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Fruit Ninja to see major overhaul in next mobile update
Hit produce-gutting action game Fruit Ninja will soon see a major update across iOS and Android platforms adding several new gameplay elements and unlockables, developer Halfbrick announced this week. "The team has thrown away the tired menu and UI designs, ensuring the steps between playing, equipping new gear, and using social features are all streamlined," Halfbrick said in a recent statement. "Now, almost every item will have a unique effect on gameplay, which has effectively broken the score ceiling and added an exponential amount of depth and strategy to slicing." The update allows players to pair unlockable Blades and Dojos for various game-altering effects, similar to the gameplay structure adopted by the studio's endless runner Jetpack Joyride. The new "Great Wave" dojo spawns large groups of fruit during each session, for instance, while the Autumn Blade summons a screen-clearing tornado after players slice a pineapple. Fruit Ninja's update is slated to launch in October. [Image: Halfbrick]
Australian government invests in game industry to halt job migration
Australia's government-funded Screen Australia program plans on investing $20 million into the local video game industry. Gamasutra reports the organization will spend $4-5 million on games production and $2-3 million on supporting business sustainability over the next year.The organization cites the American-owned Firemonkeys, studio-killing LA Noire and Halfbrick (Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride) as successful signs of Australian-developed games – hey, one legit shout-out to Halfbrick out of three ain't bad.Australia has had to spend the past several years reinventing its place in the video game industry. Unfavorable exchange rates for foreign investors caused major publishers to pull console game development out of the country, causing severe job losses over a three-year period. The region has found success focusing on the mobile market.
Fruit Ninja celebrates 2-year anniversary with new powerups, free iOS codes
Fruit Ninja might not really need updating – it's pretty feature-complete if there is fruit for you to slice, and you can slice it – but Halfbrick is adding content to the mobile game anyway in honor of its two-year anniversary. The new update will be live May 24.Gutsu and Truffles join the cast (in other words, Sensei), bringing with them a shop where you can purchase powerups that add time, deflect bombs, or explode, in exchange for Starfruit, a new currency that you earn in-game.Speaking of currency, Halfbrick is handing out the iPhone game at no cost right now on its anniversary website. The offer is limited, but we'd be surprised if this Starfruit update weren't leading into an optional microtransaction-based system like that in Jetpack Joyride.
JXD releases S7100 Android-based gaming tablet, manages to steal from everyone
If you're going to steal, steal from the best. JXD has just released its S7100, a fairly conspicuous 7-inch Android-powered gaming tablet marketed towards playing old-school arcade games. The device features a D-pad, face buttons, an 800 x 480 capacitive touchsceen, ARM Cortex A9 CPU, Mali 400 GPU, 512MB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 0.3 megapixel front camera, 2.0 megapixel rear camera and HDMI-out. A video trailer shows the unit playing a variety of touchscreen games and classic ROMs including Metal Slug, Mario Kart 64, Angry Birds, Plants Vs. Zombies and Fruit Ninja HD. Not to be undone, the device also features the actual PlayStation button icons on its own buttons (sound familiar?), while the marketing website for the device sports icons from Apple, Google, Microsoft and others. If you're thus far undeterred, there's a must-watch promotional vid hosted just after the break -- nothing justifies a $140 price tag like Bieber, right?
Fruit Ninja's price slashed to ten cents on Android Market today
Normally we'd be skeptical of heavily discounted fruit, but we think this offer is safe for consumption. In honor of the Android Market's ten millionth download, that platform's version of Fruit Ninja is on sale for ten cents today! Halfbrick also informs us that Age of Zombies will be on sale for a dime this Saturday. Good thing, too -- we can't be expected to pay almost a whole dollar for every game.
Fruit Ninja plushies prove it's possible to milk fruit
Other than coconuts, we mean. Halfbrick Studios is making a claim on more of your money, after some admittedly reasonable financial demands from the Fruit Ninja series. The developer has opened a store offering two themed plush toys, which include the cutest watermelon you've ever forcibly bisected, and a happy Sensei whom you can pretend is performing said cut. In the US, the Sensei sells for $16 (or 16 times the price of a copy of Fruit Ninja), the Watermelon for $15 (1.5 Fruit Ninja Kinects), and a "Training Pack" of both for $30. The Sensei is available now, but that adorable melon is shipping in mid-January. We may sound as if we're giving Halfbrick a hard time for cashing in on Fruit Ninja, but we're happy for the developer. The games have been universally worthwhile, and the toys are undeniably huggable. Besides, Halfbrick has to raise money to save the Australian game industry, pretty much single-handed.
Fruit Ninja dev Halfbrick chopping away at sequel in new Sydney studio
Halfbrick Studios is working on a sequel to Fruit Ninja at its new government-supported studio in Sydney, Australia. In mid-October it was revealed that the Brisbane-based company was opening up a second studio in Sydney; a new piece in the Illawarra Mercury tosses up some more details. According to New South Wales Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner, the studio is the result of a new $3 million "Interactive Media Fund," but there is no clear indication regarding how much of that fund went to Halfbrick. "The new Sydney team will develop the next evolution of the Fruit Ninja games franchise. The new game will involve players launching a series of fruit to knock ninjas off their towers in a 3D world, with each fruit having special powers," Stoner said. The game is expected in 2012, with an initial launch on iOS. Stoner explained the $3 million fund is designed to support local developers over the next two years. Given the current state of the Australian development scene for big publishers, it may be time to get a bigger fund for the local indies.
Fruit Ninja dev opening new studio in Sydney
Australian developer Halfbrick is opening up a studio in Sydney, which likely comes as welcome news for the nation's troubled development scene. Gamasutra took note of the job listings for the new Sydney office for the Brisbane-based studio. Halfbrick is best known for Fruit Ninja, which has made the studio so much money, it sponsored an orchard as reparations for all the virtual fruit waste. It is also going to make more coin going the Angry Birds movie tie-in route, with the upcoming Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots. We're particularly fond of Halfbrick's Jetpack Joyride. Asked if Halfbrick would change its name to "Fullbrick" after opening a second studio, Marketing Director Phil Larsen told us, "No. A logical question nonetheless."
Ad-supported Fruit Ninja Free now on Android
We know how it is. You want to play Fruit Ninja on your Android device, but that hefty $1.28 stays your hand every time. Worry no more, for a new free version of Halfbrick's fruit-slicer is now available on Android Market. Simply titled Fruit Ninja Free, the game includes all of the features of its comparatively costly sibling, including three different gameplay modes and OpenFeint support. Being free, it also includes a brand new feature not seen in previous versions: Advertisements. Ads pop up once the game loads and between fruit brutalizing sessions as well. But hey, it's still free Fruit Ninja, right?
Fruit Ninja surpasses 20 million total downloads
At this point, Halfbrick's gotta be in talks for a major motion picture deal, action figures, a television show, lunchboxes -- all of it. To say Fruit Ninja is a "success" is an understatement: Halfbrick's Phil Larsen revealed to us during GDC that the game has reached a ridiculous 20 million downloads across all platforms, including iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch), Android and Windows Phone 7. The figure includes downloads of the free "lite" versions, but Larsen reminded us that the paid iPhone app has been purchased by 6 million players, accounting for a huge bushel of the total downloads. So, where does the game go from here? Well, disregarding the aforementioned movie and action figures, might we suggest making a Facebook game? Oh, right.
Fruit Ninja hits six million sales, sponsors a fruit orchard
Halfbrick's little iPhone app Fruit Ninja has hit 6 million paid downloads. To make amends for slaughtering over 150 billion pieces of virtual fruit, the company is partnering with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation -- yup, it's a real thing. Halfbrick will sponsor the planting of an orchard in a "low-income Native American community," with the delicious fruits of such an endeavor quite obvious to all parties involved. The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation will be charged with planting and maintaining the Halfbrick fruit orchard. Residents of the internet will be able to check out the growth of the fruit development complex on FTPF.org and Halfbrick's site. Now we will meditate on the bizarre nature of our world, where wholesale virtual fruit slaughter (or real-life, if one is cosplaying) in an app spawns the development of a real-world orchard.
The Misunderstoods are real-life Fruit Ninjas
While the rest of us wait for a Kinect version of Fruit Ninja, comedy troupe The Misunderstoods has taken the mobile hit to an even realer level, using actual knives to actually slash produce that's actually being hurled at them. Ball's in your court, Jack. ... Ball's in your court.
TUAW's Daily App: Fruit Ninja
We've covered Halfbrick's later game Monster Dash here in this space (and it's a good one -- I'm still giving it the occasional run-through on my iPhone), but their great Fruit Ninja title has never actually been given this particular spotlight. Let's fix that now. Fruit Ninja is a simple but well-polished title that has you hacking up fruit by slashing your finger across the iPhone's touch screen. It's only a buck on the App Store (the HD version on iPad is US$4.99), and if you haven't bought it yet, you'll find a fun pick-up-and-play game that looks great and runs smoothly. If you have bought it (and considering that a few million people did, you probably have), then there's good news for you, too. The game just got a free update that added Game Center integration to the mix, and Halfbrick included network multiplayer, which is something we haven't seen a lot of yet. Load up the update, open up the game, and you'll be able to jump in and play with anyone, or send one of your Game Center friends an invite directly. And Halfbrick says more updates are on the way, including a "Secret Banana" mode and more Game Center functionality. So, if you haven't given Fruit Ninja a shot yet, now's a great time to do it.
Fruit Ninja HD slices up the iPad later this week
Having trouble slicing those kumquats, tangerines and cherries in your standard edition of Fruit Ninja? Then you'll be pleased to know that Halfbrick is preparing an enhanced version for iPad called Fruitninja HD. But improved graphics aren't the only addition to the game, as the iPad installment will also boast input for up to eight fingers and head-to-head multiplayer battles through Classic Attack and Zen Duel modes. Look for Fruit Ninja HD in the App Store on July 14 for $4.99. We know what you're thinking: how can any ninja, let alone one skilled in the ways of battling fruit -- an enemy with barely any defensive skills whatsoever -- wield up to eight swords at once? Frankly, we just don't know. The ways of the ninja have long been shrouded in mystery and pulp, but we have managed to secure a brief piece of communication from the ninja clans, which you can watch right after the break.
Fruit Ninja HD gets a trailer and release date
We posted about Fruit Ninja way back when it was first released on the App Store, and since then it's become a qualified hit on the iPhone, with over a million downloads and lots and lots of kiwis and bananas slashed in half. The folks over at Halfbrick have now announced that they're bringing the game to the iPad with Fruit Ninja HD, and you can see the trailer above. The game has updated graphics, of course, and it will also include multiplayer modes -- both Classic mode, and something called Zen Duel. Additionally, you'll be able to multitouch with up to eight fingers at a time, there will be multiple blades and backgrounds to play with, and Halfbrick says that the iPad version will enjoy updates right alongside the iPhone version, with more modes, items, and surprises coming in the future. Sounds good. The game is due out this Wednesday on the App Store and will sell for $4.99.
