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Tag: mobile games

  • Kim Kardashian’s New Game Is Making Crazy Cash

    “Before you were famous, you were new to Hollywood,” is how the game “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” begins.

    Say what you want about Kim Kardashian, the girl who is known for being rich and famous for not doing much of anything, she certainly knows how to generate massive amounts of money. It’s been reported that her downloadable mobile game is earning $700,000 per day.

    If you wish to play a game on your phone where you have to “work” to achieve an A-List lifestyle like Kim, then Kardashian’s game is for you. The game is totally free to download, but in order to achieve rich and famous status, then the player has to buck up for trendy clothes and fancy hairstyles.

    Apple’s description, “create your own aspiring celebrity and rise to fame and fortune.”

    Nadine DeNinno, a writer for International Business Times, describes her experiences playing the Kardashian game in an article called, I Played Kim Kardashian’s Game For 15 Minutes And Lost Brain Cells, “To sum up the game in a nutshell: Money is thrown at you for doing whatever Kardashian says to do— no choice, skill or intelligence involved. Basically, it’s like living a day in the life of the robot media sensation Mrs. West.” She added, “The game tells you what to do, where to go and how to become famous, all while throwing money, stars and tokens your way. It’s hard not to feel accomplished doing nothing, just like a Kardashian.”

    Reviews aside, according to Doug Creutz, who is an analyst at Cowen and Company, if Kardashian’s game sales continue at their current pace, the game will rake in $200 million in just one year. Creutz stated that there are only roughly seven other apps that are pulling in Kardashian-type cash right now, which is currently one of the top five most downloaded apps for Apple. He confessed, “I don’t even know what genre to call it, but people are taken with it.”

    Glu Mobile, the company who created the game, has experienced more than a 30% growth since the app hit the market in June. Glu CEO Niccolo de Masi said that the game even broke the company’s single-day revenue record. Even still, shares of Glu Mobile fell 8% on Thursday. Looks like investors are making sure to cash in just in case the numbers drop.

    Have you played Kardashian’s game?

    Image via YouTube Screenshot

  • Gamers May Actually Prefer Freemium, Shows Report

    For the past few years a new pricing model has begun creeping into the games industry. Beginning on mobile devices, the so-called “freemium” model gives players a taste of a game for free while plastering the title with ads or holding back crucial gameplay elements or items behind paywalls.

    For some developers the freemium model has been a fantastic success. Games such as Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans have become cash cows for their developers through sales of optional power-ups or other in-game resources. The Angry Birds franchise grew on the back of large in-game ad banners. And now the freemium model is beginning to show up on PC and console game titles, often in multiplayer titles such as League of Legends.

    Despite protests from the traditional gaming crowd that most freemium titles are, by definition, broken and manipulative, the money these titles can bring in tells a different story: many gamers prefer their games to be free. A new report from research firm IHS and website WildTangent today confirmed as much.

    The report shows that 86% of WildTangent gamers surveyed by those companies prefer games to be free but with ads rather than pay upfront for a game without ads. Another 79% of those surveyed stated that they “like” receiving virtual items from ad clicks.

    The companies using the freemium model are seeing encouraging statistics as well. Value exchange ads in games were seen to increase the number of times players put extra money into a game by 120%. In-game ads are also more interactive, with the survey showing that game ads account for two times as many post-ad actions as live TV ads.

    Of course, these results mirror a segment of the gaming community that is already playing freemium games and in many cases does not have much experience with game titles outside of the casual mobile or online titles. Even so, the group makes up a growing contingent of overall gamers that will only grow as growth in the tablet and smartphone markets continues.

    “The research shows that gamers embrace value exchange ads, which demonstrates the progress the industry has made with advertising in and around video games,” said Christine Arrington, senior games analyst at IHS. “As gamers become more accustomed to in-game advertising, it becomes essential for brand marketers to find creative ways to use value exchange advertising while developers must ensure gamers have easy access to these offers.”

  • ‘Trials Frontier’ Comes to iOS on April 10

    The PC beta for Trials Fusion began last week and fans of the twitch-skill 2D motorbike puzzle games are now the game’s new tracks, modes, and features. The game is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 on April 16.

    Before these more dedicated gamers get a chance to play Trials Fusion, however, publisher Ubisoft will be bringing the Trials experience to mobile devices and a larger crowd of casual gamers.

    Ubisoft has announced that Trials Frontier will be released for iOS on April 10. The pared-down trials game will be available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

    Announced last fall, Trials Frontier is a Trials experience designed for the mobile market. The game’s graphics and gameplay will, by necessity, be pared-down and simplified for a touch interface.

    Players will take on “missions” given out by locals in a village to earn motorbike parts, character skins, and more. Leaderboards will be available for players to compare themselves to friends and the world. Players will also be able to compete in multiplayer competitions through the new app. Ubisoft has stated that it has plans to bring consistent updates to frontier throughout the life of the title.

    In addition to having its own independent contend and story, Frontier is a companion app of sorts for Fusion. Players who engage with both titles will be able to connect to each other via Uplay to unlock extra gear and customizations..

    The visuals and action in Frontier were previewed today in a new trailer released by Ubisoft. The video depicts a visually simple trials game, but complete with the silliness, difficulty, and action seen in a full Trials title. Depending on how well the precision controls needed for the Trials series translate to a touch interface, Trials Frontier could end up being one of the better mobile games currently available.

  • Twitch Streaming Arrives For iOS

    Twitch Streaming Arrives For iOS

    Twitch today announced that Asphalt 8: Airborne will be the first iOS game to have built-in Twitch streaming capabilities. Using the feature, players will be able to use their iPhone 5S, iPad Air, or iPad Mini to stream gameplay to the Twitch website alongside PC and console gamers. The software will also use microphones and front-facing cameras to stream live images of players.

    “Live broadcasting represents one of the most important shifts in the way people play games,” said Matthew DiPietro, VP of marketing at Twitch. “Twitch has quickly found a home on consoles, so by partnering with Gameloft to launch the first streaming-enabled mobile game brings us one step closer to being everywhere that gamers are. Also, by being integrated into Asphalt 8: Airborne, one of the highest rated mobile games, should ensure it resonates with our community.”

    Gameloft is the publisher of Asphalt 8: Airborne, an arcade-style racing game for mobile platforms. The game allows players to race against computer-controlled opponents or other players through online matches. In addition to streaming features the game will also be updated with new events, cars, and user interface.

    Other features of the Twitch streaming coming to the game include stream channel chat monitoring directly from the app and the ability to archive streams on Twitch.

    Gameloft will be previewing the game’s Twitch streaming this week during s 24-hour live stream. The date and time for the stream have not been announced, but Twitch has promised that the stream will include interviews with developers and a walkthrough of all the app’s streaming features.

  • ‘Angry Birds Epic’ Gameplay Previewed

    Earlier this month Rovio teased a new Angry Birds game that the developer promised would be “epic.” Since that time the game has been revealed to be Angry Birds Epic, a turn-based RPG game featuring the birds and pigs made famous in the Angry Birds series.

    Today Rovio has finally revealed how exactly Angry Birds Epic will play. As seen in the new gameplay trailer below, players will control a team of birds and use their varied fantasy-inspired powers to defeat teams of pigs.

    Along with the new gameplay Rovio today also revealed why Angry Birds Epic is launching first in a select few countries. The studio maintains that development on the title is complete but that it still wants “critical feedback” from real players. In essence, Angry Birds fans in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will be beta testing the game.

    This pre-release period could be a matter of balancing the game, but it could also involve the monetization that Rovio will undoubtedly be putting into the game. Mobile games with a wide variety of in-app purchase options have become popular in recent years and a mobile RPG would offer plenty of opportunities for item, gear, and crafting microtransaction offerings. Hopefully the limited release will help Rovio avoid a game-breaking microtransaction system such as the one recently implemented into EA’s Dungeon Keeper.

  • Handheld Consoles Facing Competition From Mobile Peripherals

    The February NPD numbers were released this week, showing that handheld console sales are still lagging far behind the segment’s historical highs. One bright spot was that Nintendo 3DS exclusive Bravely Default cracked the top 10 software sales chart for the month, but overall handhelds are quickly becoming niche products as consumers begin to embrace mobile gaming.

    A DigiTimes Research report out this week predicts a rather bleak outlook for handheld gaming. The report points to Sony’s PS Vita console, which has seen poor sales throughout its lifetime despite being a very advanced piece of gaming hardware. Sony’s new PS Vita Slim redesign of the handheld could move units in the near future, but likely not enough to make the device a real competitor to the 3DS.

    Though price and lack of software could be to blame for the recent downturn in handheld gaming, DigiTimes believes as so many other market analysts do: mobile gaming is crushing handhelds. The report points to the still-growing mobile games industry as proof that mobile games will soon replace traditional handhelds. Major games publishers such as EA and Square Enix are now seeing high profit margins for their Android and iOS titles, a fact that will continue to push publishers toward the massive potential gamer install base that such devices now have.

    In addition to mobile software, DigiTimes predicts that mobile gaming peripherals will eventually take the place that handhelds now hold in the market. The controller attachments market is wide open at this point and peripheral-makers are seeing greater opportunities as smartphone hardware and mobile game design improve.

  • Crazy Taxi Comes To Mobile In City Rush

    Crazy Taxi Comes To Mobile In City Rush

    Crazy Taxi is one of the greatest arcade games ever made. Sega recognizes this, and has milked the franchise over the years with ports to consoles and mobile devices. Now after all the ports – the original creator of Crazy Taxi is back with a brand new title exclusively for mobile devices.

    Sega announced this morning that Crazy Taxi: City Rush is coming to iOS and Android devices later this year. The free-to-play title was designed by Crazy Taxi creator Kenji Kanno and developed by Hardlight Studios.

    So, how does Crazy Taxi: City Rush stack up to the original? The core gameplay is still the same, but some concessions have been made to better suit mobile devices. For starters, the taxi is now on a somewhat fixed path going at a fixed speed. To turn, you swipe left or right at street corners and you can swipe down to turn around. The game is also mission based so you won’t be picking up random passengers anymore.

    Of course, this is a free-to-play game so you’re going to have to deal with the usual pitfalls associated with the genre. Playing the game will cause an energy gauge to deplete and you can’t play anymore once said energy gauge is empty. The gauge does refill over time, but you can buy an instant refill through money earned in-game or through in-app transactions. Like the best free-to-play titles, the game can be completed without having to spend a single cent. If you don’t want to wait, the option is there though.

    Despite the revamped control scheme and new mission structure, the game appears to retain the Crazy Taxi spirit. If you still can’t believe it, check out this comparison video from GamesRadar:

    While you’re at it, you might want to check out the admittedly humorous trailer from Sega:

    Image via Crazy Taxi/YouTube

  • This War Of Mine Is All About The Human Cost Of War

    “In war, not everyone is a soldier.”

    That’s the tagline for 11 Bit Studio’s latest game – This War of Mine. As it suggests, the game does not put players into the role of a soldier. Instead, players will instead be tasked with keeping a group of civilians alive even as the war outside brings the world down around them.

    Here’s the official synopsis:

    This War Of Mine provides an experience of war seen from an entirely new angle. For the very first time you do not play as an elite soldier, rather a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city. During the day snipers outside stop you from leaving your refuge, so you need to focus on maintaining your hideout. At night you get a chance to scavenge nearby locations for items that will help you stay alive.

    Make life-and-death decisions driven by your conscience. Try to protect everybody from your shelter or sacrifice some of them to endure the hardships. During war, there are no good or bad decisions; there is only survival. The sooner you realize that, the better.

    The debut trailer for the title is about as somber as you would expect:

    This War of Mine is scheduled to release later this year on PC and mobile devices.

    Image via 11bitstudios/YouTube

  • “Epic” Angry Birds Game Teased by Rovio

    “Epic” Angry Birds Game Teased by Rovio

    Despite the rise of games such as Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga, the Angry Birds franchise still remains one of the biggest brands in mobile gaming. Rovio last year kept the avian train running with the release of cart racer Angry Birds Go! and a sequel to the marketing match made in heaven, Angry Birds Star Wars II.

    With Rovio’s fall releases out of the way, however, Angry Birds fans have had to make due now with months of expansions for existing games. The developer did tease Angry Birds Stella, a more character-focued line of games and other media revolving around Angry Birds‘ pink bird, but even that series is set for a fall release.

    Today Rovio teased Angry Birds fans even further with a new tease for an unannounced game. In a short new trailer uploaded to the Rovio YouTube channel the studio is teasing an “epic” new Angry Birds game:

    The suit of armor teased in the video obviously suggests that whatever the game is it will have a fantasy setting or elements. It’s unclear what exactly all this means, but what is clear is that Angry Birds fans in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will be the first to find out.

  • Disney Interactive Lays Off 700 Employees

    Disney Interactive is one of the largest entertainment groups in the world. The studios that comprise the division produce everything from mobile and console games to interactive Web experiences. It’s also not doing so well these days.

    The New York Times reports that Disney has laid off 700 employees from its Game and Internet Division, more commonly known as Disney Interactive. The 700 employees being laid off this week represent 26 percent of Disney’s global staff. In short, there is some major restructuring afoot at the House of Mouse.

    James A. Pitaro, president of Disney Interactive, told The Times that the layoffs are part of Disney’s move to “sustained profitability and sustainability.” In other words, making games in-house is expensive, and it’s much more cost effective for Disney to license out its properties to others.

    Disney already has a history of licensing its properties out to third parties. In fact, it did it last year with the newly acquired Star Wars IP. For years, LucasFilm had made its own Star Wars games and media through its in-house LucasArts studio, After being acquired by Disney, the company shut down LucasArts and sold the game license rights to EA. Disney will still have creative control over the projects, but the monetary burden of actually producing the products falls onto others.

    As for its in-house projects, Disney isn’t leaving the space entirely. It will double down on mobile while leaving behind other areas that aren’t so profitable (i.e. Web-based games). Pitaro points to its having the number one mobile app in Japan as justification for it staying in the mobile business even as it exits others.

    So, what does this all mean for Disney Interactive’s output? The division will be slashing its output by half in 2014. Last year, it published two dozen games. Licensed properties are not affected so Kingdom Hearts and Star Wars Battlefront fans need not worry.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mobile Game Developers Prefer iOS Over Android

    There was a time many years ago when Android was a land full of cheap mimics of the more popular mobile titles that were exclusive to iOS. Over the years, those same mobile developers are now building their games for both platforms. It looks like their love for iOS hasn’t subsided though.

    As part of its State of the Industry report, GDC surveyed 1,700 North American smartphone game developers on their preference between iOS and Android. Ninety percent of those surveyed said they were making games for iOS, while a respectable 80 percent said they were making games for Android.

    So, what about the other guys? The survey found that 21 percent of mobile developers were making games for Windows Phone while 5 percent were making game for BlackBerry devices. A relative newcomer to the mobile space – PlayStation Mobile – only has 5 percent of developers working on games for the platform as well.

    The results show that there’s now a lot of overlap between development for iOS and Android. Most developers now feel that they have to release on both platforms to target the widest audience possible considering that Android is the largest mobile platform in existence.

    While there’s no reason stated why iOS still has an edge over Android, we can make a couple of educated guesses. For starters, it’s still easier to develop games on iOS as you don’t have to worry about fragmentation nearly as much. Sure, over 60 percent of Android users now use Jelly Bean, but ignoring previous versions cuts out 36 percent of your potential audience.

    Another possible reason is that the piracy rate on iOS is much lower than it is on Android. A report from SlashGear last year said the piracy rates for a single game on Android was at 95 percent. The same game on iOS had a 5 percent piracy rate. While you can argue it’s unfair to compare the piracy rates between platforms based on a single game, most developers aren’t going to be thinking about that when developing their next game. There’s still a preconception that iOS is the safer platform to release games and apps on even if it’s not the case for every game.

    Despite all this, Android still has 80 percent of North American mobile developers making games for it. That’s nothing to sneeze at. As Google continues to mature the platform, more and more developers will likely start to move towards cross-platform development.

    Image via iTunes

  • ‘Candy Crush Saga’ Maker Files for IPO

    The maker of Candy Crush Saga filed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of up to $500 million today. King Digital Entertainment undoubtedly hopes to follow in the footsteps of Zynga, who filed their IPO in late 2011 and has become one of the biggest leaders in mobile gaming.

    King filed their IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today and plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “KING.” Some analysts believe that King could be worth more than $5 billion, which is less than what Zynga’s valuation was in 2011, but is nothing to scoff at nonetheless.

    Candy Crush Saga was first released in April 2012 and has since become a raging success, which you probably already knew (even if you don’t play the game yourself) if you ever go near Facebook. According to Recode, “King generated profits of $568 million on revenue of $1.88 billion” in 2013. After posting a loss in 2011, the release of Candy Crush has made King into a powerhouse.

    The game has been downloaded more than half a billion times and according to King’s IPO, Candy Crush has almost 130 million daily users as of December 2013. The number of daily active users has steadily increased since the game was first released, so there is no reason to expect the game, which accounts for more than three-fourths of King’s revenue, to drop off anytime soon.

    In addition to Candy Crush Saga, King also has several other games, including Farm Heroes Saga, Papa Pear Saga, Pet Rescue Saga and Bubble Witch Saga. Even though these games don’t currently generate close to the revenue that Candy Crush earns, perhaps the attention King is getting for their IPO will increase their number of users.

    Considering what a cash cow Candy Crush has become, King was recently approved for a trademark of the word “candy” as far as using the word for video games and clothing goes. The company is also trying to trademark the word “saga.” As such, any developers hoping to slip “Candy” in as part of their game title and perhaps capitalize on Candy Crush’s success won’t be successful. Apple is helping protect the trademark, similar to their move to protect Flappy Bird by rejecting any new titles with “Flappy” in their name.

    Image via Twitter

  • Turn-Based ‘Hitman’ Mobile Game Announced

    Turn-Based ‘Hitman’ Mobile Game Announced

    2012’s Hitman: Absolution was relatively well-received by critics, yet still didn’t live up to Square Enix’s sales expectations. Especially considering the huge marketing push the publisher made for the game.

    Now Square Enix is giving Hitman the same treatment so many of its other properties have gotten recently. The publisher today announced Hitman GO, an upcoming mobile game based on the Hitman franchise. According to Square Enix the game is “almost ready for launch” and will undergo testing in the coming weeks.

    Hitman GO is a turn-based strategy game in which players will command Agent 47 around small “diorama-style” levels. The challenge will be getting 47 into position to take out his targets while avoiding enemies. Square Enix Montreal promises that players will have access to all the tools commonly associated with the Hitman franchise, including disguises, weapons, and other tools of the assassin trade.

    The news that Hitman is going mobile probably comes as a disappointment for fans of the series waiting on another full title, and it seems even Square Enis realizes this. The publisher also used the Hitman GO announcement to tease “something else” Square Enix Montreal is working on that “fits perfectly within the Hitman fantasy.” The announcement stated that fans will not have to wait long for a reveal that may come “sooner than you think.”

  • ‘Angry Birds Stella’ to Focus on the Pink Bird

    Rovio, the developer behind the popular Angry Birds series of games, today announced a new spinoff of the Angry Birds series. Titled Angry Birds Stella, the new series will revolve around the pink bird (named Stella) and her avian friends.

    According to Rovio the new series will be getting the full Angry Birds marketing push. This means Angry Birds Stella-related games, cartoons, toys, books, and other merchandise will be released. The series is set to debut sometime this fall.

    The idea behind Angry Birds Stella seems to be a greater focus on characters. Rovio promises that Stella and the other characters in the series will be “fiesty” and have a “shared love for fun, adventure, and creativity.” The themes of the series include “inspiration, empowerment, and other real issues.” The developer also teased that the new series will feature locations in the “Angry Birds world” that haven’t yet been seen by fans.

    “Angry Birds Stella is breaking the mold by introducing strong, passionate characters who really stand for something, while adding plenty of action and reality into the mix”, said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “The Angry Birds Stella story will live and evolve across physical and digital, bridging them in fun and innovative ways. Stella and her friends are here to stay, with plenty of adventures ahead of them.”

    Image via Rovio

  • Tablet Gaming Linked to Motion Sickness

    Tablet Gaming Linked to Motion Sickness

    Tablet and smartphone gaming has become a billion-dollar industry in just a few short years. With the massive install base these devices represent, game publishers are now targeting mobile users with a wide variety of monetization schemes.

    The only problem with all of this is that touch-based mobile games simply cannot offer the same types of gaming experiences that consoles, PCs, or even handheld gaming devices can. Though developers have experimented with many different control schemes, touch and tilt controls simply can’t offer the precision that controllers or computer mice do.

    Now it appears there may be another problem with mobile game controls – they could make people sick.

    A new study published in the journal Experimental Brain Research has shown that motion sickness resulting from controlling mobile games may not be a rare occurrence. Of the 36 study participants who played a game on an iPad for up to 40 minutes, nearly one-third of them (31%) experienced feelings of motion sickness.

    “This result is remarkable,” said Thomas Stoffregen, lead author of the study and a kinesiologist at the University of Minnesota. “Given the number of mobile devices out there, our findings suggest the potential for a serious problem.”

    Stoffregen and his colleagues found that how people control mobile games may have a large effect on the risk for motion sickness. The study found that 50% of study participants who used touch controls felt sick afterwards. In contrast, only 11% of those who used tilt controls got motion sickness.

    “In 2011, we used Xbox and virtual driving games to study the age-old finding that the driver is less likely to get car sick than the passenger,” said Stoffregen. “In 2012, we studied motion sickness in walking, using Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with some people ‘driving’ the avatar and others watching a recording of the avatar. Turns out, like in our new study, the difference in getting sick or not is about being in control of your locomotion.”

    Image via Rovio

  • Flappy Bird Gets The NMA Treatment

    Flappy Bird Gets The NMA Treatment

    If you follow fads at all, you’re no doubt aware of the rise and fall of Flappy Bird. The simple, yet unfairly difficult, game has been the subject of much debate over the past few weeks. Critics and gamers have been going back and forth over whether or not it can even be considered a game while some have questioned the integrity of its creator.

    The creator, Dong Nguyen, had enough over the weekend and announced he would be pulling the game from both the iOS app store and Google Play on Sunday. It’s unclear why he pulled it only saying that he “cannot take this anymore.”

    After his statement, some speculated that he was under some legal pressure over his game featuring pipes that are of the same color and similar design to those found in Super Mario Bros. games. Nintendo and Nguyen have both dismissed that as a reason though.

    The most likely answer can be found in the fact that gamers (and people in general) can be the absolute worst. It’s no secret that Nguyen received death threats from trolls on a constant basis for his game being too difficult, but a new wave of abuse hit him when people began to accuse him of stealing assets from Nintendo games or using bots to inflate his position on the iOS app store.

    The same kind of pressure forced Phil Fish, creator of Fez, to leave the gaming industry. Nguyen won’t be giving up on game development, but he pulled Flappy Bird because of all the negative attention it brought him.

    As is customary, the Flappy Bird saga has now been immortalized by NMA. If you’re too lazy to read the sad story of a man who just wanted to make games, you should watch NMA’s humorous take on it instead:

    Image via Taiwanese Animators/YouTube

  • ‘Final Fantasy VI’ Out Now For Android

    ‘Final Fantasy VI’ Out Now For Android

    For the past two years now, Square Enix has been trading on its storied past, releasing classic Final Fantasy games on mobile platforms. The publisher this week finally reached Final Fantasy VI, which can now be bought for $16 through the Google Play app store.

    Final Fantasy VI is the last of the series’ sprite-based 2D games and is considered by many fans to be one of the best (if not the best) games in the series. The game’s story revolves around a young girl named Terra and a larger cast of memorable characters while also touching on the interplay between magic and steampunk.

    For its mobile release, Final Fantasy VI has gotten a visual makeover, including smoothed characters and art. The game’s controls have also been significantly altered for touch interfaces, which does have an effect on certain in-game events.

    Fans who can look past the game’s new visuals may be able to enjoy the 2006 remake version of Final Fantasy VI anywhere they take their smartphones. Meanwhile new fans to the series willing to cough up $16 for a mobile title will be able to experience one of the best Final Fantasy games ever made.

  • ‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” For Mobile Gets a New Trailer

    ‘Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” For Mobile Gets a New Trailer

    It’s been nearly a decade since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released for PlayStation 2, but Rockstar Games today is highlighting the game in a brand new trailer.

    The video comes just as San Andreas is now available for iOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle platforms. Gamers can now experience what many consider to be the best GTA game on their mobile devices. The app costs $7 through Apple’s App Store, Google Play, or the Amazon Appstore.

    The mobile version of San Andreas isn’t simply a straight port of the original version. Rockstar has added improved visuals, character models, and lighting to make the game look better on HD screens. The controls have also been changed significantly to deal with the problem of mobile touch-based interfaces with context-sensitive actions, three weapon aim options (auto, free, and touch targeting), and what Rockstar is calling dual analog stick controls. Luckily, support for real Bluetooth mobile controllers is also included.

    Much of these improvements are demonstrated in the new trailer, which provides an overview of main character CJ and the crazy situations and characters he encounters throughout San Andreas:

  • ‘Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed’ Out For iOS

    It’s only been a few weeks since Rovio released its Angry Birds Go! kart racing game, and now Sega is jumping into the mobile racing genre with the release of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed for iOS.

    The game is out now for iPhone, iPod, and iPad devices that are running iOS 7. Like Angry Birds Go!, Players can use either touch controls or tilt controls to race, though a controller can also be used for more precision.

    Players can choose (purchase with in-game rings) between 10 different characters at launch, including Sonic, Tails, and Amy. Future characters coming to the game include Ryo Hazuki of Shenmue fame and Ralph from the Disney movie Wreck-It Ralph.

    Unlike other mobile racers, Sonic & All-Stars for iOS has several options for multiplayer. Up to four players can race against each other in local and online multiplayer races, and leaderboards will keep track of daily and weekly racing challenges.

  • ‘Angry Birds Star Wars’ Gets New Levels, is Being Removed From Facebook

    Angry Birds Star War II was released just weeks ago and already developer Rovio has shifted its focus to its new downhill kart racing game, Angry Birds Go!. That doesn’t mean, however, that old Angry Birds titles have been abandoned.

    Rovio this week released a brand new update for the original Angry Birds Star Wars. The update adds 30 new levels to the game featuring plenty of space battles. It even features a new boss battle in which players can take on Darth Vader himself.

    Unfortunately for fans of the game, Rovio is calling this update the “final episode” for Angry Birds Star Wars. The company is also ending support for the game on Facebook, and announced this week that Angry Birds Star Wars will be removed from the social network in March 2014. Item prices for the Facebook version are now half-off to encourage players to spend their credits.

    Post by Angry Birds.

    Despite the abandonment of Facebook, Angry Birds Star Wars will still be available on mobile platforms. The trailer for the new update shows off the game in its final form:

  • Samsung Reveals Its Own Smartphone Game Controller

    Samsung Reveals Its Own Smartphone Game Controller

    It’s become increasingly apparent over the years that smartphone games are kind of trash unless they’re built specifically for touch. There’s just no way to replicate an analog stick or d-pad on a touch screen. To remedy that, some companies have made bluetooth gamepads for smartphones, but now major phone OEMs are getting in on it.

    Samsung announced today that it will soon be launching what it calls the Smartphone GamePad. It’s a flat game controller that snaps into any Android device, but will better support Samsung devices. It also helps to serve as a mini-game console for devices, like the Galaxy S 4, that can connect to TVs through HDMI.

    As previously noted, the Smartphone GamePad has been optimized for Samsung devices. For those devices, the GamePad has a few extra features, including the Play button. By installing the Mobile Console app on their Samsung device, users can then press the Play button and have instant access to all of their games. It will also list all of the GamePad-supporting titles available for purchase.

    Of course, mobile gamepads are only as good as the support they receive from developers, and it looks like Samsung has lined up some pretty big partners for its launch. Here are some of the games that support the Smartphone GamePad right now:

  • Need for Speed: Most Wanted
  • Asphalt 8: Airborne
  • Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour
  • Virtua Tennis Challenge
  • Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame

    • Samsung notes that the GamePad currently supports 35 titles and that more will come in 2014. It’s currently available to purchase in European markets and will be available in “additional regions” in the coming weeks. It doesn’t say when the U.S. will get it, but we shouldn’t have to wait that long.

    [h/t: DroidLife]
    [Image: Samsung]