Category: Mobile Gaming (Page 9 of 9)

      Sony Considered Second Analog Stick for the PSP Go

      July 23, 2009 /

      The PSP Go hands-on.Stories like this make me want to smack someone at Sony. Hard. Preferably on or around the mouth. In the most recent issue of Game Informer, Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida said the company had “a very serious discussion” about adding a second analog stick to the PSP Go but decided against it for fear of splintering the market.

      Judging by the latest NPD numbers, that was a totally brilliant strategy. Nintendo’s DS sold more than 4 times as many units as the PSP, which came in at a meager 163,500. I’m not sure why you would be so concerned about splintering the market when you’re actually losing it. And for what? To stick to the 10-year plan for all consoles? That’s what Yoshida says.

      “We are talking about the mid-life cycle of this platform,” he told Game Informer. I’ve got news for Yoshida – you might not make it to the end. Ignoring your customer base is a sure way to produce abysmal sales numbers. If the PSP keeps tracking as is, the next five years will be one ugly ride.

      Mobile Gaming, PSP

      Scribblenauts Hits the US on September 15th

      July 22, 2009 /

      Scribblenauts! heads to The Peaks.Question of the day – will I buy a Nintendo DS by the 15th of September? For now, I’ll say no, but I can’t promise anything.

      Regardless of my ownership, Scribblenauts will still be dropping like it’s hot on the 15th of September. As you may recall, the game was voted best of E3 this year and has been the subject of much speculation/adoration for several months by industry critics, Yours Truly notwithstanding.

      In honor of the official announcement, the guys at 5th Cell have dished out a few additional screenshots to whet your likely insatiable appetite for the game. Every time I see a new level I try to think of interesting ways to solve each puzzle. I love the giraffe solution for getting a cat out of the tree. I only hope to be so elaborate with my solutions some day.

      Mobile Gaming, News, Previews

      Portal Coming to Your iPhone?

      July 16, 2009 /

      I can’t say whether or not this video is real, or whether or not that’s actually Valve’s Portal you see running, or pretty much anything about this video other than, “Please, suh, I’d like some moah.” The port could be real, particularly considering how terrible the controls look, though I can’t always match what his fingers are doing to what’s happening on screen. At any rate, take a look and dream a little.

      And when you’re done, go grab some cake. I hear it’s delicious.

      Mobile Gaming, Video

      iPhone Gamers Love New Games, Want Them Less Than $2

      July 12, 2009 /

      iPhone app store spread.The folks at PocketGamer.biz recently took a look at the iPhone gaming situation to come away with some cold, hard data about what people are buying and why. I’ll spare you the full report (really I just don’t want to leech all the credit here) and focus instead on some of the more interesting details.

      For standards, PG took a snapshot of the top 100 applications and then broke down the results by price, price by rank, games by publisher, and source (new IP, console port, music, movie, etc.).

      Pricing was actually different than you might think. While most of the top 100 came in the $.99 category (36 titles), second place went to the $4.99 bracket with 20 titles. But that’s just number of games for each price bracket. Obviously since they are top 100 these are games that are getting downloaded a lot, but how much do the games get played after downloading?

      If you look at price by rank, the top 10 games average just $1.89/download. At 11-20, the price drops to $1.19. Of course there are a load of factors that could contribute to the rankings. Are people really playing these cheap games more or are they just deleting them more often and so being prompted to rate more of these games?

      Perhaps the most useful statistic, at least to industry developers, is the rate of new downloads and the desire for new IP. Of the top 100 games, 40 were released in June or July (this likely includes a few updates). Another 22 were April or May releases. As for IP, 52 of the top 100 are fresh content, designed just for the iPhone.

      If you’re downloading games, where does your allegiance lie? Are you a bargain shopper, only buying apps that are cheap or on sale? Or do you look for the best IPs from hot developers, regardless of price?

      Mobile Gaming

      iPhone 3G vs 3GS: What Do the Devs Think?

      July 9, 2009 /

      Spore on the iPhone 3GS.One of the biggest improvements to the iPhone 3GS was its graphics capabilities. The upgrade allows for technologies like OpenGL 2.0, which means texture mapping, real-time shadow rendering, and all sorts of other eye-candy. That is, if the developers will develop it.

      Unfortunately the upgrade means that games that run on the 3GS may not be able to run on the regular 3G (3G games will work in the other direction though). This means developers have to decide whether to support the “new” platform, or simply continue to offer games that will be compatible for both.

      IndustryGamers recently asked a few developers if the new plan was worth developing for.

      According to EA Mobile, it absolutely is. For many games it sounds like EA will develop two versions, one to run on each of the phones. Other developers, though, don’t share EA’s enthusiasm. Sega, for instance, will only be developing multiple versions for select games, while the rest remain compatible with the 3G. Digital Chocolate is the downer of the group, saying the 3GS will improve existing products to the point that there is no need for a separate release.

      Right now this might not mean much since we’ve not yet played a 3GS optimized game. The guys at Firemint, though, are eager to show off 3GS capabilities in their new racer. Check out the demo video on YouTube. It’s pretty damn impressive.

      Mobile Gaming, News

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