mobile games

Americans Played Anything but Social Games During the Holidays

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 3 at 7:30 am PT

The number of people playing games on Facebook tanked last week, as some game makers were unable to capitalize on people’s downtime during the holidays.

Zynga Makes Big Claims With IPO Only a Week Away

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 9, 2011 at 2:03 pm PT

How about doubling the number of paying gamers? Done!

Teenager Gets Funded by Andreessen Horowitz to Knock Off Pokemon for the iPhone

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on November 10, 2011 at 7:00 am PT

MinoMonsters has raised $1 million to develop a mobile game that will bring a Pokemon-like experience to the iPhone.

Casual Game Maker Big Fish Cuts Checks to Shareholders on Way to IPO

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 31, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

Seattle-based Big Fish doles out a hefty dividend to nearly all of its employees, as renewed rumors hint that an IPO could come as soon as next year.

Ubisoft’s Digital Games Strategy Has Nothing to Do With Acquisitions

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 27, 2011 at 9:05 am PT

Ubisoft is taking a while to grow big, but it’s getting there. Here’s a look at its immediate plans, which include at least seven new games.

Zynga’s New Mobile Game Will Incorporate Location-Based Check-Ins

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 11, 2011 at 5:10 pm PT

Zynga unveiled a slate of 10 new products today, and mobile was a major theme.

Tap.me Hires Top Omnicom Exec Matt Spiegel for Mobile Ad Play

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 10, 2011 at 4:30 am PT

Tap.me, a small Chicago start-up focused on in-game advertising, has landed a big name as its new CEO.

Disney Set to Acquire Top Indian Game Developer Indiagames

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 6, 2011 at 1:21 am PT

Disney is close to finalizing the acquisition of Mumbai-based Indiagames, one of India’s leading developers and publishers of online and mobile games.

News Byte

MocoSpace Expands Mobile Social Network With Games Acquisition

Tricia Duryee in Mobile on October 3, 2011 at 7:30 am PT

Boston-based MocoSpace, a mobile social network, has acquired Geocade, a location-based social games platform. The two companies’ platforms will merge to offer third-party developers more features. Geocade founder and CEO Jim Caralis will become VP of MocoSpace’s HTML5 game platform, which now includes 20 games. No terms were disclosed.

Rovio Branding Exec Suddenly Flies the Coop

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on October 2, 2011 at 12:15 pm PT

Rovio, the Finnish company that has been massively successful at building out a brand around its hit videogame title, Angry Birds, has lost its top branding executive.