|
|
 Buy on AliExpress.com
|
October 4th, 2019, 22:26 Posted By: wraggster
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Ustwo studio head Dan Gray said that Apple Arcade relieves the burden of having to explain to players that mobile games are really worth the Ł3.99 price tag. Gray said that making premium games has been a dangerous proposition for a number of years, and that even for a successful studio like Ustwo, it would still be dangerous to throw a game out there and charge Ł5. According to Gray, one of the positive things about subscription in general is there's no direct one-for-one value transaction.
I agree with Gray on all of these points. With Apple Arcade it's now up to Apple to convince players to pay for games. However, this merely solves a short-term problem that developers face, but in the long-run Apple Arcade and similar subscription services could be harmful to the games industry as a whole.
Like Gray, most developers that are part of the Apple Arcade launch line-up are very happy with their deals. Apple has probably paid them a substantial chunk of money for exclusivity, plus it's Apple's problem to sell the content to users. This eliminates the financial risk for developers, they get money upfront and can focus on production, and the marketing will largely be handled by someone else. "This reminds me of the old days of boxed games, where publishers were the gatekeepers to store shelves"
This reminds me of the old days of boxed games, where publishers were the gatekeepers to store shelves. Developers had to go through them to get games in front of consumers. When platforms like Google Play, Steam and the Apple App Store launched, developers were no longer dependent on others to release their games. They had the freedom to publish on their own terms, with complete creative freedom, and without having to share as much of their revenue.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...uences-opinion
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
 Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
 |
|
|
|
October 4th, 2019, 22:28 Posted By: wraggster
Mario Kart Tour is by far Nintendo's most successful mobile game in terms of first week downloads, according to data from Sensor Tower.
Mario Kart's mobile debut was downloaded by 90 million unique users in its first week, which is six times more than Nintendo's second most popular game.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was downloaded 14.3 million times over the same period, according to Sensor Tower's estimates, ahead of Super Mario Run with around 13 million downloads.
However, while Mario Kart Tour has made the fastest start, it isn't the most lucrative of Nintendo's mobile games. In fact, it's third on that list with $12.7 million in its launch week, behind Super Mario Run ($16.1m) and Fire Emblem Heroes ($28.2m).
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...its-first-week
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 4th, 2019, 22:29 Posted By: wraggster
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is the latest game to enable cross-play between Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Cross-play between consoles like this was pretty much unheard of until last year, when Sony caved and allowed it in Fortnite.
With the precedent set, there is now a small but growing number of games which allow full cross-play, such as Dauntless, Rocket League, and Smite.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...nabled-in-pubg
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 4th, 2019, 22:31 Posted By: wraggster
Pokémon Masters has grossed $33.3 million in its first month, making it the second best performing Pokémon mobile title.
Developed by Nintendo's longtime mobile partner DeNA, Pokémon Masters grossed way above any other Pokémon mobile title -- while also racking up 12 million downloads -- according to data from Sensor Tower Store Intelligence.
The Pokémon Company's own mobile offering Pokémon Quest is a distant third with $7.5 million gross revenue in the first month, followed by Pokémon Dual ($3.7 million), Magikarp Jump ($3.3 million), and Rumble Rush ($760,000).
However, Pokémon Masters still pales in comparison to Niantic's Pokémon Go, which generated nine times more spending in its first month to gross around $302 million despite being available in only five markets.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...in-first-month
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 4th, 2019, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster
Checkm8, by axi0mX, is a bootrom exploit for most modern iOS devices that was released earlier today, a little over 9 years since limera1n‘s release which was a bootrom exploit that worked on the iPhone 3GS/4 and other A4 devices. This exploit, which can be accessed from DFU mode, was patched by Apple in summer 2018 during the iOS 12 beta phase and makes use of a UaF (use-after-free) vulnerability found in iBoot’s USB code.
Checkm8 works on Apple A5 to A11 (included) devices which include:
- Every iPhone from the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 8 (Plus)/iPhone X
- The iPod Touch 5, 6 and 7
- Every iPad from the iPad 2 to the iPad 7th generation (no word has been given on whether the exploit is compatible with the iPad 7th generation (released in 2019) but it’s doubtful that Apple has released a bootROM update for A10 devices as the iPod Touch 7 was released earlier this year after the bug was found and patched and is still vulnerable to it)
- Every iPad Pro excluding the 2018 models
- Every iPad Air excluding the iPad Air 3 (2019)
- All iPad Mini devices excluding the iPad Mini 5 (2019)
http://wololo.net/2019/09/27/ios-dev...-the-iphone-x/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 7th, 2019, 19:22 Posted By: wraggster
PPSSPP v1.9.3 is released. PPSSPP is a fast and portable PSP emulator for Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux, written in C++.
PPSSPP v1.9.3 Changelog:
* Flicker fixed in God of War that appeared with newer drivers for Mali GPUs (#12224)
* Improve performance of God of War on Vulkan (#12242), implement built-in GPU profiler (#12262, #12266)
* Vertex range culling fixed on ARM Mali (#12227)
* Started to improve VFPU precision, resulting so far in a fix for the long standing Tekken 6 leg shaking problem (#12217)
* Fixed a VFPU precision snafu on ARM64, fixing disappearing officers in Warriors Orochi (#11299) and some problems in Tomb Raider (#11179).
* Vulkan is the default again on Android versions newer than Pie
* Fix various homebrew store issues
* GPU pause signal handling fixed, fixing some hangs in Bleach and Armored Core games (#12160)
* Audio sample rate conversion handling fixes (#12147)
* Some Vulkan optimizations (pre-rotation (#12216), perf fix in Metal Gear Acid, etc)
* Multiple fixes for the UWP build (#12036, others)
* MP3 playback fixes (#12005)
* Audio in Motorstorm: Arctic Edge fixed by returning errors correctly (#12121)
* Audio glitches in Final Fantasy Tactics fixed (#9956)
* Camera display in Invizimals fixed (#12278, #8521)
* Added hotkeys for texture dump and replace (#11938)
* Added Visual Studio 2019 support. Windows XP is no longer supported (#11995, others)
* Fixes for video capture (#12069)
* Added a separate sound volume for alternative speed (#12124)
* Improved mouse control (Windows only) (#12173, #12176)
* Support for installing texture packs and ISOs from zips (#12175)
* Right analog support for touch controls (only used by patched games and some HD remasters) (#12182)
* Android: Fix OpenSL initialization, possibly helps audio crackle a little. (#12333).
* Fix graphics on Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
* Fixed strange vehicle behavior in MGS:PW (somehow) (#12342)
* Ported to the Nintendo Switch by m4xw! Builds available on m4xw's Patreon.
http://www.emucr.com/2019/10/ppsspp-v193.html
http://www.ppsspp.org/index.html
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 9th, 2019, 21:21 Posted By: wraggster
Much has been made about Nintendo's latest mobile game launch. Mario Kart is one of Nintendo's crown jewels; a game that is both a system-seller for whatever generation of Nintendo device you can think of, as well as a game that continually sets the standard for what a fun racing game should be.
Nintendo games running on Nintendo's own hardware tend to be a seamless experience. However, shifting these games onto mobile has meant that the combination of classic Nintendo IP and free-to-play monetization has created a very different user experience.
Nintendo has already experimented with different monetization models. The first foray into mobile, Miitomo, used in-app purchases to allow players to customise their Mii avatar. This was quickly followed by Super Mario Run, which was positioned as a free-to-start game with a $10 price tag for the full experience. Subsequent games Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp make use of a stamina/energy system that is very familiar to many free-to-play games."Mario Kart Tour is probably the first implementation of a Battle Pass that puts a game mode behind a paywall"
For Mario Kart Tour, Nintendo has shifted its monetization approach once again, using its own take on the 'Battle Pass' approach. The hard paywall this has introduced to the game has already created plenty of negativity, but as we'll see, Nintendo is just the latest games company to use battle passes as their key monetization strategy.
Mario Kart's season (tours) last for two weeks and players have a limited time to complete and earn the rewards. Similar to any Battle Pass, the Gold Pass unlocks the "premium" reward track. One interesting difference from the norm, however, is the implementation of the gold pass as a monthly-based subscription, whereas other Battle Passes ask for a single transaction for the entire season (e.g. two months). Mario Kart Tour also puts the fastest racing class behind the paywall of the Gold Pass instead of just giving better season progression rewards.
Battle Passes are relatively new to the mobile gaming market. Fortnite was the first major title to introduce it back in spring of 2018 with the game's mobile launch. For a while, the feature was mainly seen in other Battle Royale games, but if we fast forward to today, its popularity has skyrocketed. The big boom started early this year, back in February only 2% of top 100 grossing games (iOS US) included a Battle Pass and today we are at 13% with a clear increasing trend.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ur-battle-pass
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 9th, 2019, 21:21 Posted By: wraggster
Neo Liu leads Tencent Games' North American publishing team, and while there are other projects on his plate and things planned for the future, right now his focus is on PUBG Mobile and growing the game's profile as an esport.
Needless to say, there are some challenges with that proposition. When Liu speaks with GamesIndustry.biz about those challenges, he readily acknowledges some of the hurdles in front of him. For one thing, the field of "mobile esports" is even less developed than PC and console esports in North America.
"In the US or the North American market, console and PC are still dominating," Liu says. "A lot of players use these devices, but the trend with mobile users is increasing and especially as more people have affordable mobile devices, more people will want to enjoy games on them."
He likens the situation to what happened in China earlier this decade, when mobile esports were just starting to gain traction. At the time, Liu says people didn't really take mobile esports seriously for similar reasons, but, "they eventually figured out mobile esports is something real, something capable of being accepted by a wider audience. But the way it's viewed through the public is a little different from the traditional console or PC esports, because people are more casual."
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ts-for-casuals
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 9th, 2019, 21:31 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft is now making its family control settings available on Android devices.
The company has already made it possible for parents to control how long and when kids play games across Xbox consoles and Windows 10. And today it's enabling parents to specifically control how children interact with individual games and apps -- whether that's Sea of Thieves or Netflix. This means that children who may have been given a time limit on a game cannot simply get around it by moving devices.
"The new App and Game limits feature goes further by enabling two key things," begins Microsoft's family audience product and strategy lead Mouna Sidi Hida. "It allows families to set limits at the app and game level. I can set a limit for a specific app or game, and not just a blanket device-wide limit.
"That was based on feedback from customers, who -- particularly on Windows 10 devices -- use their device for multiple reasons, such as gaming, entertainment and homework. The ability to set limits at the app or game level makes it easier to use the device for other things, like homework.""It is natural to want to protect kids across as many devices as possible"
To get the service working on Android, parents must install the Microsoft Launcher and sign into their Microsoft account, and that will work for all apps on that device.
"Our goal is for this feature to help families develop healthy habits and strike that balance that we know they want," says Hida.
Microsoft's family settings already include screen time, content filters, spending limits, online safety settings and more. Parents can control what websites are visited, who children can connect with, and how they engage with them. Microsoft says one of its focuses is to encourage discussion between the parent and child about online behaviour, and children can request extra playtime, which will result in a notification being sent to the parent(s).
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ngs-to-android
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 9th, 2019, 21:34 Posted By: wraggster
A Canadian law firm has begun proceedings to open a class action lawsuit against Epic Games.
Acting on behalf of the parents of two minors, Montreal-based Calex Legal filed a legal notice late last week, claiming that Epic Games knowingly created Fortnite to be as addictive as possible.
According to the filing, the two unnamed minors -- aged ten and 15 -- have both developed addictions to Fortnite, spending around $600 and $500 respectively on the game over the past year or so.
Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO) gaming disorder classification, Calex Legal highlights comparisons to both heroin and cocaine addiction.
"Human psychology and manipulation of the human brain has been the epicenter of Fortnite development process that has been specially designed to be highly addictive," reads the filing.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...nite-addiction
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 10th, 2019, 21:47 Posted By: wraggster
Jam City's Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery has made $153.5 million in gross revenue since launch in April 2018.
54% of that revenue came from iOS users with $83.3 million in revenue coming from Apple's platform, versus $70.2 million in revenue generated by Google Play users, according to Sensor Tower.
Breaking down these figures, it's worth noting that almost half of all Hogwarts Mystery sales came from the US, equivalent to $83.3 million. Following up was Germany with $13.4 million generated in revenue - 8.7% of the total - and finally the UK with its 8% share equaling to $12.3 million.
In terms of downloads, Hogwarts Mystery has been installed 54.6 million times across both iOS and Android. Interestingly, a majority of these downloads came from Android, despite Google's platform not generating as much revenue for Jam City.
53.7% of all installs came from Google Play, which equalled to 29.3 million downloads, versus 25.3 million unique installs coming from the App Store.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...50m-in-revenue
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 10th, 2019, 21:59 Posted By: wraggster
axi0mX released a groundbreaking bootrom exploit called checkm8 around two weeks ago. This exploit, which uses an unpatchable vulnerability found in the bootrom of A5-A11 iOS devices, allows the execution of unsigned code at a very low-level thus making the creation of jailbreaks much easier since the boot process can be modified.
Checkm8 is currently doing wonders thanks to the work of big names such as Luca Todesco, s1guza, nullpixel, xerub and ih8sn0w
Over the last few days, Luca Todesco and other prominent iOS developers have been making lots of headway with the power that the checkm8 exploit gave them and these things include:
- Control of the framebuffer at a low level which allows for printing text on screen & custom boot logos
- Usermode code execution, the ability to obtain tfp0 and getting past AMFI
- Dynamic patch finding is being used to do this which means that offsets are found on the fly thus reducing the work needed to port tools/hacks using checkm8 to other vulnerable devices
- It is now possible to set the nonce generator via DFU mode thus making nonce setters effectively redundant
- A concise tutorial on how this can be done is found here
- Only the iPhone 5S and A10/A10X devices are supported as of right now
- Downgrading the iPhone 5S (and soon, other compatible A7 devices) to iOS 10.3.3 as this version is still being OTA signed for certain devices.
- A tutorial can be found here.
- According to this tweet, checkra1n might be the name of an upcoming jailbreak tool which we may be seeing in the near future considering the progress that’s currently going on
Without a doubt, the things above are all pretty exciting and Luca Todesco said that some tools will be released as soon as a couple of known bugs are fixed. With this in mind and the vast amount of people working with Luca, we might see an iOS 13 jailbreak in the coming weeks which is truly reminiscent of the limera1n days!
http://wololo.net/2019/10/10/news-ps...-in-user-mode/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 14th, 2019, 22:52 Posted By: wraggster
Fortnite is currently offline, though it's not an accident or a technical error that's rendered it unplayable.
Yesterday, the game's latest live event saw the entirety of the game's battle royale mode -- including its island location, players, Battle Bus, its lobby menu screens, and everything else -- devoured in-game by a black hole caused by a giant meteor. These events were visible both in the game as well as through a livestream on the official Twitch channel. Since then, Fortnite has been unavailable for play and simply shows a black screen with the dim outline of a black hole at the center when you start it up, with the same image being shown on Fortnite's official Twitter account and Twitch channel.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...d-of-chapter-2
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 14th, 2019, 23:06 Posted By: wraggster
Tencent's PUBG Mobile has become the world's top-grossing smartphone game, dethroning Arena of Valor.
According to the Q3 report from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, PUBG Mobile revenue spiked 652% year-on-year, grossing $496 million for the period.
Last month, Sensor Tower also reported that PUBG Mobile was the first battle roayle mobile title to surpass $1 billion lifetime revenue, spurred along by its relaunch in China under the moniker Game for Peace.
Meanwhile, rival top-grossing games Arena of Valor and Fate/Grand Order generated $377 million, and $354 million for the quarter.
Niantic's Pokemon Go however was the fastest-growing game in terms of revenue for the period, up 63% quarter-over-quarter.
These numbers tie into the overall growth in mobile revenue, which was up 20% year-over-year, reaching $16.3 billion for the period.
While games represented a marginally smaller share of total in-app spending for Q3, it still accounted for 74% of global revenue.
Spending increased on both Apple and Android, with the revenue split remaining roughly 60/40 in favour of the App Store.
Apple continues to enjoy the highest spending rates, despite a lower install base than Android, with total spend up 19% year-on-year to $9.8 billion. Meanwhile, user spend was up 21.7% year-on-year on Google Play, reaching $6.5 billion for the period.
Both Google Play and the App Store also saw increased downloads, with the combined number up 17.6% year-on-year to 11.1 billion.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...one-game-in-q3
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 20th, 2019, 21:12 Posted By: wraggster
You'd think, given the inevitable backlash reaction, that we would have long since moved past the point where mobile game operators try to brag about how much money their biggest "whales" have spent. I guess that memo never quite reached Yodo1 boss Henry Fong, who blithely announced a few days ago that a player of Transformers: Earth Wars (which is developed by UK-based Space Ape Games but operated in China by Yodo1) has spent US$150,000 on the title.
These headline figures are probably meant to drive home the popularity of the game or the dedication of its fans, but inevitably, the conversation sparked has been quite a different one -- leading straight back to the increasing criticism and scrutiny of game monetisation practices which has gone far beyond consumer disquiet and is being actively taken up by governments around the world.
The reason it's terribly unwise to boast about these kinds of "high roller" numbers is, in part, that reactions to cases like this are always pretty extreme. There remains a fairly strong sense among a not insignificant chunk of game consumers that there's something intrinsically wrong with people playing a mobile game who end up paying out more than the cost of a full-price PC or console game. It's a position born to quite an extent from prejudice and the inability to see that their own perception of value is personal, not universal; "If you're paying that much money you could just have bought a real game" assumes a definition of "real games" that not everyone shares by any means. There are plenty of people who have the time and inclination to play mobile games but no desire whatsoever to engage with PC or console titles, and there's nothing wrong with that choice.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-games-opinion
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
October 23rd, 2019, 18:31 Posted By: wraggster
The games industry may be a bit off-stride as it enters the holiday sales season. Superdata released its monthly sales report today, saying that worldwide digital spending on games in September was down 1% to $8.9 billion.
Part of that dip was attributable to new releases not living up to expectations, while another part was due to one established hit suffering a steeper drop. Superdata estimated that Fortnite revenue across all platforms was down 43% month-over-month, making it the worst month of sales for Epic's hit since November of 2017.
That decline was mirrored on Superdata's charts, where Fornite had been number one on consoles in August, but fell to seventh in September. On the PC charts, Fortnite slid from sixth to ninth.
As for the disappointing new releases, FIFA 20 did little to spark the series fortunes, as Superdata reported FIFA in-game spending declined slightly for the month. The firm attributed that to a tough comparison against last year's FIFA, which might have benefitted from launching in the wake of the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...pending-charts
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
