1）App Anie最近公布的2014年第一季度报告显示，Google Play全球下载量已超过iOS，但后者收益仍然高于前者。

Google Play下载量比iOS多45%左右，其主要发展动力来自俄罗斯、巴西、中国和印度市场，在墨西哥和土耳其市场的表现同样可圈可点。

iOS收益超过Google Play约85%，由于美国和英国Androind用户的投入不断增长，这两者差距正在日渐缩小。

q1 2014 index(from app annie)

值得注意的是，美国和中国是iOS收益增长的主要推动因素，中国iOS收益同比上季度增长了约70%（要知道中国手机用户使用的多为低端Android设备）。

但美国仍是iOS下载量和收益的领先市场，中国在、iOS下载量排名第二，收益排名第三；美国同时也是Google Play下载量排名首位的国家，而日本则是Google Play收益最高的市场。

2）据gamasutra报道，King日前宣布与中国游戏巨头腾讯合作，通过腾讯手机QQ和微信服务向中国市场推出《Candy Crush Saga》。

该游戏去年在日本和韩国发布（但King没有寻找当地合作伙伴），但进入中国手机市场普遍被西方开发者视为更为棘手的事情，所以King采用与腾讯合作的方式进入这一市场。

Re/code报道称这一消息令King股市振奋，当天其股票价格在收盘之前上涨了60%。

3）据gamezebo报道，《CandySwipe》开发商Runsome Apps此前曾反对King注册“Candy”商标一事，其创始人Albert Ransom甚至表示将与King对抗到底。而King采取的应对措施则是收购了《Candy Crusher》这款早在2004年就已发布的游戏商标权。

CandySwipe(from gamezebo)

但Ransom日前向媒体表示，他已同King达成合解，收回了反对King注册商标的意见，同时King也取消了对抗《CandySwipe》的措施，表示二者可以持续共存。

4）据venturebeat报道，谷歌在日前的季度财报会议上宣布，过去6个月中Google Play新增注册用户超过7500万；2013年谷歌向开发者支付的收益将近2012年的4倍左右。

google_play(from androidnext.de)

5）Newzoo最新报告指出，有247家游戏公司在美国手机游戏市场收益超过100万美元。

在美国iPhone市场，位列前10名的游戏创造了iPhone平台前1000款游戏25%的收益，而iPad榜单前10名游戏所创造收益的这一比例高达36%。在Google Play平台，前10名游戏收益占比27%。

candy-crush-saga(from appguru.com)

Newzoo指出《Candy Crush Saga》（在King公司2014年第四季度收益中占比79%）收益并未受到King其他新游戏的影响，尽管P该游戏有48%的玩家在过去数月中至少玩过一款其他King游戏。

PC平台是King旗下300多款游戏的第一平台，因为该公司首先在桌面PC发布游戏，之后再移植到移动平台。《Farm Heroes Saga》是King第二大热作，在iOS游戏榜单位居第6名，在Google Play为第7名。如果它能保持优良表现，预计今年可能为King再创收2.5亿美元。该游戏约有53%的玩家同时也是《Candy Crush》用户。

报告还指出Supercell新作《Boom Beach》有可能进入Newzoo下个月报告中的前10名畅销游戏榜单，该游戏目前日常收益已达50万美元。

除此之外，上个月在多数欧洲国家前十名榜单现身的中核游戏《Empire:Four Kingdoms》也有可能成为下个月的榜单新秀；社交博彩游戏表现超过以往，尤其是在美国iPad前10名畅销榜单中，有4款游戏属于bingo和社交博彩类型。（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）Google Play downloads top iOS by 45%…and now it’s not far behind on revenue, either

By Matthew Diener

At a quick glance, App Annie’s Q1 2014 index shows what we all already knew – Google Play outpaces iOS globally for downloads, but iOS generates more revenue -  yet the picture isn’t quite so cut and dry.

While Google Play is indeed doing the business globally – topping iOS App Store downloads by around 45 percent – its growth came from the strong performance of BRIC nations like Russia and Brazil. Interestingly, it also saw a substantial uptick from emerging markets like Mexico and Turkey.

App Annie notes that smartphone growth recently exploded in Mexico, long viewed as the distant third in North America’s mobile markets, increasing by about 75 percent in 2013 with an addition growth of 40 percent expected in the year ahead.

Mind the gap

And while iOS is still the front runner for revenue – trumping Google Play by about 85 percent – the gap between the two mobile platforms is narrowing thanks to increased Android spending in the US and UK.

Another interesting data point hidden in the Index is that China and the United States drove iOS App Store revenue growth, with China’s revenue increasing by about 70 percent quarter-over-quarter.

This growth is particularly surprising, given that Chinese mobile users historically gravitate toward low-end Android devices.

Overall, the United States led iOS in both downloads and revenue – with China coming in second and third, resp. – while Google Play saw the US lead for downloads with Japan reigning as the top country by revenue.（source：pocketgamer）

2）Candy Crush Saga coming to China via online giant Tencent

By Christian Nutt

Today, King announced that it is partnering with Chinese game giant Tencent to launch Candy Crush Saga in China. The game will be distributed via Tencent’s Mobile QQ and WeChat services.

The WeChat messaging service has contributed to a recent boom in Chinese mobile spending. Tencent is the biggest player in the Chinese games space, with both mobile and PC-focused businesses.

This announcement follows on from launches in Japan and Korea last year, which King handled without a partner. However, entering the Chinese mobile market is generally considered much trickier for Western developers.

Tencent has many partnerships with Western studios; notably, it also acquired a majority of League of Legends developer Riot Games in 2011 and a minority stake in Epic Games in 2012.

Re/code notes that the announcement caused a bump in the newly public King’s stock price; it ended the day up 60 cents a share before retreating in after-hours trading.（source：gamasutra）

3）CandySwipe and Candy Crush makers settle trademark differences

By Jim Squires

Here’s something I bet you weren’t expecting: Albert Ransom’s trademark troubles are officially a thing of the past.

Ransom, whose company Runsome Apps created CandySwipe, has been fighting King’s Candy Crush Saga trademark since long before “candygate” became a buzzword. And when King applied for the US trademark on the word CANDY, Ransom swore he’d fight that too.

King fired a returning shot by purchasing the trademark rights to Candy Crusher, a 2004 game, and using those older rights to try and have Ransom’s mark on CandySwipe revoked.

In a word, things were getting ugly.

But as of today, that ugliness is a thing of the past. Ransom has informed Gamezebo that he and King have “amicably resolved” their dispute. He has withdrawn his opposition against the Candy Crush Saga mark, and in turn King has withdrawn their counterclaim against CandySwipe. “Both our games can continue to coexist without confusing players,” reads an official statement on candyswipe.com.

Just prior to this settlement being reached, Ransom hit Kickstarter in search of $100,000 to develop CandySwipe 3.0. Just as soon as the project was live though, it was quickly cancelled “in good faith,” as Ransom said, while he tried to hammer out a solution with King.

Ransom isn’t able to answer any questions regarding the settlement, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it worked out in his favor. After all – if there’s no Kickstarter, the money to fund CandySwipe 3.0 is going to have to come from somewhere.（source：gamezebo）

4）Google: The Play market is helping developers around the world

Jeffrey Grubb

More than 75 million people registered for the Google Play app market over the last six months, and that’s helping developers make more money than ever on the Android platform.

Google reported its quarterly earnings today. The company’s revenues are up year-over-year, but not as much as analysts were anticipating. Despite that, the company pointed to some strong indicators that suggest its Android digital-content store, the Google Play market, is performing well and helping the developers who are using it to sell their apps and games.

“Google Play continues to be the central hub of our digital-content business,” Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette said during a conference call with investors. “We introduced new developer tools for Google Play games including game gifting and iOS multiplayer support. Over 75 million new users have joined Google Play in the last six months. All of this has helped to turn developers around the whole world into full-fledged businesses. In fact, we paid out almost four times as much in 2013 compared to 2012.”（source：venturebeat）

5）247 game companies generate more than $1M in mobile revenue in the U.S. alone

Dean Takahashi

There are 247 game companies that reap more than $1 million in revenue from mobile games in the U.S. alone. That should be a reassurance to small indie game makers who are striving to compete amid a sea of rivals.

But big mobile-game publishers like King, Supercell, and Kabam are strengthening their grip on the top-10 grossing ranks in most countries, according to a report by market researcher Newzoo.

Even with dominant players, there’s plenty of room to build mobile games with sizable revenues. In the U.S., the top 10 grossing games account for 25 percent of iPhone revenues and 36 percent of iPad revenues, as a percentage of total revenue generated by the top 1,000 games. On Google Play, the top 10 games account for 27 percent of revenue.

Newzoo said that Candy Crush Saga, which accounted for 79 percent of King’s revenues in the fourth quarter, isn’t being cannibalized by King’s newer titles. Candy Crush’s revenues continue to rise even while other King games generate millions in revenues. About 48 percent of Candy Crush players also played at least one of King’s other mobile titles in the past few months.

That suggests that King’s strategy of methodically launching numerous social-mobile titles that can feed off each other is working. The PC is still the No. 1 platform for King’s 300-plus games as the company releases its games first on the desktop and then adapts them for mobile.

Farm Heroes Saga is King’s second most popular title, taking sixth place on a global basis on iOS in the top-grossing ranks and seventh place on Google Play. If the game continues to perform well, it could add another $250 million in revenues for King this year. About 53 percent of Farm Heroes players also play Candy Crush.

Meanwhile, Supercell’s Boom Beach is expected to join the top-10 grossing list in many countries in Newzoo’s next monthly report. Supercell already has Clash of Clans and Hay Day in the top 10. Boom Beach is already generating $500,000 in revenues a day.

It’s still possible to get new titles into the top ranks. One newcomer is Empire: Four Kingdoms, created by German publisher Goodgame Studios. That title got into the top 10 list in most European countries last month on both iOS and Google Play. It is an example of a successful mid-core title, or one that is hardcore in style but can be played for minutes at a time.

Social-casino games are performing better than ever, especially on the iPad in the U.S. Four out of 10 top-grossing games are bingo and social-casino games published by DoubleDown, Big Fish, GSN. and BitRhymes.（source：venturebeat）