Game Link - This weeks casual games news

Week Round up.

1) New Event to Be hosted called "The future is online"

2) Lead Economist talks about Eve and the virtual economy

3) Microtransactions make it to mobile with Supper Boom Boom

4) Game loft pledge 10 titles for Android (google)

5) Atari sale is completed

6) Sega launches free to play casual games site

7) Sony to launch digital distribution for PSP (big opportunity for casual games)

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The Future is Online, says GameHorizon | Game Development | News by Develop: "GameHorizon is to hold a MMO-focused event in Newcastle next week.

Called 'The Future is Online', the evening will take a look at what it takes to be successful in the online space, and how studios can make the transition to online."

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Dr. Eyjolfur Gudmundsson, the Lead Economist at CCP, developer of EVE Online, talks about the impact of what's essentially a real-world economy in a virtual world.

by Eyjolfur Gudmundsson, PH.D. on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
My Turn: The Birth of the First Virtual Nation

It has been over 30 years since online virtual worlds have started to emerge in the form of MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons). Over this time period several variants of virtual worlds have emerged, with each form having different opportunities and challenges for the developers.

Stating that the economy in EVE is realistic is wrong. The economy in EVE is actually just as real as our real life economies, by all measures and definition of economic value based on economic theory. This fact has great implications in terms of how to interpret information from economies in virtual worlds, and shows that economics must be used as a fundamental feature in the design and operation of these worlds.

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A sequel to last year's Super Boom Boom, the one-button action game features five stages with bosses, three unlockable extra stages, casino mini-games, a driving mode, and a nationwide leaderboard.

Gamevil claims that Super Boom Boom 2's microtransaction system will cover 98% of available handhsets, enabling players to purchase G-Points (in-game currency), which can be exchanged for new stages, items, and mini-games. The G-Points can be earned for free while playing the game, but users can bypass that step by purchasing them.

The company's previous forays into microtransaction-enabled mobile games include Baseball Superstars 2008, which reportedly saw 1.3 million downloads withing 10 months.

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Gameloft plans 10 titles for Android, Google's open source mobile platform.

Bubble Bash, which is currently available for the iPhone and other mobile devices, will be the first Gameloft title to launch through the Android Market content distribution system in the first quarter of 2009.

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Atari is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Infogrames. The acquisition will enable Atari to expand its distribution capabilities and online initiatives.

by James Brightman on Monday, October 13, 2008
Infogrames Completes Atari Acquisition

Infogrames' plan to buy the outstanding stock in Atari, first revealed back in March, is finally complete. The French publisher now owns all of Atari, as compared with 51.4 percent before the acquisition.

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Sega has taken the wraps off of a new casual games site with free-to-play games. PlaySega features a wide variety of titles in addition to Sonic-based gaming.

by James Brightman on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sega Launches Casual Portal PlaySega.com

It's been somewhat under the radar, but Sega has launched a new casual gaming portal with free-to-play games at PlaySega.com. The portal (currently in beta) features an assortment of arcade games, puzzle games, card games, quiz games, word games, sports games, and Sonic games, the first being Sonic at The Olympic Games. There are apparently more than 30 new titles in development for the site.

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SCEE: Digital distribution to "ignite" PSP development

The PlayStation Portable's new distribution methods will spur on creative development for the handheld, according to Zeno Colaço vice president of publisher and developer relations for SCEE.

Colaço described how the combination of digital distribution with the increased functions of the PSP 3000, announced at the Leipzig Games Convention, would make the handheld a more compelling platform for developers to work on.