With the help of Square Enix, the character artist for the Final Fantasy Tactics games on the Nintendo DS has launched a mobile social game in Japan titled Traveling Fairy. It's available only on the Mobage social network through mode-Duo, which has been home to mobile social versions of hyper-popular franchises like Shenmue and Phantasy Star. According to Siliconera, the game uses GPS technology to split Japan in 505 regions brimming with frilly fairies.
Players will travel across Japan--hopefully not literally, for a mobile game--to collect region-specific fairies, level them up in fights against demons and take down boss demons to conquer regions and earn rare items. Thankfully, players can effectively travel to other regions without going there through a hosting system that allows players to host others in their own physical region. Think of it as position broadcasting, of sorts. Of course, the game is free to play, but features goods for sale. Even if this won't come to the US (which has not been confirmed or denied), color us excited for what it means for location-based gaming when bigwigs get involved.
[Image Credit: Siliconera]
Have had a chance to try this game somehow? What do you think of location-based gaming?
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Showing posts with label mobile gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile gaming. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
DeNA partners with Docomo, prepares for Japanese social game coup
DeNA, the massive Japanese mobile social game company, has taken another step toward its imminent invasion of the western world of social games in a partnership with Docomo. You know, the company that bought American mobile game developer Ngmoco for over $400 million last year? That massive company.
Docomo is a Japanese phone manufacturer that will link its 6 million smartphone and feature phone users in Japan with DeNA's Mobage social gaming platform through i-mode. The oddly-named feature is found on all Docomo phones, and it will provide users a direct link to DeNA's list of games by as early as May.
Not to mention that a dedicated Mobage application will be pre-installed into several Docomo phones sometime in the future. According to a statement, Docomoco users will have exclusive early access to new content and easier billing for micro-transactions. Of course, the two plan to bring the model to Europe and the rest of Asia through mobile phone operators and game developers.
However, we're going to assume that if this strategy does well in Europe, DeNA will stake its claim in the US as well. Whether this is enough to combat Zynga has yet to be seen, but know that the Far East has burst onto the scene with guns a' blazin'.
[Image Credit: Random Acts of Media]
Do you think DeNA has a chance of getting into the Western world of social gaming? How will Zynga fare against the Eastern juggernaut, if it gets that far?
Docomo is a Japanese phone manufacturer that will link its 6 million smartphone and feature phone users in Japan with DeNA's Mobage social gaming platform through i-mode. The oddly-named feature is found on all Docomo phones, and it will provide users a direct link to DeNA's list of games by as early as May.
Not to mention that a dedicated Mobage application will be pre-installed into several Docomo phones sometime in the future. According to a statement, Docomoco users will have exclusive early access to new content and easier billing for micro-transactions. Of course, the two plan to bring the model to Europe and the rest of Asia through mobile phone operators and game developers.
However, we're going to assume that if this strategy does well in Europe, DeNA will stake its claim in the US as well. Whether this is enough to combat Zynga has yet to be seen, but know that the Far East has burst onto the scene with guns a' blazin'.
[Image Credit: Random Acts of Media]
Do you think DeNA has a chance of getting into the Western world of social gaming? How will Zynga fare against the Eastern juggernaut, if it gets that far?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
With 11.1 million daily players, it's clear why Zynga is down with mobile
CityVille creator Zynga has released 10 games across iOS and Android devices this year alone. (And that includes two varieties of CityVille and Words With Friends.) We all know that mobile is the future of gaming--and blah, blah, blah--but we still wondered why exactly Zynga has pushed mobile so hard. Well, how about the fact that it's drawn 11.1 million daily players?
That figure was revealed in the company's recently-amended filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission, according to Inside Mobile Apps. This new number, which includes all Zynga games on mobile devices, marks pretty significant growth considering the developer had 9.9 million daily players last quarter ending September. According to IMA, Zynga's most lucrative games are still Zynga Poker and Words With Friends, but we'll chalk this growth up to the three HTML5 games the company released last month.
And while this number is certainly impressive, it's still a distant second to Rovio's Angry Birds, which is said to tout 30 million daily players across all mobile devices. It's no wonder rumors are spreading that Zynga has taken a liking to the Finnish game developer entertainment company. Just this week alone, Zynga has released CityVille Holidaytown and Dream Zoo, so you can likely expect the same crazy pace going into 2012.
[Via Columbus Examiner]
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Which of Zynga's mobile games are your favorite? Do you play more social games on your mobile device or on your computer?
That figure was revealed in the company's recently-amended filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission, according to Inside Mobile Apps. This new number, which includes all Zynga games on mobile devices, marks pretty significant growth considering the developer had 9.9 million daily players last quarter ending September. According to IMA, Zynga's most lucrative games are still Zynga Poker and Words With Friends, but we'll chalk this growth up to the three HTML5 games the company released last month.
And while this number is certainly impressive, it's still a distant second to Rovio's Angry Birds, which is said to tout 30 million daily players across all mobile devices. It's no wonder rumors are spreading that Zynga has taken a liking to the Finnish game developer entertainment company. Just this week alone, Zynga has released CityVille Holidaytown and Dream Zoo, so you can likely expect the same crazy pace going into 2012.
[Via Columbus Examiner]
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Which of Zynga's mobile games are your favorite? Do you play more social games on your mobile device or on your computer?
In case your life somehow lacks zombies, Zombie Lane is on iOS
In 2011 alone, pop culture has provided all the training videos and simulators we'll ever need to survive the zombie apocalypse. Keeping with that lovely tradition, Millionaire City maker Digital Chocolate launched its second most popular social game, Zombie Lane, to iPhone and iPad. This mobile version looks nearly identical to its Facebook counterpart, though it is undoubtedly a visual upgrade to the original.
"Zombie Lane has been a hit game on Facebook - with 17 million cumulative users so far eliminating more than 6 billion Zombies," Digital Chocolate president Marc Metis said in a release. "Players are looking to play on their device at their convenience and on their terms, and Zombie Lane for Apple mobile devices lets them do that with the best of all the Zombie games on these platforms."
Zombie Lane on iPhone in action
However, the pocket variety of Zombie Lane looks and sounds as if it plays exactly as it does on Facebook, based on these first screen shots. Players can enlist the help of their friends through Facebook Connect and Game Center to fend off encroaching cadavers as they rebuild their homes in the midst of the zombie invasion. (Sound familiar?) With an interface that's nearly indistinguishable from the web version, we can't help but think this is the same game, but tinier and prettier.
That could be exactly what players are looking for, but between The Walking Dead, Zombie Misfits, the numerous zombie games on consoles and even Zombie Lane on Facebook we unfortunately doubt that. Perhaps the already-teased Downtown feature will provide that twist we're all clamoring for. And it's free, so what the hey?
Click here to download Zombie Lane on iPhone or iPad for Free Now >
Are you a fan of Zombie Lane for Facebook? Are you psyched to try the game on iPhone, or are you slowly coming down with zombie fatigue?
"Zombie Lane has been a hit game on Facebook - with 17 million cumulative users so far eliminating more than 6 billion Zombies," Digital Chocolate president Marc Metis said in a release. "Players are looking to play on their device at their convenience and on their terms, and Zombie Lane for Apple mobile devices lets them do that with the best of all the Zombie games on these platforms."
Zombie Lane on iPhone in action
However, the pocket variety of Zombie Lane looks and sounds as if it plays exactly as it does on Facebook, based on these first screen shots. Players can enlist the help of their friends through Facebook Connect and Game Center to fend off encroaching cadavers as they rebuild their homes in the midst of the zombie invasion. (Sound familiar?) With an interface that's nearly indistinguishable from the web version, we can't help but think this is the same game, but tinier and prettier.
That could be exactly what players are looking for, but between The Walking Dead, Zombie Misfits, the numerous zombie games on consoles and even Zombie Lane on Facebook we unfortunately doubt that. Perhaps the already-teased Downtown feature will provide that twist we're all clamoring for. And it's free, so what the hey?
Click here to download Zombie Lane on iPhone or iPad for Free Now >
Are you a fan of Zombie Lane for Facebook? Are you psyched to try the game on iPhone, or are you slowly coming down with zombie fatigue?
Monday, December 12, 2011
Namco Bandai, DeNA to tell a social tale with Tales of Kizna for Mobage
Namco Bandai has as bad a case of sequelitis with its Tales series that Square Enix has with its Final Fantasy franchise. Marking the 14th (seriously) game in the series, the publisher announced that Tales of Kizna will launch on DeNA's Mobage. Slated to release only on Japan's version of the popular mobile social game network, KLab Ltd is handling the game's creation.
The Tales series of Namco RPGs (role-playing games) always takes on a heavy Japanese anime aesthetic with real-time combat and deep, twisting plots, but Tales of Kizna will have players battle enemies cooperatively using character cards. And since the game will feature characters spanning the entirety of the franchise, we're expecting a much lighter story this time.
Players, as with most social games, will have the option to join guilds and form parties to do battle with one another. On paper at least, the game sounds a whole lot like a mobile Mafia Wars, but with a card game as its combat system. Tales of Kizna is due out on Japan's Mobage network this November, and Japanese fans of the series can pre-register for the game right now.
We imagine this game marks the start of Namco Bandai's joint venture with the social gaming giant, BDNA Inc. DeNA has reportedly had trouble gaining a foothold in the U.S. and abroad with its Android version of Mobage. But to help move that along (as its main competitor, Gree, gets a move on with OpenFeint), the company has reigned in some big time developers. For one, No More Heroes maker Grasshopper Manufacture looks to bring the bloodiest social game to date to Mobage in Japan and abroad.
[Via Gamasutra]
Do you think such a niche RPG will do well on DeNA's Mobage network? Do you wish DeNA and its competitors would bring such games stateside and elsewhere?
The Tales series of Namco RPGs (role-playing games) always takes on a heavy Japanese anime aesthetic with real-time combat and deep, twisting plots, but Tales of Kizna will have players battle enemies cooperatively using character cards. And since the game will feature characters spanning the entirety of the franchise, we're expecting a much lighter story this time.
Players, as with most social games, will have the option to join guilds and form parties to do battle with one another. On paper at least, the game sounds a whole lot like a mobile Mafia Wars, but with a card game as its combat system. Tales of Kizna is due out on Japan's Mobage network this November, and Japanese fans of the series can pre-register for the game right now.
We imagine this game marks the start of Namco Bandai's joint venture with the social gaming giant, BDNA Inc. DeNA has reportedly had trouble gaining a foothold in the U.S. and abroad with its Android version of Mobage. But to help move that along (as its main competitor, Gree, gets a move on with OpenFeint), the company has reigned in some big time developers. For one, No More Heroes maker Grasshopper Manufacture looks to bring the bloodiest social game to date to Mobage in Japan and abroad.
[Via Gamasutra]
Do you think such a niche RPG will do well on DeNA's Mobage network? Do you wish DeNA and its competitors would bring such games stateside and elsewhere?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Hungry Sumo on iPhone: You'll be hungry for more games like this
Have you ever looked at a browser game and thought to yourself, "Man, I would love this game on my phone?" (Ahem, Bejeweled Blitz.) New Zealand-based Flash game developer Ninja Kiwi co-founder Chris Harris exactly that to himself after Hungry Sumo hit the web. Once featured as our Game of the Day, Hungry Sumo has been rereleased on the App Store for $.99. But don't call it a port.
No, no--this touch-based version of the delightful Flash sumo-smasher brings plenty more to the table like new levels, mini games and full Game Center support. The basic gameplay remains as you left it, but with one small change: Rather than hover over your sumos with the mouse to make them grow, you press their buoyant bellies. (It's kind of a given, but it changes the experience nevertheless.)
Gallery: Hungry Sumo on iPhone
Just like before, you'll master art of timed rice shoveling so as to not grow while touching enemy sumos, which instantly transforms your sumo into one of them. Of course, the showcase of enemies returns, like statue sumos that will--surprise--turn your sumo to stone if you touch them while munching. Another notable is the ghost sumo, which fades in and out of visibility.
New power-ups have made into the game too: Double Damage, Sushi Storm, Edamame and Zen Time. However, going after them can be quite a pain, as you have to eating while touching them to gain their benefits. Ultimately, they serve as a distraction from the task at hand. But there's something adorable about the determined face that overcomes the sumo once he eats that onigiri (Japanese rice ball) that's too cute to pass up.
Hungry Sumo Street Fatter
To break the potential monotony of tapping sumos' tummies all day, Ninja Kiwi threw in four mini games to mix things up. First, Slice-A-Sumo has players chopping flying sumos and avoiding the good guys. (Sound familiar?) Whack-A-Sumo is essentially Whack-A-Mole, but with sumos--again, watch out for the pink sumos. Sushi Sumo is an homage to pachinko in which you choose one spot to drop a sumo from in order to hit as many bonuses as possible. Finally, Street Fatter challenges players with tapping a vending machine as many times as possible in 60 seconds to feed your portly pugilist.
Admittedly, a few of those concepts have been done before, but they at least serve to break the tedium that can result from tapping sumos for hours. And once you unlock all four in the games standard mode (every five levels you're treated to a mini game), you can play them whenever from the game's home screen--Street Fatter is particularly entertaining. Of course, each little romp is a fine source for achievements, if you're into that sort of thing.
"Now, whenever we put anything on iPhone or anywhere that's not just Flash, we make a point of adding new content that is over and above," Ninja Kiwi co-founder Chris Harris tells us. "I definitely feel that the iPhone [Ninja Sumo] is vastly superior to the Flash version."
Hungry Sumo in action
This is one of the year's biggest releases for Ninja Kiwi, and it does fit the iPhone like a glove. At the moment, this is what mobile social gaming is all about: gunning for that high score or achievement while you have a minute (and bragging to your friends about it). That said, Hungry Sumo is certainly worth your buck. But Ninja Kiwi has bigger plans for 2011, like an overhaul of its website to include Game Center-like features such as profiles and leaderboards, but the company's vision is a bit broader than that.
"Flash games have been looked upon by many as the poor cousin of the gaming industry," Harris admits. "It's where you roll out concepts and quick and dirty ideas before polishing them perhaps for something else in another environment. We've done our best certainly in a game [that] we're hopefully about to release very shortly will finally prove to the world that Flash can be more than that. When you get one of your existing IPs on your phone that you can then walk it around and show people, there's something really, really cool about that."
Click here to download Hungry Sumo for iOS Now for $.99 >
Have you ever played Hungry Sumo before on Games.com or Ninja Kiwi? What do you think of the game as a fit for mobile or Facebook (Harris says don't count it out)?
No, no--this touch-based version of the delightful Flash sumo-smasher brings plenty more to the table like new levels, mini games and full Game Center support. The basic gameplay remains as you left it, but with one small change: Rather than hover over your sumos with the mouse to make them grow, you press their buoyant bellies. (It's kind of a given, but it changes the experience nevertheless.)
Gallery: Hungry Sumo on iPhone
Just like before, you'll master art of timed rice shoveling so as to not grow while touching enemy sumos, which instantly transforms your sumo into one of them. Of course, the showcase of enemies returns, like statue sumos that will--surprise--turn your sumo to stone if you touch them while munching. Another notable is the ghost sumo, which fades in and out of visibility.
New power-ups have made into the game too: Double Damage, Sushi Storm, Edamame and Zen Time. However, going after them can be quite a pain, as you have to eating while touching them to gain their benefits. Ultimately, they serve as a distraction from the task at hand. But there's something adorable about the determined face that overcomes the sumo once he eats that onigiri (Japanese rice ball) that's too cute to pass up.
Hungry Sumo Street Fatter
To break the potential monotony of tapping sumos' tummies all day, Ninja Kiwi threw in four mini games to mix things up. First, Slice-A-Sumo has players chopping flying sumos and avoiding the good guys. (Sound familiar?) Whack-A-Sumo is essentially Whack-A-Mole, but with sumos--again, watch out for the pink sumos. Sushi Sumo is an homage to pachinko in which you choose one spot to drop a sumo from in order to hit as many bonuses as possible. Finally, Street Fatter challenges players with tapping a vending machine as many times as possible in 60 seconds to feed your portly pugilist.
Admittedly, a few of those concepts have been done before, but they at least serve to break the tedium that can result from tapping sumos for hours. And once you unlock all four in the games standard mode (every five levels you're treated to a mini game), you can play them whenever from the game's home screen--Street Fatter is particularly entertaining. Of course, each little romp is a fine source for achievements, if you're into that sort of thing.
"Now, whenever we put anything on iPhone or anywhere that's not just Flash, we make a point of adding new content that is over and above," Ninja Kiwi co-founder Chris Harris tells us. "I definitely feel that the iPhone [Ninja Sumo] is vastly superior to the Flash version."
Hungry Sumo in action
This is one of the year's biggest releases for Ninja Kiwi, and it does fit the iPhone like a glove. At the moment, this is what mobile social gaming is all about: gunning for that high score or achievement while you have a minute (and bragging to your friends about it). That said, Hungry Sumo is certainly worth your buck. But Ninja Kiwi has bigger plans for 2011, like an overhaul of its website to include Game Center-like features such as profiles and leaderboards, but the company's vision is a bit broader than that.
"Flash games have been looked upon by many as the poor cousin of the gaming industry," Harris admits. "It's where you roll out concepts and quick and dirty ideas before polishing them perhaps for something else in another environment. We've done our best certainly in a game [that] we're hopefully about to release very shortly will finally prove to the world that Flash can be more than that. When you get one of your existing IPs on your phone that you can then walk it around and show people, there's something really, really cool about that."
Click here to download Hungry Sumo for iOS Now for $.99 >
Have you ever played Hungry Sumo before on Games.com or Ninja Kiwi? What do you think of the game as a fit for mobile or Facebook (Harris says don't count it out)?
Casual gamers dump 3DS, PSP to hook up with iPhone, Android
As Facebook would say, "It's complicated." According to a survey released by research firm Cowen and Company, only 26 percent of casual gamers are playing on a Nintendo DS, 3DS or Sony PSP, GamesIndustry.biz reports. By contrast, 52 percent of those surveyed reported playing games on their phone. Granted, this is a survey, but we smell a trend ... a bittersweet one.
"Over the last five years, the penetration of dedicated handheld platforms into survey respondents self-identifying as casual gamers has declined by 29 per cent, with the vast majority of that decline occurring in the last two years," the report reads, according to GI.biz. "We believe cellphone and smartphone gaming is significantly impacting demand for dedicated handheld devices."
The report is based on a survey conducted in September across 1,300, randomly selected people throughout the US, 1,001 of which reported that they've played video games. The report resonates with not only recent surveys, but with how a lot of investors feel. Well, at least in Nintendo's case. The big N's response?
"The concept of having our core franchises on other systems really flies in the face of what we believe in, and that's because by understanding the hardware, that's how we're able to bring these great experiences forward," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently told us, referring to games like Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS. At the very least, bonus points for sticking to your guns, guys.
Do you think Nintendo and Sony have a chance to regain supposedly lost ground in portable gaming? Where do you play most of your handheld games now?
"Over the last five years, the penetration of dedicated handheld platforms into survey respondents self-identifying as casual gamers has declined by 29 per cent, with the vast majority of that decline occurring in the last two years," the report reads, according to GI.biz. "We believe cellphone and smartphone gaming is significantly impacting demand for dedicated handheld devices."
The report is based on a survey conducted in September across 1,300, randomly selected people throughout the US, 1,001 of which reported that they've played video games. The report resonates with not only recent surveys, but with how a lot of investors feel. Well, at least in Nintendo's case. The big N's response?
"The concept of having our core franchises on other systems really flies in the face of what we believe in, and that's because by understanding the hardware, that's how we're able to bring these great experiences forward," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently told us, referring to games like Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS. At the very least, bonus points for sticking to your guns, guys.
Do you think Nintendo and Sony have a chance to regain supposedly lost ground in portable gaming? Where do you play most of your handheld games now?
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