apple shake up life on the App Store for developers behind apps aimed at children last week during its iOS 7 unveiling.

In amongst news of support for third-party controllers and a fresh ‘flat’ look for the OS, Apple also unveiled a new ‘kids’ section on the App Store that joins the current list of categories available on the marketplace.

Apple claims the new section is designed to “spotlight the best apps for children based on age”, helping developers push kids games out to a willing audience – particularly parents eager of age appropriate apps for their kids.

Yet the Cupertino giant hasn’t lifted the lid on how apps will find their way into the kids category just yet.

The kids are alright

Indeed, given the section is currently being billed as a “selection of age-appropriate apps”, it appears likely it’ll act almost as a ‘safe zone’ within the App Store for younger gamers.

Whether Apple or the developer makes the final call on the age-appropriate content remains unclear, however.

“Now parents and teachers can quickly find apps that are perfect for children,” details Apple on its website.

“Just visit the new kids category for a curated selection of age-appropriate apps.”

It seems likely the kids category will contain some strong warnings about IAPs (if apps containing them are allowed in at all, in fact) in response to The Office of Fair Trading’s investigation into the ‘direct exhortations’ of children through in-app purchases.（source：pocketgamer）

2）Chart of the Week: Advertising makes up just 5% of mobile and portable gaming revenue

by Keith Andrew

The week after casual gaming giant King announced it is pulling advertising from its games – relying, instead, solely on in-app purchase revenue – it’s interesting to assess just how much money ads still bring in across the industry.

App Annie and IDC claim to have the answer.

In the latest paper from the two firms – the Portable Gaming Report – it’s claimed that 95 percent of mobile and portable game software revenue now comes from either users paying up front for games, or paying out via microtransactions.

Advertising, the paper claims, accounts for just 5 percent of revenue across the industry now.

Could King’s move be the first of many, then? In-app advertising is certainly no longer the be all and end all for developers looking to go free with their releases, but its role as a tool for cross-promotion between different games from different studios can’t be denied, either.（source：pocketgamer）

3）Puzzle & Dragons Reaches 15 Million Users

by Dr. Serkan Toto

It is not ending: Japan’s top smartphone game Puzzle & Dragons has topped 15 million users across iOS, Android and Kindle devices on June 8, maker GungHo (3765) said today.

What’s interesting is that the company is still able to rack up 1 million users in three weeks or less – for the 13th time in a row (the 14 million user mark was passed on May 18).

These are all Japanese users: Puzzle & Dragons is still only available over here, in the US, and in South Korea.

GungHo has been announcing this will change for a long time but has so far been focusing on the Japanese market (the Supercell collaboration might really kick-start a wider marketing effort in foreign markets, however).

New site Social Game Info has this chart that shows the growth of Puzzle & Dragons after the game hit the Japanese App Store on February 20, 2012 and how many days it took GungHo to go from one million to the other (on the right column):

At the Osaka Stock Exchange’s JASDAQ, GungHo’s market cap stood at US$15 billion today.（source：serkantoto）

4）EA: PopCap unlikely to receive more than a fifth of its earnout

By Kris Ligman

Newsbrief: As part of its annual E3 review, Wedbush has released several key statements from its Electronic Arts Investor Meeting, held on June 12th.

Of particular note is a disclosure from EA that key shareholders of PopCap, which it acquired in 2011, were “unlikely to earn more than $100 million of the earnout of up to $550 million.”

PopCap laid off 50 staff in August of 2012 and nearly 100 more with the closing of its Dublin studio in September 2012. At this week’s E3, PopCap showcased three new titles coming to various platforms: Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, the previously announced Plants vs Zombies 2, and Peggle 2.（source：gamasutra）

5）Square Enix launches mobile game studio in Indonesia

By Mike Rose

Newsbrief: Square Enix has launched a new mobile game studio in Indonesia, as the publisher says that game development efforts in the region have significantly increased over the last several years.

Square Enix Smileworks is a spin-off of Square Enix’s Smile-Lab studio, with investment from Gotanda Denshi. The new studio has 23 staffers, with 20 of those from Indonesia, and three from Japan.

The company says that this new studio will be in a position to compete on an international level, with games that will be aimed at both local players in Indonesia, and players internationally.（source：gamasutra）