TriplePoints of Interest – Week of August 31

It was a big week in video games, but for two starkly different reasons. The summer is wrapping up with two major console game launches in Super Mario Maker for the WiiU and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for, well, everything else. On the other hand, late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel sparked a controversy with a comedy segment aimed at YouTube’s new gaming channel and the concept of watching people play video games.

Super Mario Maker and Metal Gear See Critical Success

Two major console titles have launched this week to critical acclaim – Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker for the WiiU and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Nintendo’s latest allows players to create and share their own Mario levels and currently has a score of 89 on Metacritic. The latest in the Metal Gear Solid series – with a rating of 94 on Metacritic – represents famed designer Hideo Kojima’s final production for publisher Konami as the two parties continue their acrimonious separation.

Jimmy Kimmel Versus Gamers

Last week, late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel aired a segment making fun of YouTube’s new Gaming channel and parodying the concept of watching people play video games. This lead to many angry comments and vitriol directed at the host from upset gamers, including death threats, which Jimmy Kimmel shared in not one, but two follow up segments on his show this week. This only continues to grow, with much of the games and tech press covering the controversy, and we expect that this won’t be the last we hear from the talk show host on this. 

Machinima’s Slap on the Wrist

Popular YouTube content network Machinima has come under fire from the FTC for deceptive business practices pertaining to an XBox One launch campaign. According to Kotaku, Machinima paid YouTubers to create positive content around the XBox One while preventing them from disclosing that the videos were paid for by Microsoft. The FTC and Machinima have come to a settlement preventing this type of business practice in the future.

The Most Popular Apps of All Time

App Store analytics firm App Annie released a new report this week on the most popular iPhone and iPad apps of all time. GamesIndustry International reports that, in terms of the highest grossing games on the App Store, Supercell comes out on top with their megahits Clash of Clans, Hay Day, and Boom Beach.

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of August 24

The eSports gods have spoken: watching the tournaments on streams is a hit and more! Check out the awesome statistics from the eSports tournaments of the past weekend as well as some interesting insight of how much time Americans REALLY spend on their phones and playing games.

Counter-Strike: Global Phenomenon

The stream numbers are in and VentureBeat reports over 27 million people tuned in to watch the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament at ESL One and noted that while Evo 2015 only received 248,000 peak concurrent viewers, it still saw a 75% increase from last year’s numbers. Writer, Jeff Grubb, notes that this signals a diversification of eSports content seeing brands other than Dota 2 and League of Legends grow at such a high rate.

Pass the blood samples

Two major eSports tournaments wrapped up this weekend: League of Legends North American LCS Summer Finals in New York City and ESL One in Cologne, Germany. PC World takes a look at the first tournament where ESL began testing players for drug use. Writer, John Gaudiosi, discusses the mixed reactions from fans and notes that other organizations like Major League Gaming and Riot Games have yet to implement such procedures.

Conventions got snug and cozy this year

GamesIndustry.biz takes a look at the move of Gamescom to earlier in the month of August, setting it less than 2 months after E3, and causing Nintendo to cancel their press conference and Sony moving their presence to Paris Games Week. While this meant press schedules becoming more compressed, writer, Dan Pearson, notes that this gave an opportunity for Microsoft to garner most of the press attention during Gamescom thanks to maintaining their presence at the show despite tight scheduling.

Smartphone addictions continue!

Yahoo analytics firm, Flurry, released data relating to US smartphone use and how it relates to the time spent gaming. GamesIndustry.biz reports that although time spent on smartphones has risen 35%, the amount of time spent gaming has halved. Writer, Dan Pearson says, “Flurry attributes this shift to three major factors: a lack of new hit games, with the top grossing charts remaining static; the rise of spectator gaming, as gamers spend more time learning by watching streaming services rather than playing; and the unwillingness of players to spend time grinding their way through games, instead paying their way to content via free-to-play mechanisms.”

Photo from ESL

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 20

This week, we learned that the eSports world ruled players CAN gain an unfair advantage competing in video games by using drugs prescribed for ADHD. We also learned a new way developers are making their games as an outlet for creativity for their fans. Games can and do make you an artist!

eSports pros draw First Blood for drug tests

Electronic Sports League (ESL), the world’s largest eSports organization, announced they will implement new policies in the wake of an Adderall abuse scandal that broke out at IEM Katowice’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. VICE Motherboard reports that ESL will soon require drug abuse policing, education, and prevention among participants, but will not punish teams who have since been accused of drug use at previous events.

The Art of Video Games…and Gaming

Outpost Games CEO, Sachin Pansuria, told GamesIndustry International that their business model will treat gamers not as consumers, but as performers and creators of content. They seek to create games that play on a gamer’s skill and creativity, making the game a creative outlet, and not just roll out DLC in hopes to keep players interested. Others in the industry share Outpost’s sentiments as they just secured $6.2 million in funding from Benchmark!

Gamescom survival guide!

Heading to Europe’s largest video game show next month? Amsterdam’s tinyBuild Games, veterans of Gamescom, provided a list of tactics on Gamasutra for how to make your booth showing the best yet! Tips include how to structure your booth so it’s welcoming to attendees and how to reward attendees for stopping by!

Photo from TeamLiquid.net

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of July 6

What is everyone spending their summer 2015 playing? I just need a reminder that it is summer since it’s gray and chilly here in San Francisco. For those of you mobile folks, who has tried to stream your gameplay? I really wonder how many people would tune in to watch birds get flappy or angry. I know I would!

The rise of streaming mobile games

Sony announced a partnership with Twitch to stream mobile games from Xperia devices. The Xperia exclusivity is due to the fact that the streaming app is developed by Sony and not Twitch, according to SiliconAngle. Writer, Eric David, asks whether there is an audience yet for mobile game streaming, seeing that PC still dominates Twitch. Twitch, on the other hand, believes that creating as many avenues as possible to stream games on a wide array of devices is necessary to serve the community properly.

Your weekly VR report from Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida

GamesIndustry International caught up with Sony Computer Entertainment president, Shuhei Yoshida, to hear his take on the state of the VR industry. He discusses Sony’s focus on VR content at E3 versus GDC’s focus on the hardware itself, emphasizing the need for swift turnaround in profits for developers creating games for the headsets. He also explains why virtually no headset maker has discussed price points yet despite most release dates being set for as early as Q1 2016.

Bet to make eSports bigger!

There is already no question that eSports is a global phenomenon. Will the age-old pastime of betting on traditional sports establish itself in the video game space as fast as competitive gaming did? VICE believes it will based on companies like Unikrn receiving large sums from investors and its ability to bridge the gap between hardcore and casual viewers of eSports.

The Early (Access) Bird gets the worm…or does it?!

DayZ’s creator, Dean Hall, presented his insights on the pros and cons of using Early Access as part of a game launch’s strategy. According to Gamasutra, Mr. Hall believes that Early Access allows developers a chance to receive authentic user feedback, but can also set wrong expectations for the game at launch. He used Kerbal Space Program as an example of a game that benefited from Early Access as it allowed the game to improve into the experience it needed to be, while delaying and launching the game as a fully finished product might not have given the game room to grow.

Photo from Digital Trends

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of June 15

It’s just one trade show after another! This week is of course the special E3 edition of TriplePoints of Interest. Now sound off in the comments: what is your favorite announcement from the show? A game? A VR headset? Or something different entirely like photos of the awesome crowd and the industry’s gamer spirit shining through? In any case, here are some highlights!

Through the eyes of VR

Much like most trade shows these days, E3 continued to show love to VR. Gizmodo’s Sean Hollister released his list of his favorite games coming out for Oculus Rift, which includes Chronos, a “Zelda meets Dark Souls” game, platformer Lucky’s Tale, and EVE Valkyrie. Any one of Sean’s picks catching your eye?

GameSpot, in particular, was very impressed with Microsoft’s HoloLensHalo demo, saying it should be aptly renamed “HaloLens.”

Shenmue blows the doors off Kickstarter

Following the same trend as Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue 3, the long-awaited sequel to 2001’s Shenmue 2, reached its funding target of $2 million in under 12 hours, according to GamesIndustry International. This marks yet another major franchise revival game finding great success via crowdfunding. Funds poured in from fans who waited over 14 years for a three-quel after the announcement of the game at Sony’s press conference.

E3’s attendance grows yet again

Over 52,000 people attended E3 this year, up 3,000 from 2014, says VentureBeat. ESA chief, Mike Gallagher, said this year’s show was a testament to the way gamers are revolutionizing how news and media is shared with over 1 million clips uploaded to YouTube from the exhibit halls and 6.3 million tweets referencing the show. The show will return next year to Los Angeles June 14-16, 2016.

For those of you who missed the show…

Didn’t have time to watch all the press conferences? Polygon has you covered with summaries from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, and Ubisoft.

Photo from Tech In Asia

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of June 8

What juicy pre-E3 news did we uncover this week? The main event was WWDC and then VR stole the show! Who’s going to be checking out some VR hardware at the show this year?!

Looking fine, iOS 9!

Now it’s Apple’s turn! WWDC made waves yet again with iOS 9 among other announcements. Miss the big reveals? The Next Web has you covered with a summary of all the splashes. Tech Times has a summary of Metal, which allows for better graphics rendering and thus smoother scrolling for users. According to writer, Lauren Keating, 2K, Blizzard, and Aspyr are among the developers using it to enhance their apps.

The Vainglorious Apple Design Awards

In other WWDC news, Apple announced the winners of this year’s Apple Design Awards. Crossy Road, Vainglory, and Mediocre Games’ (creator of Smash Hit) Does Not Commute were among the winners, says CNET.

Green Robot is on a Rampage!

App Annie reported this week that Android has surpassed iOS in growth this month, seeing a 50% rise in global consumer spending versus iOS’s 30%, says GamesIndustry International. Writer, Matthew Handrahan, credits multiplayer games as a great driver of spending, with 60% of consumer spending coming from multiplayer titles.

See you at the inaugural TwitchCon 2015!

Twitch announced their panel line up for their inaugural TwitchCon event, says GamesIndustry International. Subjects to be covered include the legality of Let’s Play videos and streams, using Twitch as a fundraising platform, and tips to building healthy communities.

ESPN is Legendary!

ESPN released a long-form piece profiling famed South Korean League of Legends player, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, and the culture of eSports in the country. Writer, Mina Kimes, visited the headquarters of his team, SK Telecom T1, in Seoul and followed him on his road to the year’s first major international tournament, Mid-Season Invitational tournament in Tallahassee, FL. According to Daily Dot, this article is set to appear in a special ESPN The Magazine issue that will dive deeper into video games, featuring NFL player, Marshawn Lynch on the front cover for his upcoming appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

The Oculus Rift is spawning soon!

The Oculus Rift in its final form was revealed yesterday with a view of its launch model and controller. WIRED has the full photo gallery, along with the release time frame of Q1 2016. Kotaku also has the list of games that will be released for the device.

Image from BGR

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of May 25

Clearly, the big news of this week came out of Google I/O, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fun (indie) game sales happening that might catch your attention. Ladies and gentlemen, here is this week’s TriplePoints of Interest!

What intelligence does Android M have for us? (Cue spy music)

Google I/O shook up Silicon Valley this week! The Verge presented a roundup of the top news emerging from the conference. The first was “Android M,” successor of Lollipop, that will streamline apps more including faster map uploads in areas of low connectivity as well as Chrome integration into all apps. More details were given on Android Wear smartwatches and Android Pay. The keynote also touched on VR, including a new iPhone-compatible Google Cardboard.

Fun weekend activity: the Humble Nindie Bundle

Nintendo announced its first Humble Bundle, the “Humble Nindie Bundle” aimed at highlighting indies from the eShop. According to Polygon, this is the first in a series of initiatives from Nintendo to support indie games. Included in the bundle are games like Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship edition and Woah Dave!

Higher security needed for truck full of games

Europe’s largest video game retailer, GAME UK, announced to consumers that pre-ordered Splatoon that its entire shipment of the game’s special edition, which includes the Squid Inkling amiibo, was stolen. According to IGN, no further details on the circumstances were provided other than that consumers will instead receive the game’s standard edition at a discounted price along with an Inkling Boy or Inkling Girl amiibo to make up for the losses.

This news is reminiscent of a similar incident where a truck containing 6,000 copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was hijacked in France in 2011.

More insight on how to improve the reputation of F2P

GamesIndustry International reported from the fourth annual Digital Dragons Conference in Kraków, Poland where a well-attended talk was given about the future of free-to-play and how to fight its bad reputation. Video game development veterans discussed the challenges the business model faces including stigma from the press, how PR must combat it, and how game designers can do better to model game mechanics to make the wait time between content availability more enjoyable. They concluded that F2P is overall a flexible system and can be tactfully tailored to suit each game and each audience.

Photo from Tech News Daily

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of May 18

A lot of fun news coming from Nintendo this week. The Nintendo World Championships are back this year and it looks like Bowser finally beat Mario to the top. Sort of! Here are our favorite news pieces from this week!

Nintendo World Championships is back from 1990!

Nintendo unveiled new details surrounding the Nintendo World Championships, a competitive event the company is reviving after 25 years. According to Polygon, the qualifying rounds kick off May 30 at Best Buy stores in 8 different cities from New York City to San Francisco. The first 750 customers who sign up must battle it out on Ultimate NES Remix for a spot in the big event!

eSports: the new frontier of advertising?

Game revenues will be taking on TV broadcast revenues, says research firm, SuperData. According to VentureBeat, video games are slated to push past broadcast TV into the #2 spot in entertainment market share thanks to the eSports phenomenon. Cable TV currently holds the top spot. SuperData states that this data shows eSports as a more lucrative platform for advertisers.

This conclusion is backed by EEDAR who, according to GamesIndustry International, stated that eSports viewers spend twice as much on PC peripherals and 30% more on their game systems than their non-eSports-watching counterparts.

The Mass Effect takes of Virtual Reality?

The importance of augmented reality in video games was amplified this week when it was announced by Polygon that Casey Hudson, former lead on the Mass Effect series, had moved to Microsoft to work on the HoloLens. Mr. Hudson is now the creative director at Microsoft Studios, leading the production of what he calls “mixed reality and holographic computing.”

Nintendo hires Bowser. And is dead serious about it.

Nintendo announced they hired a new Vice President of Sales, cleverly titling their press release, “Nintendo Hires Bowser,” according to The Guardian. Mr. Doug Bowser thanked fans for the news’ warm reception with a brilliant tweet.

Photo from The Punk Effect

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of May 11

This appears to be a very numbers-driven week! Here is this week’s awesome collection of earnings and funding news you won’t want to miss!

Kickstarter funds yet another major franchise revival…in 24 hours!

Koji “IGA” Igarashi, the video game designer best known for his work on the Castlevania series, has stepped out on his own seeking crowdfunding for his upcoming game, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. According to The Verge, the game received over $1 million less than 24 hours after it appeared on Kickstarter. The game is set for a March 2017 release. This is the latest in a wave of veteran game developers getting overwhelming support from Kickstarter for reviving their game series independently from their publishers. In 2013, Keiji Inafune’s Mega Man revival, Mighty No. 9, reached its funding goal within 2 days of its reveal and was recently picked up for publishing by Deep Silver.

Games on your wrist?

GamesIndustry International takes a deep dive into how the Apple Watch can change mobile gaming for the better. Writer, Graham McAllister, explores new genres that can be created on the device, as well as more user data developers can reap by leveraging yet another device that is part of users’ daily lives.

Asia is the mobile gaming behemoth

App Annie released their Insights into App Engagements report for Q1 2015, revealing that Asia is still the biggest driver of the mobile app ecosystem, according to GamesIndustry International. The report reveals that games account for 90% of mobile app revenues in Japan and South Korea alone, citing that Japanese and South Korean users spend more time in games than their counterparts in the West, with 3x more game activations in Japan versus the United States. Japanese Android users also spent 4x more on mobile games than American Android users.

New 3DS XL is king in Japan

More stats from the Japanese games industry: GamesIndustry International reported on the top games and games hardware sales in Japan this week. Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition came in at #1 and Minecraft  at #3. The New 3DS XL and PS Vita came in at #1 and #2 in top hardware.

What are the most-watched games on YouTube?

YouTube just revealed the top 10 games that receive the most let’s play attention on the site. According to Game Informer, Minecraft tops the list, with the Grand Theft Auto series and League of Legends coming in 2nd and 3rd. Puzzle & Dragons was the only mobile-exclusive game to make the list.

What are YOUR most watched games on YouTube?

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of April 27

It’s quite the understatement to say a lot went on this week. Here is a collection of the top news and hot button topics from the week! But above all else, I think we can conclude that video games are indeed good for you!

Are eSports “real sports?” *drops 10 foot pole*

ESPN aired Blizzard’s collegiate championships for Heroes of the Storm, generating mixed opinions from its viewer base. Eric Johnson of Re/code cited the reaction as a reason against forcing eSports into the category of “real sports.” He says game developers pushing for their games to be recognized as physical sports puts games on the defensive and creates an “inferiority complex” that will hurt the genre in the long run and give naysayers further reasons to reject video games as a medium.

ESPN radio host, Colin Cowherd, stated he would rather retire than cover eSports, causing a negative reaction from games and sports media. SB Nation called Mr. Cowherd’s statement “dumb but expected.” Polygon’s Owen Good pointed out that this statement contradicts Mr. Cowherd’s past positive coverage of video games on ESPN like Madden NFL, accusing him of fabricating outrage to boost ratings.

Silent Hills goes silent until further notice

Konami cancels the much-anticipated Silent Hills, which included a collaboration with famed movie director, Guillermo Del Toro. Kotaku speculates the cancellation was due in large part to Hideo Kojima allegedly parting ways with the company. Polygon reports that Konami delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the game’s cancellation was announced.

Video games make you smart?

Good news! Video games make stronger brains! According to Daily Dot, an open-access study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare the brains of 27 professional-level League of Legends and Dota 2 players against 30 non-gamers. They found the pro gamers had more connections between the brain cells and a part of the brain called in insula, leading to better hand-eye coordination and attention. What the study doesn’t reveal, however, is if the higher connectivity is a result of playing video games or are pre-existing in professional video gamers.

Tencent loves League of Legends…and Kim Kardashian!

China’s Tencent, known for its massive stake in Riot Games and thus, League of Legends, just announced it purchased a 15% stake in Glu Mobile for $126 million. Glu Mobile is most famous for their hit mobile game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, and is now reportedly worth $863 million, according to VentureBeat. Glu has more celebrity-endorsed games in the works about the lives of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and others.

Buy Ouya?

After failing to restructure its debt, Ouya is now looking for a buyer, says Fortune. There is no word yet on the asking price. With Ouya’s success in 2013 raising $15 million in Series A funding and its extensive Android content library for TVs, CEO Julie Uhrman expressed her confidence a buyer will show interest quickly.

Photo from Slashgear

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of April 20

It’s time for the top news in tech and games from the penultimate week of April 2015. Big this week is research from analyst firm, Newzoo, who predicts a very fruitful year revenue-wise for the games industry in 2015. On that note, what games will you be picking up this weekend?

Make it rain, games industry!

Analyst firm, Newzoo, reports that the global games market will reach $91.5 billion this year, thanks to a projected 23% growth in Chinese game revenues, according to VentureBeat. They also predict China and the US will be competing for the #1 spot for the most game revenue generated this year.

Is your website mobile-friendly yet?

Google made a major algorithm change last Tuesday, April 21 bumping up search results for websites that are mobile-friendly. According to Fortune, this approach is likely to push websites who haven’t jumped on the mobile bandwagon to do so right away lest disappear off the first page of search results. This comes as the result of Google’s latest research, which shows 60% of search engine traffic comes from mobile.

Selling mods on Steam to be the new normal?

Valve rolled out a new feature on Steam for their vibrant modding community: the ability to list your fan-created mods on third-party games for free or for money. According to GameSpot, this is an extension of an existing policy where modders could sell their fan-made items on Valve games like Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 via Steam Workshop. Starting this week, mods for Skyrim began appearing on the store with more supported titles to be announced in the coming weeks.

This new program has not been without its share of backlash. According to GameSpot, well-known modders have spoken out against the commercialization of the hobby. A mod was also just removed from the store due to a dispute over whether the entirety of the mod’s content was created by the seller.

In getting a new game discovered, there is only Beast Mode

Cliff Harris, developer from Positech Games, maker of Gratuitous Space Battles, spoke to GamesIndustry International about the changing landscape of game discoverability and how the ease for developers to release a game on Steam has made it ever the more difficult for a game to succeed. He states that with each game launch, a year and a half’s income is based on a “roulette” with advertising costs rising and fewer gamers wanting to pay for a game before it becomes 50% off.

Minecraft is to YouTube what Game of Thrones is to HBO

In other research from Newzoo, the top 10 most viewed game content on YouTube for the month of March 2015 was revealed, with Minecraft taking the top spot with over 3.9 billion views, according to Game Informer. Grand Theft Auto and Five Nights at Freddy’s followed in 2nd and 3rd place. Other notable games included League of Legends at #7 and Mario games at #8.

Better question: what games will you be WATCHING people play this weekend?
Photo from My Nintendo News

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of April 13

Welcome back to our snippet of the top news in tech and games this week! The burning question this week is, of course, who has pre-ordered an Apple Watch? Sound off in the comments!

Will the Apple Watch disrupt both the tech AND fashion world?

The Apple Watch craze is in full force clocking in at over 1 million pre-orders, according to USA Today. The Verge has already identified 3rd party accessory manufacturers creating battery life solutions for the watch without any evidence of whether or not the Apple Watch’s battery life is too short. Analysts are already examining the Apple Watch’s potential to disrupt the fashion world, according to Business Insider, warning well-known watchmakers like Fossil and Movado of the threat they may pose.

Old Spice made a game, and not the usual kind you’re thinking of

Twitch Plays Pokémon has inspired Old Spice’s latest marketing campaign, Twitch Plays Old Spice. According to Daily Dot, from April 16-18, viewers will be asked to write in the chat what they want the wilderness-stranded live-action (human) character to do and apparently, anything goes (someone just suggested “sucker punching” a bear, causing a Game Over)! It will be interesting to see how this campaign unfolds and if Twitch users will be as friendly as they were to Red in Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. This is one of many Twitch Plays Pokémon-inspired campaigns in the last year including the now-defunct Rev3Games stream, Twitch Plays Adam Sessler.

Guitar Hero is back for its 10th anniversary. Who is feeling old already?

After a years-long hiatus, Guitar Hero is back for its 10-year anniversary reissue. Engadget reports the reboot aims to make guitar playing more realistic by adding two rows of buttons at the top of the guitar and a live-action crowd that will react to the performance based on the player’s score. The game will also sport a first-person view accompanied by a live-action band on stage who will also turn and address the player, giving a feel of a real performance versus the 3rd person animated view of previous versions.

Let’s Get Digital

The ESA has revealed that retail game sales in the US are declining and digital game sales have risen 23% since 2010. According to GamesIndustry International, PC still rules the market with 62% of digital sales followed by consoles, smartphones, other wireless devices, and dedicated handhelds like the Nintendo 3DS. They also report that over 155 million Americans play games with 80% of households owning a device to play games.

It was a sad week for the Australian games industry

Australia’s last major AAA studio, 2K Australia, developer of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, has closed its doors and terminated all of its employees. Kotaku Australia reports that an attempt to move the Canberra-based studio to Melbourne in order to attract new talent led many high-level members to leave the company, which, Kotaku speculates, may have been a factor in the closure.

Asia has the key to the next level

Warner Bros. Interactive’s Senior Vice President of Digital Games, Greg Ballard, told GamesIndustry International about the importance of Asia and every company’s need to enter that space in order to stay competitive. He cites major Asian companies like Tencent and Nexon running major operations in the US and credits Riot Games’ success, in part, to Tencent helping League of Legends become successful in Asia. App Annie’s report showing China overtaking the US in iOS app downloads backs Mr. Ballard’s claims.

Digital games go anti-social?

Research firm, Superdata, revealed US digital game sales rose 2% to $1.01 billion in March, but social games fell 10%. GamesIndustry International reports that the firm is seeing overall interest in social games waning with more focus being put on tablets and smartphones. Superdata also advised developers to focus on building a stronger presence in Japan, where mobile revenue per paying user is three times higher than in China.

That’s all for this week! Now what will you all be playing this weekend?

Banner photo from Mashable

 

TriplePoints of Interest – Week of April 6

Welcome to a new weekly feature here on the TriplePoint blog: TriplePoints of Interest, where we recap the biggest news from around the games and tech industry, plus subjects we just can’t stop talking about around the office!

Fixing the image of free-to-play

The image of free-to-play games has been a hot topic as of late. Steve Peterson of GamesIndustry International describes why free-to-play games have built a bad reputation and how it can be fixed. He first cites how quickly widespread the business model has become as reason for the extreme divide on opinions from within the games industry.

He then suggests that in-game merchandise must improve on the game, not be required to play the game, and that players shouldn’t have to feel they must make microtransactions to remove “annoyances” in the game or get to the fun. Developers and marketers also must be clear about the ways to spend money in the game. If a developer does not feel it is beneficial to “celebrate” the microtransactions, then the microtransactions are probably not ones that should be built in in the first place and will likely anger players.

The YouTubers versus Nintendo: the saga continues

Nintendo’s controversial YouTube policies have caused another YouTuber to cease reviewing Nintendo games. Joe Vargas of the Angry Joe Show stated in a video, according to Polygon, that he will no longer make videos relating to Nintendo games after his Mario Party 10 video was flagged for copyrighted material, keeping him from making ad revenue. Mr. Vargas has also been a staunch opponent of Nintendo’s Creators Program.

Heroes of the Storm collegiate league needs a GPA boost

The rise of collegiate competitive gaming, while growing exponentially, has not been without its share of snags. Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm collegiate tournament, “Heroes of the Dorm,” has been marred with no-shows and website bugs, leading to a host of scheduling difficulties, according to Daily Dot. The $450,000 prize pool, and involvement of Blizzard and TeSPA (high-profile collegiate eSports organization) meant very high expectations for the tournament from fans and participants alike, begging the question of the effectiveness of allowing over 800 teams to participate.

Ads and Kids, like water and electricity, do not go together

Consumer advocacy groups are asking the FTC to investigate Google’s YouTube Kids app due to concerns that it aims advertising at young children on smartphone and tablets, according to San Jose Mercury News. The concerns cite laws on broadcast TV that prohibit TV stations from placing products around kids’ programming due to children having not developed cognitive skills to resist advertising.

An old dog returns to the doghouse: Mark Pincus is back!

Zynga announced that Don Mattrick, their CEO of less than 2 years, is leaving and will be replaced with former CEO, Mark Pincus. GamesIndustry International believes that the company’s great losses under his leadership caused the change, but credited Zynga’s sharp rise in mobile profits–from 27% to 60% of the company’s worth–over the last 2 years to Mr. Mattrick’s work.

Check back again next week for more of the top news from games and tech!
Featured image from Geek.com

Join TriplePoint for PR Workshops at Parisoma This Summer!

TriplePoint is teaching a series of workshops on the basics of PR this summer in San Francisco. Intended for entrepreneurs and useful for anyone who wants to understand how PR works, the classes are offered in partnership with Parisoma. An incubator and coworking space, Parisoma has a great education and mentorship program that we’re proud to be part of! Continue reading Join TriplePoint for PR Workshops at Parisoma This Summer!

Couches and Grouches

Those of us who inhabit the world of tech, gaming, and game tech are no strangers to the Exorbitant Buyout. The rumor that broke last month, however, that YouTube was looking to buy out Twitch.tv, got a lot of people outside the game world talking. Those on the inside began to ask what this might mean for eSports, or whether YouTube’s recent unpopular moves such as Google+ and overzealous content claims might sully the platform. Those on the outside asked a different question: “What’s Twitch?” Continue reading Couches and Grouches