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Report: Freeverse co-founders leave the company
Freeverse is a classic name in the Mac gaming field: The New York-based developer was one of the world's biggest indie Mac game developers since long before the App Store existed or the iPhone was announced, releasing big titles like Wingnuts, Horde of Orcs and more. When the iPhone and its apps arrived, Freeverse got caught up in that same market, and was eventually acquired by mobile gaming startup Ngmoco, which itself was later acquired by a giant Japanese social gaming network. Freeverse was one of the biggest pillars of Mac gaming back in the day, and had some of the best early hits on the App Store. Now, the book on that chapter of Apple's gaming history is finally being closed. Touch Arcade is reporting that founders Ian and Colin Lynch Smith have left the company they started, essentially ending Freeverse as we once knew it. Unfortunately, there's no clear source for the news, but if this departure is true, then there's really nothing left of Freeverse but the name. Chief Engineer Mark Levin has also tweeted that he's left the company for the last time. That's too bad. We'll stay tuned to see what the founders may be up to in the future (ngmoco, unfortunately, has been focusing on some less-than-impressive Android titles lately, so there's not a lot of interest there for us iOS gamers). Hopefully this isn't the last we'll hear of Freeverse's impressive legacy.
TUAW Interview: Freeverse CEO Ian Lynch Smith on the Ngmoco purchase
We were all pretty gobsmacked last night with the news that iPhone gaming developer Ngmoco had purchased longtime Mac game developer Freeverse, so we went hunting for answers. Fortunately, Freeverse CEO and founder Ian Lynch Smith was nice enough to sit down and take our questions this morning, and he provided a little more background and insight on the deal. The first thing we wanted to do was what would happen to Freeverse's extensive Mac catalog, and we were told conclusively that "it's not going anywhere at all." While Freeverse will still "sell and maintain" their Mac titles, Smith did tell us that they've "been pretty much exclusively focused on the iPhone for the last 18 months anyway," so while they have a legacy in the Mac, the company believes that OS X is "on a collision course with the iPad," and that the main opportunities and user bases for Mac software are now using the iPhone and, soon, Apple's tablet. "It's very hard," we were told, "to get the volume that the iTunes App Store has" for purely Mac software. The other big question we had was what Freeverse thinks of Ngmoco's insistent support on the "freemium" model (where games are free-to-play, with extra content or add-ons to purchase later), something that has a lot of customers up in arms. Hit the "read more" link below to see what he said both about that and what he thinks about the iPad and the future of computing.
Mac publishers expect 2007 rebound, iPhone games uncertain [Macworld Expo]
Mac game developers and publishers at this year's Macworld Expo expect 2007 to be a significantly better year for the platform, with more releases and sales. The Mac companies are looking forward to the iPhone and hope to develop for that platform, but none we spoke with over the show week expected to have that opportunity since the iPod has eluded them. The companies said last year's transition to Intel hardware stalled the Mac gaming industry and closed or slowed several competitors. Ian Lynch Smith, president of Freeverse told us, "Everyone else in the industry ran for the hills. That's why there were very few releases last year versus the year before." His brother and vice president, Colin Lynch Smith, remained positive, saying, "2007 should be a great year for [Mac] games." (Disclosure: This writer has created occasional trailers for Freeverse.)David Stephen, head of Feral Interactive, said the "outlook is decent" for this year. "We're benefiting from growth in Apple's installed base," he added. Stephen also looks forward to the thinner number of competitors, saying the few remaining game companies "[make] it a little less competitive."The companies respond to the iPhone after the break.
Freeverse product update (Macworld Expo)
Freeverse occupies a typical booth at the Macworld Expo in an atypical space; instead of joining the few Mac gaming companies located in the North Hall, Freeverse holds down a corner of the bustling South Hall. Brothers Ian Lynch Smith and Colin Lynch Smith gave us updates about the company. (Full disclosure: this writer has occasionally created trailers for Freeverse games.)The longtime Mac developer and publisher chose the South Hall because, like other Mac game publishers, Freeverse has diversified and sells "more than just games," according to Colin. (Indeed, vector graphic app Lineform, audio recorder Sound Studio, and comic maker Comic Life Deluxe are on display.)For games, the company is showing its nearly-finished Mac version of Heroes of Might and Magic V, the first game published using the quick-port Cider technology. Cider helps translate Windows APIs, but the resulting games require an Intel Mac -- which is itself basically PC hardware. As the Cider guinea pig, Freeverse is looking forward to charting the game's sales against its costs.Big Bang Brain Games -- Freeverse's take on Brain Training -- the latest Burning Monkey Solitaire, and other titles are also being showcased. The brothers remained cautiously optimistic about game sales, saying they expect 2007 to be better than 2006's transition to Intel hardware.
