CHARTS: This weeks top 10 casual games

1=Mortimer Beckett and the Time Paradox
2=Bejeweled Twist
3=My Tribe
4=Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses
5=Alabama Smith: Escape from Pompeii
6=Fitness Dash
7=Call of Atlantis
8=Fishdom
9=Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst ™
10=County Fair

MINI NEWS: No nonsense headlines

Wireless Mics come to Singstar 2009, cool!

Pop Cap release Peggle nights level pack

Hasbro drops lawsuit against scrabulous

50 MB broadband arrives in the UK with Virgin (more on this soon)

Aeria gifts virtual currency to community

92% of VC's predict investment slowdown (more on this soon)

Neo Pets gained 8.6 million users in 2008

Warner buys another 10 million Eidos shares

PROFILE: GAIA ONLINE

Gaia Online
280 Staff
(36 recently laid off)
Rivals IMVU & Habbo

Biz models

Advertising and Micro-transactions
Sells more than $1 million a month of virtual goods
Very selective if advertising & sponsorship partners

Monthly Traffic

Global 2.1M UVPM
USA 1.4M UVPM

Top 5 locations
United States - Canada -United Kingdom - Brazil - Mexico

Funding

Series B funding $12 M USD 2007
Series C Funding $11 M USD 2008
Series A Funding $8.93 M USD 2006

Total financing of around $32 M USD

Latest project
Casual MMO ZOMG

NEWS: Gaia lay off 36 staf members

According to a blog post from the company, the layoffs are the result of 'the huge downturn in the economy' requiring 'staff reductions and other operating cost cuts as [they] head into an uncertain 2009.'

'While we are still anticipating a healthy upcoming year, we're going to grow less than we originally expected,' the post continues, 'and we have to adjust costs to reflect the new realities.'

The post concludes that the company has 'raised a lot of money from investors a few years back'—indeed, as recently as this July—and as a result does 'not need to make as deep a headcount reduction as most other internet companies.'"

Its hardly surprising they have a big head count and have had massive investment, they have achieved great things but do need to have a plan to survive.

I don't think its anything to do with a down turn in the economy especially as they reported and increase in spending on virtual items. It will be purley the realiseation that the money they got is the last they will get and so they better use it wisley and start to make a profit. It shouldn't be too hard for them to do they have the players and a really great product.

Read the upcoming profile on Gaia in the first of a series.

VIRTUAL WORLDS : 25 million Weemees created

This is great news as it once again validates past research which will soon be published. On average sites are retaining around 5 to 10% of registered accounts as regular monthly players.


According to statistics from comScore, WeeWorld grew faster in the United States than its competitors in terms of unique visitors (60 percent), total minutes spent on the site (400 percent) and total visitors (200 percent).

WeeWorld users spend an average of 135 minutes per month in the virtual community and 90 percent of new users result from word-of-mouth.

"What drives so many users to WeeWorld is the universal appeal and iconic image of the WeeMee for all demographics, regardless of age, race or gender," said Lauren Bigelow, General Manager and SVP of Marketing for WeeWorld. "What keeps users coming back is the continuously evolving experience. There is always something new to explore, whether it is a new game to play, a new place to visit in World or a new item to accessorize their WeeMee or Room."

GAMES: iminlikewithyou launch new Jigsaw game

Following on from their ragging success of multiplayer Tetris which I'm completely addicted to Iminlikeiwthyou.com. have launched a new collaborative multiplayer jigsaw game.

If you want to learn anything about how to do casual games in a unique fun way this site is great. Well presented great games, simple and addictive, not too much choice all wrapped up with social elements.

This site attracts some 55,000 UPPM in the US and have similar figures for the rest of the world, but over 60% of traffic is from the USA.

It has great potential and the item based transactions should catch on as they help you win games, although this can be a bit frustrating when people obviously win because they have purchased numerous power ups.

The company received 1.5 million in funding this year from Spark Capital, baseline ventures, Betaworks Ron Conway and Marc Andreessen

VIRTUAL WORLDS : Papermint Launch Open Beta

This is one of the most exciting VW's I've seen for ages and if plays as good as it looks then game and virtual world lovers are in for a real treat.

The style and the way they present things is stunning true games marketing at its finest. Although I feel they have been influenced by LBP but there is nothing wrong with that.

SO check it our for your self and I'll be back to this once I've had a go but it ticks a lot of boxes for a potential success mainly FUN and it looks like fun.



Also check out the trailer advert its really good.

BUSINESS: Ludia sign with ads specialist WildTangent

WildTangent will become the exclusive in-game advertising partner for Lucia’s 2009 lineup.

The agreement includes titles such as American Idol, Price is Right and Press Your Luck, and spans platforms including Wii, DS, PC, Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Check out LUDIA

Check out WILDTANGENT

MINI NEWS: 5 easy to swallow news bites

1. Yahoo Games Talks to Speilberg

In particular, he talks at length about his family's experiences with Boom Blox, which he helped design with EA. Spielberg also comments on his fondness for shooters like Call of Duty 4 and the Medal of Honor series, though he's not sold on storytelling in these titles.

Full Story

2.Exit Games announced Neutron upgrades

its online multiplayer gaming platform, now supports Google's Android mobile platform, enabling Android game developers to integrate online social gaming features with the Neutron SDK.

Some features include in-game text chat, leaderboards, matchmaking, buddy lists, lobbies, real-time multiplayer, and microtransactions.

3.Habbo teens want Xbox 360 for Christmas

Videogame consoles are the most desired Christmas presents this year for teenagers in the Habbo community, according to a new survey.Of over 4500 teenagers aged between 11 and 18, 39 per cent want a console on Christmas day.

4.New York University has announced it has founded the NYU Game Center

Its an academic initiative for the research, design, and development of digital games.

5.French version of Runescape Launched

GAMES : Real praise Wii Ware ahead of Tikki Towers

Ahead of the release of its brand new WiiWare title Tiki Towers, Real Networks has heaped praise on Nintendo’s new software delivery platform, and also admitted that a move to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace and Sony’s PlayStation Network is still a possibility.

The WiiWare has great potential for casual developers due to the large installed based and broad demographic.

CHARTS: This weeks top 10

1=Bejeweled Twist
2=Call of Atlantis
3=Mortimer Beckett and the Time Paradox
4=Fitness Dash
5=Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses
6=Fishdom
7=Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst ™
8=My Tribe
9=Jewel Quest Mysteries: Curse of the Emerald Tear
10=PICTUREKA! MUSEUM MAYHEM"

NEWS: Casual games used to help Aids prevention

I think we will see more and more of this over time, using games to educate and tell stories is an important part of the gaming industry.

The US government has teamed up with Warner Bros to make a free multiplayer casual PC game designed to spread awareness of HIV prevention across Africa.

Variety reports that the game, called ‘Pamoja Mtaani’ (which translated means ‘Together in the Hood’) has been developed by Virtual Heroes. It follows the stories of five separate characters whose stories are designed to explore the issues of behaviour that leads to the spread of AIDS, and subsequently help in their prevention.

The game also features music by Kenyan hip hop artists. Pamoja Mtaani is set to be rolled out in youth centres in Nairobi, which will all be kitted out with suitable LAN networks.

NEWS: Time puts casual games in its TOP 10

Time has included several casual games in its top 10 for 08

Hunted forever is very cool check it out

Field Runners and many people say its a great game on the I-POD even if its a tower defense rip-off. see it hear

I would say that LBP, Rockband and Spore are also casual i.e Accessible and For everyone.

1. GTA IV
2. Braid
3. LittleBigPlanet
4. RockBand
5. Gears of War 2
6. Dead Space
7. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
8. Hunted Forever
9. Fieldrunners
10. Spore

EVENTS: Sdforum interview with Bernie Stolar

In case you don't know Bernie he is one of the industries veterans having been CEO at Mattel, President at SEGA and EVP at Sony Playstation for the launches of PS1 & PS2 and of course that other small company Atari, who did not play much of a roll in games....

For years I have felt the presence of Bernie in my living room so I have to admit getting to meet him was a pleasure. He had tonnes of stories and in particular I loved the one about launching the PS2. He told me that they did not have game to drive sales, in the past they had a sonic and in Nintendo case they had Mario but PS2 had nothing.....until he found Crash Bandicoot. In short that game drove unit sales.

So here is a synopsis of the what people said at the event.


Less big publishers, similar to what happened in the music and film industry
Companies that run with lower costs and are quicker to market will be stronger
Episodic content will be the new way to distribute console games
The end of retail boxed games for $60 (unless of course you do it well like GTA)
Casual gaming will continue to grow and companies with original I.P will become stronger
MMO's will shift to online
Funding is becoming harder to get, so you better make it last as there may not be a second round
Make sure you make a good game "there is a lot of crap out there" Is it fun??
Microtransactions will become a standard in the US, but so far many companies have just shoehorned the model in and its not quite right yet.
Advertising in games will grow and be delivered in context for greatest impact
I-phone games catalog is easy to access and a good distribution channel
The likes of Kongregate will help find the next great talent
You really need to know your market and understand your consumers

MMO NEWS: Registration numbers

Zomg hits 500K players, while Franktown and Youwalk top 100k


I love the concept of youwalk and I think the way we surf the web will involve visualization techniques but this takes longer to find what you want....

It does not solve a problem it creates one.

The walking thing is pointless until you get in the room.

BUSINESS: EA buys J2Msoft

Digital game developer Electronic Arts (EA) announced its second move into Asia's online game market on Tuesday, by buying South Korean online game developer J2MSoft Inc.

"This is a significant step in EA's strategic plan for developing and publishing online games in Asia," said Jon Niermann, president of EA Asia, in a statement.

To see what J2M does Click ME

Earlier this week, EA announced a tie-up with Chinese game developer NetDragon Websoft to create three-dimensional MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role playing games) based on EA's Dungeon Keeper series of digital games.

EA has already launched some of its popular sports titles as online games in Asia, including EA Sports FIFA Online and NBA Street Online). The company is already creating online version of other titles for Asia, including Warhammer, Age of Reckoning, Need For Speed and Battlefield Heroes.

EVENTS: Casual games MMO & Virtual worlds funding

Just a reminder if your in the UK and involved in investments then go to The Funding & Investment Summit for Casual Online Games, MMOs & Virtual Worlds

PICK ME PICK ME

MMO CASE STUDY: Are F2P MMO's profitable

An interview with Josh from K2 Network on the sadly now closed Gigom Show.

Key points from K2

16m accounts
10% monthly active accounts
99% are free players for 3 to 6 months
200 staff
Asian MMO revs are 2.5 billion USD
Suggests checking out War Rock




Remember this data is NOT for Casual MMO's so the conversion rates will differ, but its a good guide.

MMO NEWS: Runescape in top 5 searches

Some already know know how popular RUNESCAPE is well its has been named as the fifth most searched term on global search engine giant Yahoo, beating some top-draw competition in the process.

1) Britney
2) WWE
3) Barack Obama
4) Miley Cyrus / Hannah Montana
5) RUNESCAPE

Searches behind RUNESCAPEincluded the very hot Jessica Alba, manga sensation Naruto, the rehabilitated Lindsay Lohan, Angelina Jolie and American Idol.

CHARTS: 4 Of 5 top US games for 2008 are on the WII

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) – 3.5 million, estimated
2. Mario Kart (Wii) – 3.4 million
3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) – 3.2 million, estimated
4. Wii Play (Wii) – 3.0 million
5. Wii Fit (Wii) – 2.8 million

TECHNOLOGY : DSI Video review

TECHNOLOGY : Augmented reality to be part of casual games

Video demo of something very cool

Are we seeing the early signs of the next hot mobile casual game, It will only be a matter of time before someone gives it a go.

Humm! who's going to be first?

If you look around in youtube under augmented reality you will find some interesting things

SOCIAL GAMING: Akoha provide a unique gaming experince

Akohafinalists at tech crunch 50 and supported by Montreal Startup They have a very unique approach to gaming and one I'm a fan off and in particular the potential this type of project has on making a positive impact on the world. For an insight to truly socially aware company watch the video below. Also listen for the funny mutterings caught on audio.

WATCH IT HERE


Good luck guys.

SOCIAL GAMING: World without Oil

As social media goes this is a stunning example of something that worked really well. And in some ways the new start up akoha certainly has a similar feel and hopefully could gain some ground.

World Without Oil was an online game that simulated the first 32 weeks of a global oil crisis. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the intent was to enable the public to imagine how their lives would change without access to oil, and to inspire solutions.

The game launched on April 30, 2007, and concluded on June 1, 2007. During that time, more than 60,000 participants from across the globe participated, and 1,500 blog posts, online videos, voicemails and other personal chronicles were created. While the participation exceeded goals, the most interesting component is the discussion that is still occurring on the blog.

Why World Without Oil's approach was successful:

* Inspired conversation about a critical topic
* Allowed global participation
* Created an emotional appeal and fostered collaborative solutions
* Integrated offline and online social tools

fullstory by Eric Korofsky

BUSINESS: Game development LEVEL UP

To round up a short series of posts about game development I wanted to share this story.

What are the top nine steps to building a great-paced video game? Former EA and THQ design director Mike Lopez details them and his game 'Intensity & Pacing Plan' for Gamasutra in this in-depth design feature.


Gameplay fundamentals Part 1
Gameplay fundamentals Part 2
Summary story