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Apple's Newsstand generates big profits for publisher Future
Magazine publishing company Future has had some closures lately, as its traditional magazine business isn't doing so well. But it turns out the iPad publishing business is rocketing right up: The company reports that Apple's Newsstand app has earned it over $8 million in the last year since the service began in October of 2011. As of last March, the company had over 12 million of the "container" app downloads (which are the free trial apps you download before actually purchasing magazine issues), and had seen over a half million sales. At this point, those numbers are even higher, and with more and more iPads out there in the wild, they're likely still growing. Future's planning a lot more with this market as well, working on a brand new platform for putting these digital magazines together, announcing plans for new digital editions around the world, and new and better ways to monetize all of this digital content that it's creating. Hopefully Future can find a way for digital sales to help shore up its recent losses in print sales, and keep some of these much-beloved tech publications running.
Google acquires iOS photo app Snapseed
Snapseed is a popular iOS photography app around here at TUAW -- not only have we spotlighted it a few different times, but the app also won a coveted Apple Design Award back in 2011. And now here's news that Google appreciates the app as well: The ad and search giant has acquired the developer of Snapseed, Nik Software, and reportedly plans to use the company and its technology to update its own photo editing and sharing tools. Nik also provides a number of excellent and popular plugins for other popular photo editing tools like Aperture, and for now, those plugins remain available for sale on the website. Presumably, that won't change, but we'll see what happens in the future. It sounds like Nik is still figuring things out post-acquisition, so any changes to Snapseed or those plugins are still yet to be determined. [via The Verge]
Lots of big app updates and releases today: The Simpsons, Puzzle Craft, Horn, more
There's just something about this day, apparently. There are a whole bunch of new big releases in the App Store, and quite a few apps have added updates; most of them claiming it's just in time for the back-to school rush. Here's a sampling of the best stuff out there for you to browse through. EA's The Simpsons: Tapped Out has returned to the App Store after being pulled earlier this year. The game's been updated with new graphics and new gameplay, so hopefully Simpsons fans will like it better. Scribblenauts Remix is the recipient of a new Back to School update, with a new playground area featuring school-themed challenges. Following in the footsteps of EA, Chillingo has launched its own Daily Deals site, and Angry Birds HD is 66% off to celebrate. Chillingo's also got a new game out called Puzzle Craft that looks like it's about to steal way too much of my time. Codea got a big update, with a few new features, and it's now run using ARC (which just means it runs a little cleaner for us users). Ok, it's not much of a surprise, but Phosphor Games' Dark Meadow followup, the Zynga-published Horn is out this week, and it's a very good-looking action game. The great iBlast Moki 2 HD is free right now. In no uncertain terms, get this game. A new endless runner game called Flip's Escape was just released, and it looks good. And finally, I don't see it on the App Store yet, but don't forget: Dominion is finally due out in that official form later on this evening. Stay tuned. Odds are that there's at least something for you to download in there. We'll have closer looks at many of these apps on the way, but there's a heads up on the biggest news. Enjoy the new apps!
Gamescom 2012: Neverwinter shows off lore trailer and prepares for 2013 launch
Neverwinter, the upcoming action-based free-to-play title from Cryptic Studios, will be making an appearance at Gamescom 2012 as well as GenCon Indy 2012 and PAX Prime 2012. It will not be making an appearance as a launched game, however, as the official launch date has been pushed back from late 2012 to early 2013. Attendees to these conventions will be able to play an early build of the game, and press members will also be given a tour of the game's player-generated content tool, the Foundry. For those not able to attend the conventions, the team behind the game has put together a new lore trailer for Ebon Downs, one of the game's many dungeon areas. The short story is that a necromancer is using an artifact to raise an army of undead, but there are more details to be unearthed about the artifact in question and the perils within the barrows. Check out the trailer past the break and new screenshots in our gallery below. [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release] %Gallery-152607%
Winners revealed for Atari's Pong Dev challenge, Pong World earns first place
The winners have finally been announced in the long-running Atari/Pong Indie Dev Challenge, and the three winning entries have been revealed prior to their eventual release on the App Store. Atari's contest sought out modern versions of Pong for the App Store, and offered cash prizes and revenue sharing for the top contestants. Before we go through the winners, please note that I served as a volunteer, unpaid judge on this contest, along with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, developer David Whatley, and Pocket God's Dave Castelnuovo. That means I got to play through all of the finalists and deliver scores based on my impressions of the games. According to those scores (as well as Atari's input and a popular vote), zGames' Pong World came out in first place -- it's a very colorful take on the old school game, with furry creatures as paddles and lots of ball tweaks and fun twists. Mad Ruse's Pong Tournament picked up second place, featuring a very wild 3D version of Pong, with high level tournament play and quite a few powerups and extra items to try and protect your wall while a ball is passed back and forth between two players. And Eppy Games' Fong variant got third place -- it's a really crazy circular version of Pong, with some strange rotational controls and some really frantic action elements. Each of those winners will get a cash prize for winning and a three-year revenue share agreement, enabling them to use the Pong name for their titles as well as earn money alongside the commercial releases. There's more information on those coming soon, so hopefully you'll be able to play some of these titles when they arrive.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion sells 100K, breaks Stardock records
Stardock has announced that Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, the latest stand-alone expansion of the acclaimed RTS hit, has broken company records and become its fastest-selling release to date. The game has sold over 100,000 units since its launch last month, which is not only a solid number for any indie game but also beats the first 30 days of the original Sins of a Solar Empire.Though the original Sins was also released at retail, Rebellion was not, and the digital plan ended up working better than any of the company's PC retail releases. Stardock's CEO, Brad Wardell, said he believed that selling the game on Steam would take sales away from other channels, but Steam sales of the expansion "didn't cannibalize its GameStop or direct sales."Releasing digitally had other benefits as well, like letting Stardock announce the release at the last minute. Wardell says both of Stardock's other games this year, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress and Political Machine 2012, will follow the same launch plan.
Ask Massively: Overwhelming changes edition
I have to be honest, the Caitian Carrier for Star Trek Online kind of makes me want to give the game a shot again. I liked it when I played it before, but I just had no time to play it on top of everything else. But then I think about all the work I'd need to do just to get caught up to normal, and... yeah, that's about the point when my gumption evaporates. Still, though. Carrier. In other and far more relevant news, it's time for this week's installment of Ask Massively, which talks about the cycle of game announcement and subsequent disappointment. (Apropos of the recent beta weekends for The Secret World, naturally.) If you've got a question you would like to see answered in a future installment of the column, send it to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity.
Major iOS releases today: Macguffin's Curse, Sketch Nation Studio, more
As is customary Thursdays, a bevy of great iOS releases debuted on the App Store today, including several we've been waiting for. Here's a sampling of what you'll find out there (all prices are USD): If you just pick up one of these, MacGuffin's Curse should be it. It's a very well done puzzle/adventure title that's been in the works for quite a while. It's also destined for the Mac App Store, but at $1.99 on the App Store, you probably shouldn't pass it up now. Sketch Nation Studio is another big release we've been waiting on. I saw it in action at GDC earlier this year, and was impressed that it lets you build a game that can potentially be released to the App Store and earn real money. Sketch Nation Studio is basically a platform inside Apple's platform, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out going forward. It's a free download. Downhill Xtreme is also free. It's a longboard racing game from veteran devs Distinctive Developments. I can't say I was super impressed with the controls on this one when I played it at GDC, but there is some excellent music in here, and it's free, so it's worth a download for sure. Monster Words is a freemium title that combines two of my favorite things: Monsters and word games. Illusia 2 is also free. It's a sequel to Gamevil's popular RPG platform, with lots of customization options and some really nice 2D graphics. Finally, Sega has released Total War Battles on iOS. This might be the one exception to only picking up MacGuffin's Curse this week. If you're a real-time strategy fan, this is definitely the one to buy. Total War is the acclaimed PC strategy series from developers Creative Assembly, and in bringing the game to iOS, they've made several smart moves that preserve the core of RTS, while simplifying the interface for the touchscreen. Definitely check this one out. It's $6.99 right now and worth that price if you love Total War or real-time strategy, but Sega price drops its games often, too. This is just the cream of the crop out today, too. Stay tuned, as we'll be featuring more big releases every day going forward in our Daily App series.
New games and updates on the App Store: Hunger Games, Dragonvale, more
Angry Birds Space wasn't the only big new release to hit the App Store last night. Here are some other noteworthy apps and updates that are now available (all prices are USD). Canabalt creator Adam Saltzman's new game, which is based on the upcoming Hunger Games movie, is now available as a free promotional app. It looks excellent, and features Saltzman's game design prowess as well as music from composer Danny B. Hunters 2 is a sequel to the great turn-based strategy title that looks awesome. It's $4.99. Chillingo has dropped an endless runner game in which you control a roller coaster called MadCoaster, as well as a good-looking physics puzzler called Light the Flower. Both are 99 cents. Swordigo is a 2D hack-and-slash RPG with impressive graphics. It's launching at $1.99. BattleLoot Adventure is a Final Fantasy-style RPG that looks excellent. It costs $0.99 Smule has released a brand new title called Beatstream that turns your own music into a playable game for $0.99. Pocket Gems has released a new freemium title called Tap Paradise Cove. 99 Games' Nightclub Mayhem has arrived on the iPad for $0.99. Big updates include the beautiful Zen Bound 2 ($0.99) which is now ready for the new iPad. DragonVale (free) got a nice update with a new dragon to seek out, and new buildings to put up. And Scribblenauts Remix ($0.99) has some new spring break content to download and play with. Man, that's a lot of new games and content to play with. Stay tuned, as we'll be covering a few of these more closely in the days to come.
Some excellent new apps today: AAaaa!!, Hookshot Escape, lots more
It's Thursday, which means the new Apple-approved games and apps went up on the App Store yesterday, and there are quite a few good ones out this week. I'm not sure why devs decided to drop so many games on us (maybe just aiming to get them out by GDC next week), but if you need something to play this weekend, you've got it. Dejobaan Games has released its popular "falling action" title AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! on iOS, and it's available right now for $2.99. The game has you falling down through a series of skyscrapers, and trying to perform certain stunts and actions on your way down. It's just as good as the award-winning PC version, and worth a look if you haven't played it before. I've really been looking forward to Secret Base's Tobe and Friends Hookshot Escape, and it's also out now for $1.99. The graphics are charming as all get out, and my only complaint about the game so far is that it's not out on iPad yet. Chillingo's got a new freemium dual stick shooter called Mafia Rush. And that company has also got a new version of a Flash favorite, a platformer called Fancy Pants, for 99 cents. A beautiful puzzler called Incoboto has arrived on the iPad for $2.99. Looks great, supposed to sound very good as well. Ubisoft has released yet another Prince of Persia title, but this one's for old schoolers -- it features the old Prince of Persia game combined with a graphical style from the latest series. The iPhone version is $1.99, or you can go HD for a dollar more. And finally, the folks behind the very popular Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor have released a followup called Waking Mars, available as a universal app for $4.99. This one has you exploring underground Mars in 2097, and finding all sorts of interesting sights (and things) down there. Whew, those are some quality titles for sure. I'm sure some of these will show up in the Daily App posts very soon, so if you're not sure about pulling the trigger yet, stay tuned and we'll let you know. In the meantime: Just go ahead and get Hookshot Escape. It's awesome.
Relentless Software launches Digital Division, more titles coming soon
Relentless Software is the UK company behind Blue Toad Murder Files for the PSN and Quiz Climber for iOS, and it recently announced that it is opening up a new "Digital Division" to expand its various releases through digital distribution. The Digital Division is separate from the console department inside the company, and going forward, Executive Director Andrew Eades says that it will "steer" original IP from the company in both social and mobile spaces. Relentless has also hired a former EA producer named James Wright, and he says that opening the division will "bring more fun, accessible and ground-breaking titles across several platforms for non-gamers." Up next for Relentless, the company plans a version of Quiz Climber called Rivals, the console side of the company will continue to grow the Buzz! quiz game franchise for Sony, and Relentless says it has lots of other unannounced projects in progress at this time.
Developers eager to submit apps before App Store vacation
It's that time of year again: Snow is in the air, presents are underneath the tree, and Apple is about to shut down the developer's side of App Store for its yearly freeze. The New York Times has done some solid coverage on the shutdown this year, which will start this Thursday, and run for a week and a day after that. Apps will still be for sale, of course, but developers won't be able to release new apps or updated released apps. Every year, developers have to rush to not only, as the NYT says, get their apps out on the store and available before the freeze, but also to try and get their apps in the top 25 paid and free lists, which is where many post-holiday new iPhone and iPad owners start their app shopping. Electronic Arts, which the NYT quotes in its piece, has probably been the most public beneficiary of this App Store break -- a few years ago, the company dropped all of its apps on sale to 99 cents in the days before the freeze, which enabled it to grab most of the real estate in the "top apps" lists, and that big bump has even dictated company mobile policy until now. There's no doubt there is plenty of money to be earned on the App Store this holiday again (and we'll likely see some developers reporting big bumps next week), but I'd suggest that things are changing, soon, if not already. Back in the early days of the App Store, there weren't too many ways to find good apps besides those top 25 lists. But these days, there are a lot more resources, both for users to find the apps they want, and for developers to promote their own apps. So I don't know that we'll see as big an effect from the top 25 lists this year as past year. We'll still see big sales, I'm sure, but I think those will be more spread out than last year. And of course the App Store freeze has one more benefit for Apple: In addition to allowing the company to do maintenance and updates on the store and its infrastructure, it also allows the review and support staff to take a much-needed break for a few days. We'll have to wait and see how it works out for the company and 3rd-party developers this year.
Vintage console RPG Chrono Trigger is now on iOS
In addition to all of the other great games that appeared on the App Store last night (Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is available, and the Skyrim Dragon Shout app is out as well), the long-awaited Chrono Trigger has also arrived, and as a game, I have to give it my highest recommendation. This is one of the best Japanese RPGs ever made, if not the best, and it's a must-play if you haven't yet. The sprites and graphics are gorgeous, the characters are well-defined and the story is intriguing. The combat system does some really fun things that I haven't even seen replicated in other titles since the game came out in 1995. This version includes two additional areas not in the original game; they were added in the Nintendo DS version. Unfortunately, this one suffers a little bit from the usual problems of porting an old console title to iOS -- the fonts aren't quite right, and the overlay controls, while workable, do cover up some of that gorgeous art. If you want to play it on an actual console, you can find versions on the Wii's Virtual Console and the PlayStation Network, as well as the DS. But no matter how you play it, don't miss this one if you haven't ever given it a shot -- even years later, the game still shines. It's on the App Store now for $9.99.
iPhone 4S welcomed by AT&T activation delays, iCloud stumbles out of the gate
If you've unboxed a shiny new iPhone 4S from AT&T today, you've most likely had an experience similar to many others who made the same purchase: frustration. It seems that the surge in activity from the release of Apple's new handset has reduced activation traffic on Ma Bell's network to a crawl. This isn't the first time the carrier has had issues on launch day -- but back then, it didn't have any competition. Now that Verizon and Sprint have joined the iPhone party, the pressure's on and AT&T's not looking good compared to the other carriers who don't appear to be having issues. As if that weren't enough for the folks in Cupertino, iCloud had a rocky debut this week as well -- from absent verification emails to an inability to backup data. Apple has documented all five of the new service's foibles via the coverage link below, but it appears everything's been peachy since early this morning. So, have you been waiting for your new iPhone to be more than a shiny new paperweight? Leave a comment, and let us know. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
BlackBerry Bold 9900 available on Rogers today, Torch 9810 comes August 12th
And so it begins. It appears that Rogers is the first carrier to strike in the BlackBerry battle, taking to its Twitter feed to announce that two of the three members of RIM's fall lineup are now sitting comfortably in its retail outlets. The Bold 9900 will start selling today, with the Torch 9810 closely following on August 12th; the Canadian carrier, however, remains silent on when we can expect to see the Torch 9860. Curiously, no official cost has been revealed for either phone, though the rumor mill's pointing to a $250 price tag for the 9900 and $200 for the 9810. Indeed, Rogers has won this battle, but who will win the war?
Square Enix releases new Chaos Rings 2 trailer, promises Final Fantasy Tactics soon
Square Enix has released a new set of "trailers" for the upcoming Chaos Rings 2, but you'll need to know Japanese to get anything out of them, unfortunately. They're all about the voice actors for the game, and don't really show any gameplay footage -- it's just the actors talking about the new title and how it works for them. There are some screenshots over at Famitsu, though, and if nothing else, we can at least take these as a sign that the game is closer to release than before. In other Square Enix news, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is still coming to iOS, but Square says on Facebook that it obviously couldn't get the game out this Spring as planned. Instead, they're now targeting a release for later this month, and the date written on the wall (in dry-erase marker, not stone, of course) looks to me like July 27. That would be next Wednesday, so stay tuned. Final Fantasy Tactics is pretty much considered the best tactical strategy RPG around, so it'll be great to have a game like that on iOS.
Bungie's Marathon, Swords and Soldiers now available on the App Store
Two games we've been eager to see on the App Store have arrived. First up, the unofficial version of Marathon (that's officially approved anyway) is out and ready for you to play. It's a free app by programmer Daniel Blezek, who translated Bungie's old FPS from the Mac to Apple's tablet. This is excellent stuff; old-time gamers will enjoy the nostalgia hit, while younger players should be interested to see what Bungie did before Halo. It's an excellent game, and we couldn't ask for a better way to get it ported to the iPad. Second, Chillingo has published Swords and Soldiers, a cartoony 2D real-time strategy game that was originally released for the Wii. I like both the console and iOS versions, which offers Game Center integration, three campaigns and a skirmish mode, with controls that are well adapted for the touch screen. Unfortunately, it isn't universal -- the game's US$2.99 for the iPhone and $4.99 for the iPad -- but given how different the two versions are to play, maybe that makes sense. At any rate, this one didn't quite get the spotlight it could have used on the Wii, so maybe on iOS (like World of Goo, another Wii title turned iOS hit) Swords and Soldiers will the audience it deserves.
Apple may freeze new Mac releases until Lion ships
Apple is rumored to be halting any new Mac releases until Lion ships in July, according to a report heard by AppleInsider. Sources for that site say that Apple management is so excited about the improvements and user experience Lion offers, they don't want to ship any new Macs until Lion is finalized, so that "buyers are afforded the latest and greatest Apple experience." Apple apparently has new MacBook Airs ready to ship, but is waiting until it can load a gold-master version of Lion on them to do so. Also, while there are no hard rumors surrounding the next Mac mini and LED Cinema Display, apparently those rollouts are also waiting for the final release of Lion, which is supposed to come out sometime next month. And the Mac isn't the only platform waiting for new software -- apparently new iOS devices are also waiting to ship until iOS 5 is finalized. Apple wants to make sure all iCloud services are up and running so that new iPhone owners can take advantage of the full services iOS 5 and iCloud will offer.
New iOS releases: Chaos Rings Omega, Ticket to Ride, more
This mid-week (as with most recent weeks) brought a slew of new and notable iOS releases. Here's the roundup: Square Enix released Chaos Rings Omega, the sequel to its popular original RPG for iOS. It's premium priced at US$11.99 (no kidding) on the iPhone and $14.99 on the iPad. Days of Wonder released an iPad version of its popular board game Ticket to Ride for a much more reasonable $6.99. Card battler Orions gets a sequel on iPad for $2.99. As mentioned in yesterday's Daily iOS App post, Casey's Contraptions is now available. It's a terrific Rube Goldberg style iPad game for $2.99. Puzzler Push Panic got a free version on the App Store this week. Nom Nom is an interesting new $0.99 title where you have to align shapes to try to bounce food into the mouths of waiting animals. Burney is another new $0.99 game (with a free version available) that has you guiding an orb of fire through 45 platforming-style levels. There are lots of new games to play this week. Quite a few of them are iPad-only, though that's probably just a coincidence.
The Daily Grind: Are there too many new MMOs?
There was a time not too long ago (although about a decade in internet time) when new MMOs were a rare event, the sort of launch that happened irregularly at best and promised to whisk you away for quite some time. Of course, a cursory glance would make it clear that this is no longer the case -- Betawatch is filled with titles in various stages of testing, and despite having already seen a high-profile title launch this year, we're due for at least one or two more before the year is out. It's not a bad thing to have choices, of course, but we've gone from having a small sub-genre to having a veritable explosion of different MMOs on the market, from Ultima Online being the golden standard to having both Global Agenda and Mortal Online fit comfortably beneath the same aegis. Do you feel as if there's too much on the market at the moment and too many new games in development? Or do you hope we continue to see the same diversity of product, if not even more? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
