News Byte

QuizUp Creator Plain Vanilla Games Raises Another $22 Million

On top of a $1.2 million seed round, a $2.5 million Series A and then a $2 million extension to that Series A, Plain Vanilla Games has just raised another bundle of money for its mobile trivia game QuizUp: A $22 million Series B, led by Sequoia Capital. The company’s previous investors, including Tencent Holdings, also participated in the round. The app now has five million active users, according to a press release.

Atheer and Meta Want You to Touch Your Apps in Midair

Reach out and touch something.
meta_pro

Sony PlayStation 4 Makes Right Play for Gamers

Seven years after its last release, Sony is back with the PlayStation 4, a powerful console aimed squarely at gamers.

Despite Free-to-Play Explosion, Apple Puts Spotlight on Paid Games

Candy Crush can fend for itself.
Apple's iPad game of the year, Badland.

QOTD: It’s-a-Me! Mobile Strategy!

We recognize that there are a lot of smartphones and tablets out there … We’re also doing a lot of experimentation of what I would call the little experiences you can have on your smartphone and tablet that will drive you back to your Nintendo hardware.

— Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Amie, in an interview with King 5 News in Seattle. Nintendo has long resisted bringing its IP to mobile devices.

Why a Cozy Relationship Between Valve and Oculus VR Makes Perfect Sense

The two gaming companies have an incestuous history and chummy relationship, and they’re headed toward the same point in 2014.
Team Fortress 2's Soldier, Pyro and Heavy try the Oculus Rift.

Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe on Raising $75 Million, the “Oh My God” Demo and Working With Valve

Iribe discusses how a hardware breakthrough got the company its new mega round.

PlayStation 4 Tops Gaming Hardware Sales in November, but Game Sales Are Way Down

Sony wins the first round. Sort of.

News Byte

Fitness-Gaming Device Goji Play Officially Goes on Sale

Goji Play, the mobile-gaming-meets-cardio-fitness device first announced in July, officially goes on sale today. The product underwent a soft launch in October, by way of a partnership with MyFitnessPal. A Goji Play kit costs $100, includes an activity tracker and Bluetooth-connected game controllers designed for exercise machines, and supports 12 iOS games at launch, with more games and Android support planned for next year.

News Byte

Japan Overtakes U.S. in Apple/Google App Store Revenue

Japan is now the top country worldwide in revenue from Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to a new report from App Annie. The app analytics company attributed the surprising shift to rapid smartphone adoption over the past year in Japan — where feature phones have held on for longer — and explosive growth in Google Play spending, outpacing global trends due to the availability of carrier billing as an alternative to credit cards.