Microsoft has just sent out a round of invites to the press to attend a special event at its Redmond, Washington campus on May 21 at 10 AM PT. The event is associated with the hashtag #XboxReveal, and promises to show off a “new generation” of Xbox, so it’s safe to say we’ll get our first glimpse of Microsoft’s next-generation home gaming console at the event. → Read More
Spaceport.io has just announced that part of its team, but not its technology, is moving to Facebook, and the social network has confirmed the talent deal to me. But instead of shutting down, Spaceport.io will continue to operate its Adobe Air alternative under the direction of co-founder Peter Relan and the team from his incubator YouWeb that backed Spaceport. → Read More
Looks like Baidu and Zynga are the most recent victims of a bogus press release stunt. This morning, a company called PR*Urgent put out a press release saying that Baidu — known as the “Google of China” — wanted to acquire Zynga, the social gaming giant. It claimed Baidu offered to pay $10 per Zynga share in cash. But a PR representative for Baidu has categorically denied the news. “Baidu had… → Read More
Nintendo is gearing up to bring an extra nub to your 3DS XL, if that’s what you’re into. The company listed the previously Japan-only accessory on its website in the U.S. today, with an anticipated ship date of this Friday. The Circle Pad Pro for 3DS XL is like the original version for 3DS, but beefier, and perhaps even more unsightly when glommed on to your portable console. → Read More
Yodo1, a Beijing-based company that works intensively with Western game developers to bring their titles to the Chinese market, raised $5 million from SingTel Innov8, the corporate venture arm of a mobile carrier. An earlier investor, Changyou Fund, also participated in the round. Yodo1 has a co-production model where they actually get access to the code base of a Western developers’ game. → Read More
Last month, we posted a bit of a rumor: that Finland’s Supercell — likely the most lucrative iOS gaming company in the world — had raised about $100 million in funding in a round led by Index Ventures, Atomico Partners and Institutional Venture Partners. Now we have confirmation today that the deal did happen, according to a flashy Forbes feature. The tiny Helsinki-based company… → Read More
While Apple’s app store and Google Play have long had leaderboards for the most downloaded and lucrative apps, there hasn’t been that much transparency around engagement after the download. Heyzap, a Union Square Ventures-backed startup that runs a mobile gaming network, has stepped in and decided to build one. The startup, which was founded about four years ago and originally centered… → Read More
How do you make sports gambling more addictive? Make it role playing game where you level up by completing quests of placing specific fake-money bets. And how does a sports community app like Hitpost build such a smart game? It hires lead producer Courtland Alves from games giant Crowdstar as its new CEO. After four years in sports, Hitpost is making a play for the social gaming big leagues. → Read More
A lot of recent moves in the gaming space to ban, investigate or curtail certain aspects of its output can seem egregious. However seen in the light of how shady game makers tend to behave, and the need to keep their sleazy tactics at bay, such moves are often understandable. Still, there are costs to games as a medium that this sort of thing keeps happening. → Read More
Following last’s year expansion into merchandise including toys, underwear (!), and more, EA’s PopCap is now taking its popular “Plants vs. Zombies” title to the printed (and e-inked) page. Penguin Children’s has acquired the physical and e-book publishing rights to the game, in a three-year deal. → Read More
Predictive sports game startup PrePlay has closed a $4.7 million Series B round, led by Trilogy Equity Partners LLC. RSE Ventures, the VC fund founded by Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross and Matt Higgins, also participated in the round. → Read More
The freemium kids’ app party that has seen some parents left with hefty bills because of their kids’ use of games could be heading for a sticky end — at least in the U.K. The Office of Fair Trading has announced a six-month investigation into whether children are being “unfairly pressured or encouraged to pay for additional content in ‘free’ web and app-based games”. → Read More
“In The Studio” rolls on this week by welcoming a long-time Valley operator, founder, angel investor, venture capitalist, and now general partner at one of the first “super angel” funds.
Charles Hudson, now a partner with SoftTech VC, has sat on every side of every table in the startup world. With stints as an operator at Google, as an investor with In-Q-Tel (the CIA’s venture capital arm), and… → Read More
After a very public defense of rumors about the next Xbox’s always-on Internet requirements, a new report claims that Microsoft creative director Adam Orth is no longer with the company. In a series of Twitter posts, Orth defended the move by countering that “every device” is now constantly connected, and then delivered a low-blow when someone responded suggesting always-on connectivity might not… → Read More
The iPad mini is a unique device in that it offers much more portability than the standard iPad, while still providing a much bigger screen than the iPhone for more enjoyable gaming. Techdy has recognized that as an opportunity to build a game controller specifically for Apple’s smaller tablet, which aims to turn it into a much more capable gaming rig. → Read More
SimCity is making its way to Mac, as promised, but now EA has put a specific date on when that will happen. The city-building simulator will arrive on OS X June 11, EA revealed in a press release today, at which time those who have purchased the game for PC on either Origin or as a physical boxed copy will be able to download Mac-compatible version, too. → Read More
I always wanted but never got a Virtual Boy, but I’m glad I waited since the Oculus Rift looks like a much better goggle-based gaming platform. The gadget got the teardown treatment over at iFixit today, thanks to a developer edition secured by the site. The Rift was remarkably easy to pull apart, earning it a very high repairability score. Rare for an iFixit teardown, the Oculus Rift one also… → Read More
GameStick, a would-be OUYA competitor that got funded via Kickstarter, has had its launch delayed. The device achieved backing on Kickstarter in February and originally planned to start shipping in March, with “fulfilment to customer” pegged for April. But the launch has now been delayed until June — with the project creators saying it’s been a victim “of the success we have created”. → Read More
Microsoft’s next Xbox, which could get an initial unveiling as early as next month, will use an AMD system-on-a-chip according to a new Bloomberg report. The new AMD SoC will mean that Microsoft is moving to an x86-based system architecture, which Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 is also adopting. The change is great news for AMD, and for gamers, and bad news for AMD’s chief rival Intel. → Read More
App developer golden fingers has taken to Indiegogo to raise cash for its first app: a social game called WriteOn!. The crowdfunding campaign is not to fund the creation of the app itself — which is already available for (free) download on the App Store. Rather the developers are aiming to raise $3,000 to $5,000 to pay for marketing the app. → Read More
Microsoft announced today via its blog that it will be selling its Mediaroom properties to Ericsson, in a deal that will see Ericsson become the dominant IPTV player in the industry with over 25 percent market share.
Mediaroom operates as a pretty much separate company from Microsoft, with its own HQ in Mountain View and around 400 employees, and powers TV offerings like AT&T U-verse, as… → Read More
Console wars are a complex and many-parted affair, and Sony has launched its full salvo, with all eyes now on Microsoft to see what kind of return shot they can manage. The next-generation Xbox, codenamed Durango, will apparently get a preview at a special event in May, The Verge’s Tom Warren reports, with an official splashy unveiling at E3 in June. → Read More
With Japan’s Puzzle & Dragons pulling in an astonishing $62 to 86 million in just the Japanese market last month, it’s no surprise that Western game developers are looking to cherry pick more hits to bring back to West. Kabam, which is on track to pull in $200 million this year, is launching a $50 million fund to bring Japanese games into the West. Gaming giants like DeNA, GREE and… → Read More
Reviews of Ouya have thus far perhaps been unfair because they tend to either rate the machine against Android devices or existing consoles, when it is neither of those. The new microconsole-style of game machine is more like the netbook of gaming, and they should be seen in that light. However the fact that they aren’t seen in that light is itself a problem, one that needs fixing. → Read More
Two years ago, while traveling in Beijing, the big surprise for me was how badly local mobile developers wanted to get U.S. customers. They wanted out, not in. Fraud, piracy, way too many Android stores and a still small installed base of iOS and Android devices made the local Chinese market financially nonviable for many developers. Today the picture is starting to look very different. Why? The… → Read More
Zynga, the social games company that is now expanding its business into real-money online gambling, is today announcing a new heavyweight on its board of directors: John Doerr, a general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. → Read More
Rovio, creator of the blockbuster Angry Birds series of mobile games, today reported its full-year results for 2012. While the company continues its rapid growth — now at 1.7 billion game downloads, and 263 million active users as of December 2012 — increasingly that scale is being leveraged to drive non-gaming revenues in areas like IP licensing and merchandising. Rovio today reported that… → Read More
This morning, as it said it would, gaming giant Zynga turned on Zynga Plus Casino and Zynga Plus Poker, its first real-money gaming sites, letting residents, initially only in the UK, deposit money to gamble online. → Read More
Zynga’s shares are up by 5 percent in after-hours trading on news that the company is launching its first real-money games in the U.K. tomorrow. The company is bringing ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino to U.K. players tomorrow through a partnership with bwin.party, one of the world’s biggest real-money gaming operators. At first, the games will be downloadable or on the web, but… → Read More
Staying true to a health or fitness regimen can be tough, but San Francisco-based Mango Health is looking to see whether an app can help with that. The seven-person startup just did a full launch of their app following a 16-week trial where they tracked whether regular notifications helped prescription drug takers keep on top of taking their medications every day. CEO Jason Oberfest, who came from… → Read More
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