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Jetpack Joyride ascends to two million downloads on PSN
Speaking to Joystiq at GDC today, Halfbrick Chief Marketing Officer Phil Larsen confirmed with that Jetpack Joyride has amassed two million downloads on PSN. Halfbrick unleashed Jetpack Joyride on Sony's network in November 2012, initially as a $3.99 download. In December, the game became free on PSN, quickly rising to its first million downloads by February of this year.
Luxembourg software company suing EA, Square Enix, several others over patent infringement
What do Notch, John Riccitiello, Yoichi Wada, and Phil Larsen all have in common? A likely lacking fondness for Luxembourg-based software company Uniloc, who filed lawsuits against Notch's Mojang, Riccitiello's EA, Wada's Square Enix, and Larsen's Halfbrick recently (among others), contending that all the companies infringe on a networking patent held by Uniloc.The patent, US patent number 6,857,067, says that Uniloc has rights to a "system and method for preventing unauthorized access to electronic data," and Uniloc contends that the aforementioned corporations are infringing on that patent via Android-based games. In the case of EA, it's Bejeweled 2, and in the case of Square Enix, it's Final Fantasy III that's cited – if the game at any time communicates with a centrally owned server to legitimize its license, Uniloc contends that it violates the patent.Uniloc has a history of patent litigation over software. The company sued Microsoft in 2003, eventually winning. It has since filed suit against many, many other software manufacturers for other alleged patent violations.
Halfbrick working on new iOS game, 1.3 update for Jetpack Joyride
Halfbrick Studios' Phil Larsen is a happy guy. Not only has his company scored a huge hit with Fruit Ninja (with over a million copies sold on Xbox Kinect alone), but the studio's Jetpack Joyride is a hit as well, garnering over 19 million across various free and paid incarnations. Halfbrick, says Larsen, is working on a new IP for iOS that we'll see by the end of the year. Until then, the group is working Jetpack Joyride version 1.3, which introduces an entirely new feature: Gadgets. Gadgets are perks that can be added to Barry's jetpack. They're purchased with coins picked up during play (which ties in to the game's in-app purchase system) and tweak the gameplay in several ways. For example, the "Freeze-o-matic" allows Barry to slide farther when he dies. The "Flying Pig" turns slot machine coins into pigs that explode into fireworks of rewards, and a gadget called "Gemology" converts coins into gems, which give five times the reward when collected. You can have three gadgets running at a time, and when they're all combined, they can either help a lot (by making some very challenging missions relatively easy), or make the game crazier than ever. Gadgets aren't just add-ons to the jetpack. They affect the game in several ways, which Larsen says will allow Halfbrick to expand the game a lot going forward. Fifteen gadgets will be introduced when the update goes live, with more coming after that. "We can definitely support this game lots more." I asked Larsen about the Jetpack Joyride knockoffs on the App Store. Larsen shrugged them off. "They're not as good as Jetpack Joyride, so why bother?" he asked with a smirk. Halfbrick is an independent company, though obviously it's been growing, even as the Australian game economy is in a downturn. Larsen says the developer has about 57 employees right now, and given the games' popularity, they could stand to grow a bit more. But Larsen also says Halfbrick isn't interested in being purchased by a larger developer, either. Of course there have been offers, but in the end, he says, "We like what we do." Taking a deal with a larger developer might upset that, so it definitely seems like Halfbrick is more interested in making its own games than pitching in, no matter how big the potential payoff may be. As for that impending new iOS title, Larsen won't say much more than that he "...would love to release another iOS game this year." Certainly Halfbrick is working on something (and maybe even more than one thing), but the current focus is Jetpack's update. As for whether a new game would be paid (like Fruit Ninja has been) or freemium (like Jetpack Joyride has been for most of its success), Larsen said both strategies are still valid, depending on the game. "We've made more money on Fruit Ninja paid than we've ever done" selling Jetpack Joyride's in-app purchases, says Larsen. "We can sell games and we can do freemium. Does that mean Fruit Ninja's more universal? Probably yeah." Larsen admits that Jetpack Joyride could probably have skewed more towards a casual audience. It originally started paid and then was sent free to find its audience. But it's hard to second guess Larsen and Halfbrick given all of their company's success, and Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride still set quite a few bars for app quality on Apple's App Store. The company has done really great things so far -- we're intrigued to see just what's coming next.
Halfbrick to debut new IP in 2012
During a meeting with Halfbrick's Phil Larsen, the iOS juggernaut's marketing man couldn't really give us much on what the studio was up to next despite our relentless inquiry. Following Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride is no small task, but at least Larsen could tell us the company will debut a new iOS title this year."You'll see updates for all of our games and a new IP this year," Larsen promised following a demo of the 1.3 update for Jetpack Joyride here at GDC. Jetpack Joyride 1.3 adds 15 new gadgets to The Stash.
Fruit Ninja Kinect sells a half-million copies; Jetpack Joyride reaches 14 million downloads
Australian developer Halfbrick is flying high on the success of its Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride franchises. Chief Marketing Officer Phil Larsen told us at the DICE conference in Las Vegas today that Fruit Ninja Kinect has reached a half-million sales and has been a very successful console experiment for the company. The company also plans to continue supporting Fruit Ninja on iOS with more updates rather than cannibalize its momentum with a sequel.As for Jetpack Joyride, which went free to play in mid-December, Larsen notes the game has seen significant growth since the change."There's an update coming in the next month," Larsen said about Jetpack Joyride. "It's the biggest one we've done so far."He told us the previously $1 app reached about 1 million paid sales before going free and has since seen 13 million downloads as a free product. He estimates about 5-10 percent of customers will spend at least a dollar on the app through its in-game store, so revenue has been higher since the game went "free."
Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is a thing, really; coming to iOS on Oct. 20
As if the fruit on your phone, iPod, tablet, Android, and Kinect weren't already sliced thoroughly enough, Halfbrick is burdening yet more fruit with potential murder in the upcoming movie tie-in Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots. As you've likely surmised, the game is a Puss in Boots-themed Fruit Ninja release, which imagines the titular Puss slicing up fruit with his dutiful foil. In addition to introducing a well-timed theme into the mix, FN: PIB adds the "all-new Bandito mode," which tasks players with surviving progressively more difficult levels with unique challenges, and the "Desperado" mode, which updates the first game's "Classic" mode. "We wanted to create something new and different for our fans while keeping the magic of Fruit Ninja intact, and we think Bandito Mode will keep even the most practiced players on their toes," Jetpack Joyride playable character and Halfbrick chief marketing man Phil Larsen notes in the announcement. Oh, and tomatoes? Totally in there, definitively proving once and for all that they're fruit. Take that, science! Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots arrives on the iOS App Store on October 20 for $0.99 on iPhone and $1.99 on iPad.%Gallery-136062%
Jetpack Joyride hits 350k downloads, releases free update
I think that Halfbrick's latest title, Jetpack Joyride (formerly known as Machine Gun Jetpack), is one of the best games I've played this year, and apparently I'm not the only person who ran to pick it up -- the game has earned over 350,000 downloads in the short time it's been available. To celebrate, the company is dropping a new free update for the game today, featuring a brand new vehicle called Mr. Cuddles (which happens to be a fire-breathing dragon), a "fruit jetpack" based on Halfbrick's popular Fruit Ninja title, and a new skin featuring "Honest Phil," a character designed after Halfbrick's real-life Chief Marketing Officer Phil Larsen. All of those items are available in the game's in-app store, where you can buy them with coins picked up in the title itself (or extra coins bought via in-app purchase, if you don't want to put the time in, and have some extra money sitting around). Jetpack Joyride itself is available as a universal app for just 99 cents -- if you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should.
