1）ABI Research最近报告预测，2013年北美、西欧、日本和韩国用户在平板电脑上的投入将达700亿美元，在全球平板电脑收益中占比97%。

2013年第一季度平板电脑出货量为3900万台，仅次于2012年圣诞假期季时的5250万台。这些平板电脑多数销量来自发达国家，并且这一趋势仍将延续。

在今年平板电脑的720亿美元收益中，北美市场将占半数比例，西欧和亚太地区合占50%。

中国虽然已超越美国成为全球最大的智能手机市场，但在平板电脑销量上仍然较为逊色。

分析师预测本季度Android市场份额将达60%，2013上半年平板电脑销量将超过PC销量。

Best_tablets(from pcadvisor.co.uk)

2）ABI Research报告预测，2018年全球五大智能手机市场分别是中国、美国、印度、巴西、俄罗斯，这五国在全球智能手机出货量将占比51%，其中金砖四国（游戏邦注：即中国、巴西、俄罗斯、印度）在全部出货量将占比33%，低于去年时的39%。

3）据mobile-ent报道，由IUGO Mobile Entertainment开发，GREE发行的游戏《Knights & Dragons》月收益已经超过100万美元。

Knights-Dragons(from appsgoer.com)

该游戏是获得GREE Partners Fund资助的首个产品，IUGO的目标是在2013年底令游戏月收益超过500万美元。

4）据gamasutra报道，Zynga新任首席执行官Don Mattrick所获得的工资、签约奖金和股东权益，总共约5000万美元。其中签约奖金为500万美元，年薪为100万美元，现金分红为200万美元，Zynga股票为1130万美元，价值500万美元的限制权益股票，1000万美元的股票选购权，200%至400%的年度现金分红（约200万至400万美元，从2014年开始）。

Don Mattrick(from allthingsd.com)

除此之外，Mattrick还有资格获得其他Zynga高管基于表现的额外奖励，价值约700万美元，以及6万美元的律师费，价值200万美元的解雇补偿金等费用。

至于公司究竟能够为Mattrick兑现多少报酬，很大程度上要取决于Mattrick能否令Zynga重现荣光。

5）据gamezebo报道，Playdead工作室最近向iPhone和iPad平台推出iOS版《Limbo》，售价4.99美元。这款独立游戏最初在2010年发布于PC平台，描述了一个不知名的男孩在黑暗的极简平台谜题游戏中的冒险旅程。

Limbo(from gamezebo)

6）据日经新闻报道，日本社交游戏公司在今年4月至6月的销售额降至350亿日元（3.48亿美元），降幅为10%，已经连续三个季度出现下滑。

与此同时，其营业利润降幅超过70%，降至50亿日元（4900万美元），若这一报告属实，这将是GREE连续第四个季度出现利润下滑。

GREE(from 91shouce.com)

日经新闻指出，造成这种现象的一个主要因素是GREE无法制作出堪比《Puzzle & Dragons》等高收益的热门游戏，此外人事成本上升，及其海外扩张策略也是重要影响因素。（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）97% of global 2013 tablet revenues in USA, Europe, Japan, and Korea

John Koetsier

Ninety-seven cents out of every dollar spent on tablets in 2013 will be spent in North America, Western Europe, Japan, and Korea, according to a new report from ABI Research.

That’s a massive $70 billion.

Thirty-nine million tablets were shipped in the first quarter of 2013, report author Jeff Orr says — the second most ever — only beaten by 2012′s Christmas shopping quarter, traditionally one of the strongest quarters. That quarter saw 52.5 million tablets shipped. The lion’s share of those tablets were sold in developed, wealthier nations.

And that trend looks to continue.

“North America is forecasted to claim nearly half of the estimated $72 billion expected to be spent this year on tablet devices,” Orr wrote in a statement. “Western Europe and Asia-Pacific will also have their hands in the honey pot for a combined 50 percent of world tablet revenues.”

That’s an interesting prediction, more for who it doesn’t include than who it does include.

China, which surpassed the U.S. as the world’s leading smartphone market sometime last year, still isn’t a major player — or even a minor player — in tablet sales. That might be due to the fact that Asian buyers have typically adopted the fablet trend more than Western consumers, perhaps preferring one mid-sized device over a standard-sized phone plus a larger tablet.

Given the focus of the tablet market on wealthier nations, one big question is whether Apple can maintain its tablet lead. Analysts have predicted that this is the quarter in which Android tablets will hit 60 percent market share. The race is particularly important in an era of declining laptop and desktop sales, as early 2013 will almost certainly see tablet sales outpace PC
sales.

The other question is when Russia, China, India, and Brazil will join the crowd of countries currently driving the tablet trend.（source：venturebeat）

2）Brazil, Russia, India and China to lead the smartphone market in 2018

by Phil Tottman

Developing countries explode as China is set to become bigger than the US this year.

ABI Research has forecasted the top seven smartphone markets for 2018, which will include the four BRIC nations.

Naturally, the US, which has been knocked off the top spot this year by China, is included in the top four along with India and Brazil.

Russia will be the 11th largest smartphone market in 2013 but will slowly climb to seventh during the five year period to join its BRIC friends.

Michael Morgan, senior analyst at ABI Research, said: “With room to grow the emerging BRIC nations are displacing established markets such as the US and Japan as market leaders in terms of smartphone shipments.”

The forecast shows that the top five countries will dominate 51 per cent of worldwide smartphone shipments, with the BRIC countries accounting for 33 per cent of overall shipments, which is down from 39 per cent this year.

These results all depend on how the market will develop over the next five years regarding manufacturer delivery optimisation and appropriate device pricing for the BRIC consumers.

The research also notes that Android and low cost hardware has given access to lower cost service providers for smartphones in the past two years.

Jeff Orr, senior practice director, ABI, added: “When you look at operating system share in emerging markets, you tend to find that Android has been busy fulfilling its mission to bring the internet to consumers who can’t afford a traditional PC or Laptop.”（source：mobile-ent）

3）GREE-published Knights and Dragons game breaks $1m monthly revenue

by Zen Terrelonge

Aims to smash $5m by the end of the year.

The GREE-published Knights and Dragons game developed by IUGO Mobile Entertainment has passed $1 million in monthly revenue.

It was launched as part of the GREE Partners Fund and was the first title to debut under the scheme, which focuses on the development of freemium mobile games.

IUGO aims to double the figure in the next couple of months and has long-term goals of passing $5m in monthly revenue by the end of the year.

Working with social games network GREE offered access to analytics that enabled the teams to witness a 75 per cent spike in average revenue per daily active user.

Jim Ying, VP of publishing and partnerships at GREE International, said: “Knights is our first collaboration with IUGO and we have big plans for the game going forward including building new multiplayer features and on-going in-game events for players. We’re just getting started.”

Hong-Yee Wong, CEO of IUGO Mobile Entertainment, added: “The publisher/developer relationship is really built on the ability to learn from and share expertise and resources. Knights &

Dragons is a great example of what that kind of partnership can bring to the market and to the players.”（source：mobile-ent）

4） Zynga shelling out $50 million for Don Mattrick

By Kris Ligman

Don Mattrick may have departed Microsoft failing to endear many to the upcoming Xbox One, but free-to-play giant Zynga is still paying out plenty to retain him as the company’s new CEO.

Between cash salary, signing bonus and equity, Mattrick stands to gain $50 million U.S. (€38M; £32.7M) from the move.

Here is how it breaks down, via Zynga’s regulatory 8-K filing [docstoc]:

$5M signing bonus

$1M annual salary

$2M cash bonus

$11.3M in Zynga stock (in a make-whole grant valued at $25M total)

$5m “inducement” grant of 1,785,714 restricted stock units, vested over several years

$10M option to purchase 7,357,143 shares, also vested

A 200 to 400 percent yearly cash bonus ($2M to $4M) over base salary, starting in 2014

Mattrick will also be eligible for additional, performance-based inducement grants similar to those paid to other Zynga executives, valued at $7M. He will also receive a (standard) $60,000 payment for legal fee costs, a severance package worth $2M plus twice his target bonus, a further prorated bonus, and accelerated vesting for all his grants.

With much of the package based on equity, a lot of its value will depend on Mattrick’s ability to restore Zynga to, or even exceed, its former glory. Stocks rose following the initial announcement, but at least some analysts remain skeptical about Mattrick’s long-term effect on the company, even scaling back their revenue projections for the 2013 fiscal year.

Nevertheless, if you had any fear that Mattrick will not be sleeping comfortably in his new digs, worry not. Zynga appears quite confident that their new CEO will ensure no cow goes
unclicked. （source：gamasutra）

5）PSA: Limbo is now on iPhone and iPad

By Joe Jasko

Calling all puzzle, platform, and adventure fans (not to mention people who just like things that are completely outlined in dark shadows)! Playdead’s Limbo is out now on iPhone and iPad for $4.99. The game helped usher in a new era of indie games when it was first released back in 2010, and still holds an incredibly high regard as far as indie games are concerned even today.

The dark, atmospheric, and minimalist platform-puzzle adventure follows the journey of an unnamed boy who is cast completely in shadows, as he tries to escape this new environmental prison he finds himself in. Saying anything more about what Limbo has in store will spoil the mystery of going alone into the unknown, which is easily one of the greatest things about this game.

So if you’ve never played this one before, now you really have no excuse not to!

And if you need some more convincing before taking the plunge into the murky in-between world of Playdead’s creation, you can read our near-perfect review of the PC version of Limbo right over here.（source：gamezebo）

6）Report: GREE’s April-June Sales And Profit Down By 10% And 70%, Respectively

by Dr. Serkan Toto

From time to time, Japanese business daily The Nikkei reveals financials before listed companies do in their quarterly reports or other statements.

Today, the newspaper says it has learned that GREE (3632) will likely announce that sales and profit went down in the April-June period, both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter.

Please note this hasn’t been confirmed or denied by GREE itself yet, including the more detailed numbers below.

According to The Nikkei, GREE’s sales dropped 10% to around 35 billion yen (US$ 348 million) between April and June on the year, decreasing for the third quarter in a row.

In the same time, operating profit has apparently dropped “more than 70%” to around 5 billion yen (US$ 49 million) on the year – if the report is accurate, that would be GREE’s fourth quarter in a row with a sliding profit.

The April-June profit would also be 50% short of the previous quarter.

As a reaction, GREE is said to cut “20 social games” that are not performing and intensify its focus on smartphone game production.

According to The Nikkei, the main factors contributing to these numbers are GREE failing to produce hit titles among intensified competition from other gaming companies like Puzzle & Dragons maker GungHo, rising personnel costs, and its growing (but not yet profitable) international business.

I personally think these are all valid points but that GREE’s challenges lie much, much deeper – at the core of the company’s DNA, so to speak (for example, the Nikkei report doesn’t mention the performance of GREE’s platform business at all).

And I also think the company shares these challenges with its main competitor in Japan, Mobage operator DeNA (2432): in this “new world” of smartphones and apps, there is a reason why LINE Corp, which also doubles as a platform and content provider, publicly says it’s not pursuing the same business model as GREE or DeNA.（source：serkantoto）