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Usain Bolt added as playable character in Temple Run 2
The Temple Run series of games are some of the most popular casual games on the App Store, and while the simplicity of the titles can't be overstated -- running forward is really your main goal -- they offered developer Imangi Studios a chance to have some fun with one of the fastest humans around. And so, for a "limited time," Usain Bolt can be bought as a playable character in Temple Run 2. According to AllThingsD, Bolt was enthusiastic about his inclusion in the game, stating that people often joke that they'd like to play as the Olympic champion in a Temple Run title. Bolt's digital self is outfitted in his iconic gold and green Olympic garb and costs US$0.99. Oh, and he even performs the runner's trademark pose, because details matter.
Temple Run coming to Windows Phone this week alongside several other games
We just witnessed the arrival of Pandora on Windows Phone last week, and sometime this week users will be able to enjoy another large title: Temple Run. The flee-from-evil-monkeys thriller has long been available for iOS and Android, but its arrival adds another popular app to Microsoft's arsenal. We've confirmed that the 99-cent title is in fact the original version, with no official word on when or if the sequel will land in the Windows Phone Store. The game is just one of six that plan to debut in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference. The list of the other five includes 6th Planet, Propel Man, Orcs Must Survive, Fling Theory and Ruzzle, and most (if not all) will be available as early as today.
Disney releases Temple Run Oz, another branded take on Imangi's hit
Just last week we were talking about Disney's potential for originality with a brand new Toy Story app, and now here the company is sticking like glue to some old habits. Disney has released a new app called Temple Run Oz, which, as you might imagine, is a mashup of Imangi's famous Temple Run game with Sam Raimi's upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful movie. Temple Run: Brave (which combined the first Temple Run game with Pixar's Brave) is still available on the App Store, but this new version is much closer to all of the innovations spotted in Temple Run 2, which means it has curvy pathways, more powerups and various goals to go after and complete. It's not a bad game at all, actually, and like Temple Run Brave, Disney has added in some original gameplay, in addition to the Oz-based sounds, graphics and content. Instead of just dodging trees and cliff dropoffs, you also duck under flying monkeys, and you can jump in a big balloon to tilt your way through the air and collect coins. There are weekly challenges as well, and while the game isn't significantly different from Temple Run (you're still running, swiping and tilting), it does feel a little more substantial than just a reskinned game. The price is also interesting: It's available for US$0.99. That's a buck more than the free Temple Run 2 (which I'd recommend as the better game), though it's likely only for a certain launch period, as you get 99 cents worth of in-app currency when you buy the game. Temple Run Brave is still 99 cents as well, so maybe the price is part of the agreement between Imangi and Disney. Whatever the reason for the pricing, Disney saw a fairly big hit with Temple Run Brave, but it'll be interesting to see what the market is like with four different (!) versions of Temple Run now on the App Store.
Temple Run 2 racks up 20 million downloads in less than a week
Imangi Studios has struck gold with Temple Run 2. The developer's latest iOS endless running game has been downloaded more than 20 million times since its release just four days ago. In fact, 6 million of those installs took place within 24 hours of launch on January 17. The free game's success isn't totally surprising given the immense popularity of its predecessor, which was downloaded 2.5 million times on Christmas Day alone. We've been having a lot of fun with the game -- it's pretty hard to put down, frankly -- and according to Imangi's co-founder Keith Shepherd there will be some reasons to keep playing well into the future. In our interview with Shepherd last week, he revealed that the company plans to add new content to Temple Run 2 down the road as it continues to work on its next, as yet unannounced iOS game.
Temple Run 2 appearing today on the App Store
Uber-popular game Temple Run's surprise sequel has hit is about to hit the US App Store. Released earlier today in the New Zealand App Store, Temple Run 2 builds on the success of the first Temple Run, while ratcheting up the graphics, physics and gameplay. TouchArcade got its hands on an early copy of Temple Run 2 and the site says that everything users loved from the first game is still there. Namely, that's our hero running his butt off from scary monkey monsters. However, Temple Run 2 builds upon its predecessor in leaps and bounds. The game takes place during a perpetual dusk in a floating temple in the sky. All the graphics have been improved, but the real pleasure in Temple Run 2 comes from its more fluid movements. In the first game, turns were made very mechanically -- at 90 degree angles. Temple Run 2's environments are more hilly and curvy and turns and movements have a more real, natural feel. Also the game adds other improvements, like stretches where you're operating a mine car and the ability to play as four different characters. Temple Run 2 is available now as a free download. Stay tuned -- we'll have an interview with Imangi Studios, the creators of both Temple Run versions, on the site later on this evening.
Temple Run was downloaded 2.5 million times on Christmas
The iPhone/iPad game Temple Run (free, universal) was downloaded more than 2.5 million times on Christmas Day. That's the word from Keith Shepard, founder of Imangi Studios, which produces the popular game. The game, which has you running from hungry gorilla-things in an Indiana Jones-type environment, has previously topped Apple's top free apps and top grossing (in-app purchases are available). It's a fun little game that's perfect for sitting in a waiting room, riding the bus and so on.
Windows Phone 8 gets Pandora Radio, Cut the Rope, Urbanspoon and more (update: full list)
Microsoft knows that Windows Phone 8 is only as successful as its apps. To that end, it's blowing the doors open in terms of major app support. It's not only promising a Windows Phone version of Pandora Radio for early 2013, it's offering ad-free listening for the first year. How's that for strong out-of-the-box content? On top of this, Microsoft is vowing a slew of new apps and games that had previously only been available in the Android or iOS camps, including Asphalt 7, Cut the Rope, Temple Run, Urbanspoon and Where's My Water. By the time the expansion is done, Microsoft hopes to have 46 out of the 50 most popular apps onboard, making any platform switch that much gentler. Instagram is a notable omission -- still, it's a big leap in terms of equality. Update: If you need even more detail, Microsoft has posted a wider list of new apps as part of its official Windows Phone 8 launch post. If that's not enough, you can catch a video overview of the platform after the break. For more, check out our Windows Phone 8 event liveblog!
Temple Run breaks 100 million downloads
There's big news from Imangi Software, the husband-and-wife team behind the breakout iOS hit Temple Run. The game has picked up 100 million downloads in within a year on the App Store. The team has a lot to show for it, like a long time on the Top Free apps chart, plenty of microtransactions (surely), and even that Disney-branded spinoff for Brave. It's well deserved, as Temple Run is a great, fun game. And it's getting better still. The latest update brings high-res Retina Display graphics to the iPad. There's also a new powerup that will revive you at the end of a run, and the ability to turn off powerups whenever you want. All that comes with a few more bugfixes, so the game is running smoother than ever. Temple Run is a phenomenal success, and it's east to see why. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Imangi finds success, and more choices, with Temple Run
Imangi Studios' Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova have been making solid games on iOS for years now, from their original hit Harbor Master and their charming dual-stick shooter Max Adventure. But it wasn't until Temple Run this past year (which I first saw in an off-the-record prototype form at GDC last year) that Imangi really hit it big. The freemium game has over 40 million players already, and it's consistently sitting up among the top-grossing spots on the App Store. Imangi's perfectly happy with that success, if not a little overwhelmed by it. "This is ridiculous, what is happening," says Luckyanova. Temple Run actually came at a great time for the couple -- they've just purchased a house, and they have a baby on the way, so they'll definitely be busy ove the next few months, even without a new game. And Shepherd says that's the plan: While Imangi has "a lot of ideas, they're all on the back burner for now." The current goal is to push Temple Run as far as it will go. First things first, that means an Android release -- Imangi has announced the game will arrive on that platform on March 27. After that, says Shepherd, you might see Temple Run in a few other places, including the Mac App Store, and somewhere on the web, in a browser-based form. The couple has also had requests for versions of the game on PC and Facebook, so they're considering those as well. The issue with having this kind of success on the App Store, however, is that once you get a popular game up and running, your inbox starts to fill with all kinds of offers: Merchandising, porting, offers for other markets, and different amounts of money that come with each. Imangi says they're considering all of these, but their main goal is to stay as independent as possible. "We like being independent," says Shepherd. The couple have always had an artist working with them as a third developer, and have since brought on a few more people to help with support and other tasks, but "we're not trying to grow," they say. And that's the biggest issue with selling the company itself. Certainly, they've had offers from bigger publishers, but "if we were to really sell the company," says Shepherd, "we'd have to grow the team a lot." And while they admit extra resources might be nice, Imangi still seems perfectly happy as a core team of two. On iOS itself, Temple Run is getting an update in the next few weeks, with more objectives to take on, possibly more environments to run through, and some "powerup stuff" as well. But outside of that, Imangi is taking a well-deserved breather on development at the moment, and focusing on simply growing all of the business they have. What advice do they have for other developers searching for freemium success? "You need to start with solid work," says Luckyanova. Imangi's been putting good games together on iOS for a while, and so it was probably only a matter of time before one of their titles was able to pay off.
Disney reports 40% jump in iOS downloads from holiday 2010
Disney is the latest company to announce some crazy numbers from last year's holiday season (with Rovio having announced big numbers earlier this week, and the App Store overall seeing a big boost in sales over the holiday). The biggest title in the company's catalog was Where's My Water, which saw more than 6 million downloads over the holiday week, across both iOS and Android. And Disney Mobile saw a 40% increase in iOS downloads overall, as compared to the same period last year. TUAW previously spoke with the creator of Where's My Water, who started out as a QA tester at Disney and moved up the ranks to create hit iPhone games. This time around, we heard from Bart Decrem, Disney Mobile GM (and former CEO of Tapulous, the company that Disney acquired a few years ago). He says that "freemium" is the current word in mobile gaming: "2012 will see freemium models around many types of gameplay -- as is already being shown by the success of Temple Run." Temple Run isn't a Disney Mobile game -- it's created by a two person husband and wife team at Imangi Studios, and despite its relatively humble origins, it recently landed on the top grossing pile over this past holiday season. So if Decrem is right, we'll see more titles like it; games that intelligently combine solid gameplay with a very lucrative in-app purchase system. Disney itself says more updates are planned for Where's My Water and its other titles, and we'll have to wait and see what else the House of Mouse has up its sleeve for iOS this coming year.
Monkey Island series on sale, Temple Run free for TLAP day
Yaarrrr maties! It be Talk Like a Pirate day here on these Internets, and folks from all over be talkin' like they were Davy Jones himself. But even if ye landlubbers can't abide the bad Blackbeard impressions, fear not -- Telltale Games be pouring ale in your mug, by puttin' all the iPad Monkey Island Tales series on sale for half price. Yes indeed, me lads: For today only, ye can pick up all six episodes of the series for only $2.99. That's the same as three gold doubloons, if all yer fortune happens to come from finding the treasure of an ancient Spanish freighter off the Black Isles of the Carribbean! And that's not all, ye scurvy swamprats! Imangi Studios' Temple Run is free for today, in order to celebrate a new update for the app that adds more characters, powerups, and achievements to earn. It's a solid update for a solid game, so if ye scallywags haven't gone on the run just yet, now's the time to do it. So there's two solid deals on this Talk Like a Pirate holiday for ye -- make sure to take advantage of 'em, or you'll be walkin' the plank before sunset!
Video App Demo: Temple Run
Temple Run is an exemplary "pick up and play" game which will take you back to the days of Pitfall or (for you younger cats) Mirror's Edge or Canabalt. Like those running games, your job is to just keep running. But in Temple Run you're running through a maze of pathways in the ruins of an ancient temple somewhere -- a setting not unlike the first Indiana Jones, really. The great graphics and solid gameplay make this one a fun, simple game to play anytime. As you can see below, the interaction is straightforward. As you're running your job is to swipe left/right to turn onto the paths, and up/down to jump or slide over and under obstacles. Things getting progressively faster, so you'll find those twitch muscles warming up fast. There are some other surprises, like powerups and a few environments as well. Take a look at the short demo below to get a taste of what Temple Run has to offer. Note that this was an early version of the game (taped in June 2011) and the YouTube demo video shows a bit more polish on the game. if(typeof AOLVP_cfg==='undefined')AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:'AOLVP_1071552387001','codever':0.1, 'autoload':false, 'autoplay':false, 'playerid':'61371448001', 'videoid':'1071552387001', 'width':480, 'height':270, 'stillurl':'http://pdl.stream.aol.com/pdlext/aol/brightcove/studionow/p/41936d568f86a/r/0434f7c631682/al/195380/poster-10.jpg', 'playertype':'inline','videotitle':'TUAW - App Demo - Temple Run','videolink':'#'});
