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English politician caught playing Candy Crush for two hours during government meeting
Candy Crush Saga is addictive, so addictive in fact that it can keep lawmakers from doing the job taxpayers pay them to do. According to The Sun, MP Nigel Mills was rocking a long Candy Crush play session during a meeting regarding pensions and insurance -- in which he asked a few pre-written questions and then played the game on his taxpayer-funded iPad for as long as two and a half hours. A video of Mills tapping away on his tablet was provided to The Sun by an unnamed individual sitting in on the meeting. Now, rather than investigating whether or not a lawmaker should be playing games while "working," an investigation is in motion to track down the person who actually caught the act on film, as doing so is a breach of protocol. To be fair, everyone should have probably seen this coming. After all, the slogan Nigel Mills has front and center of his website is "Your priorities are my priorities," and given the absurd success of Candy Crush Saga, it is definitely a priority for much of the world. Mills has since apologized for his lack of attentiveness during the meeting, following his earlier claim that he was "fully engaged" in the session. Twitter, as you might imagine, is still having a good bit of fun with it: Fair to say that Nigel Mills is on the naughty list this year. He'll have to make do with Candy Crush on Christmas day. - Project.Elf (@_ProjectElf_) December 8, 2014 I suspect Nigel Mills doesn't play Candy Crush while doing his expenses. - Colin Williams (@colincwilliams) December 8, 2014 Nigel Mills promises never to play Candy Crush again at work. Ski Safari is much better, and feels a bit more seasonal. - Malcolm Robertson (@mrobertson_1) December 8, 2014 [Photo via Nigel Mills MP]
MP admits he was Candy Crushing it during a parliamentary meeting
We're sure there are many ways a politician can pass the time during a dull parliamentary meeting, but clearing a few levels in Candy Crush Saga probably wouldn't rank high on that list. Nigel Mills, a Conservative MP for Amber Valley, was caught doing exactly that last week, after he was filmed scooping up candies with his iPad in a Work and Pensions Committee debate. In a statement to The Sun he fessed up to the political faux-pass, but said he was always "fully engaged" with the discussion and "shall try not to do it [again] in future." The House of Commons has already jumped into action, but not in the way you might expect; it's now reportedly investigating the "breach of the filming rules" which caught the minister bang to rights. While the incident will certainly leave Mills a little red-faced, it's probably a nice bit of publicity for a UK game developer that's been struggling since its high profile IPO.
Candy Crush follow-up Soda Saga premieres worldwide
Mobile developer King has launched Candy Crush Soda Saga, an iOS and Android follow-up to its hugely successful matching puzzler Candy Crush Saga. Soda Saga features 140 levels across multiple modes, including the new Soda, Frosting, and Honey variants. The sequel also introduces new gameplay elements like Swedish Fish and Coloring Candy that reward large matching chains. Like its predecessor, Soda Saga is free to play, with additional turns and lives available via in-app purchases. Candy Crush Saga regularly ranks among the highest-grossing apps in both Google's and Apple's mobile storefronts, and publisher King pursued up to a $7.6 billion IPO valuation earlier this year before seeing a per-share downgrade afterward. [Image: King]
Games are dominating the App Store economy even more than you thought
Games are the biggest money-making apps -- that's just a given at this point -- but the utter dominance with which the game category crushes the competition might surprise you. Research firm Midia recently crunched the app economy numbers using the 700 top grossing apps across the App Store and Google Play, and came up with a crazy figure: 84.9 percent. That's the percentage of games in the top 700. Yikes. Aside from games, the next highest-grossing app category was social networking at 4.1 percent, dating with 3.9 percent, and travel at 2.3 percent. It's really not even a competition at this point. Ok, so games are cash cows, but why? To the dismay of anyone who bemoans microtransactions, it seems to be all about in-app purchases. Like it or not, the freemium revolution is upon us, and games willing to give themselves away for free while nickel-and-diming you on the backend are extremely appealing to many, and those games make a whole bunch of cash. No other app category seems to have come up with a way to get users to continually pay in over time. But it's not exactly an even distribution among freemium games - there are a select few big dogs eating the majority of the food. Companies like Supercell and King (publishers of Clash Of Clans and Candy Crush Saga, respectively) rake in millions of dollars every day, and can therefor afford to spend huge bucks on marketing to bring more freemium gamers into the fold. Smaller developers might get the crumbs, but the cake belongs to a handful of companies. This means two things: First, free-to-play games are here to stay. Second, you absolutely don't have to have an original idea in order to make buckets and buckets of cash.
King, a $7 billion company, doesn't seem capable of creating an original game
There's been a lot of talk lately about a new "tech bubble" that we may or may not currently be in. This label applies to a lot of different things, from the booming smartphone and tablet market to health tech and smart home devices. But while I personally think the risk of a catastrophic tech crash is a bit overstated, there's one company that is most definitely riding high on borrowed time. That company is King, creators of Candy Crush Saga. Candy Crush Saga first debuted on Facebook way back in early 2012 before eventually making its way to app stores later that year. As everyone knows, the game is a huge hit, drawing huge revenue from its in-app purchases and rabid fan base. The success of the game eventually became a problem for King, which delayed its IPO late last year over fears from investors that King was a one-hit wonder. The thing about Candy Crush Saga is that it's not King's own invention, it's simply a tile matching game that draws heavily from games like Bejeweled, which had huge appeal as far back as 2001. This was in no doubt one of the things investors were worried about regarding King, and they still should be. Without doing much to prove it has a future making hit games, King eventually decided to file its IPO in March 2014 anyway, to the tune of over US$7 billion. That's a whole lot of cash for a company that has yet to demonstrate it is capable of creating a game without using other established titles as their base. And I don't just mean being inspired by another game or genre -- these days a truly never-before-seen game is a rarity -- but literally lifting just about every game mechanic from a different game that has no links to King whatsoever. Here are King's current App Store titles alongside the games that the company has lifted significantly from: In roughly the past two years, King has "adapted" some of the most popular puzzle games of the past 20 years and republished them as its own. That is quite simply an unsustainable business model. How unsustainable? Well rather than branch out a bit, King also has two other newer games currently available on the App Store, Farm Heroes Saga (another match-3 puzzler) and Bubble Witch 2 Saga (an updated version of its Peggle clone). And King's next big release? Candy Crush Soda Saga, which is exactly what you think it is. There are definitely some parallels to be drawn between King and Zynga, the once-master of casual games which has since fallen on hard times once the appeal of its wares wore off. The company behind Farmville launched its IPO in 2011 with an initial share price of $10. After hitting a price in the low $2 range, the stock now trades at around $3 per share and is in danger of losing its listing entirely. Like King, Zynga is a big fan of rehashing game concepts we've all played and enjoyed for years, but even with 17 current mobile games to its name, it still hasn't met even a fraction of the expectations that were set for it. Rovio, another big name in casual mobile games, has held off on any IPO chatter while adapting its hit Angry Birds franchise into a variety of genres from racing to role-playing. But even with high profile crossovers with other popular IPs like Star Wars, the company's 2013 profit was less than half of what it was in 2012. This is bad news for a $7 billion app company that has yet to prove it's capable of truly creating something gamers want from the ground up, rather than simply borrowing established ideas and giving them a new coat of paint. So if you're looking for a bubble pop, keep an eye on King, because it's riding on the biggest one in the land.
King crushes trademark dispute with Banner Saga, CandySwipe devs
Candy Crush Saga developer King settled trademark disputes with The Banner Saga developer Stoic Studio and CandySwipe developer Runsome Apps, according to updates from both studios. "Stoic is pleased to have come to an agreement with King regarding Stoic's The Banner Saga trademark, which enables both parties to protect their respective trademarks now and in the future," Stoic Studio wrote, referring to the ongoing tension between the two developers over the term "saga." King said in January that it wasn't against The Banner Saga's name, though its legal opposition to Stoic's own trademark filing remained. At the time, Stoic said it would make another "saga" game regardless of King's trademark. Runsome Apps wrote that it is withdrawing its opposition to King's trademark for "candy," and the Candy Crush Saga developer is pulling its counterclaim against Runsome Apps. "I have learned that they picked the Candy Crush name before I released my game and that they were never trying to take my game away," the developer wrote. "Both our games can continue to coexist without confusing players." King withdrew its application to trademark "candy" in the U.S. in February, and saw opposition to its European trademark for the word in March from Cut the Rope developer ZeptoLab.
Investors unfriend Facebook stock, Candy Crush dev IPO not so sweet
Facebook's current status after the $2 billion acquisition of virtual reality outfit Oculus yesterday? It's complicated. The social media company's stock didn't rally on the news today, dropping nearly seven percent to $60.38/share (-4.51). Reaction within the games industry has been strong to the purchase. Markus "Notch" Persson swiftly cancelled a planned Minecraft port for Oculus noting "Facebook creeps [him] out." Candy Crush Saga developer King also had its initial price offering on the New York Stock Exchange today and swiped away 15.5 percent of its value, down $3.50 to $19. Bloomberg points out the drop is one of the largest in recent memory for a new stock. No word yet if King is trying to trademark failure. Tomorrow is another day.
Cut the Rope studio challenges King's 'candy' trademark in EU
Cut the Rope studio ZeptoLab submitted an official claim against King's trademark on "candy" in the European Union, in an attempt to cancel the registration entirely. ZeptoLab submitted its claim on March 20 in London. "Candy is an integral part of the Cut the Rope franchise, and we do not support King.com trademarking and preventing others from using it," ZeptoLab CEO Misha Lyalin said in a press release. King is the company behind Candy Crush Saga, and it attempted to trademark the term "candy" in the US earlier this year. The US trademark was approved for publication in January, but following backlash from the public and the IGDA, King withdrew its application in February. At the time, King said, "This does not affect our EU trademark for Candy and we continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP." King's US trademark registration on the word "saga" was suspended in December.
Candy Crush studio King seeks up to $7.6 billion IPO valuation
Candy Crush Saga makers King Digital Entertainment Plc, says it expects to price its initial public offering at $21-$24 per share, valuing the company at up to $7.6 billion. King, which became notorious within the games industry after trademarking and enforcing use of the common word "Candy," saw its revenue grow to $602 million in Q4 2013 from only $22 in the first quarter of 2012. Though King's portfolio features 180 games for mobile devices, Facebook and through its own site, analysts note that most of the company's growth was directly linked to its Candy Crush games and questioned whether King could maintain its growth rate going forward. "I think the valuation of a P/E ratio of 13 for a high-growth company is indeed reflecting a skepticism about the ability to continue growing at such a rapid pace," professor and IPO expert at the University of Florida Jay Ritter says, according to Reuters. "The ability to come up with future games and get people to pay for the game is a big question mark." Analysts are quick to compare the high valuation to that of social gaming giant Zynga, which has had its stock price sliced in half since its IPO debuted in 2011 at $10 per share. According to Reuters, "of the 22.2 million shares on sale in the offering, the company will sell 15.5 million, while stockholders, including Apax Ventures, will sell 6.7 million shares." King's IPO is set to be priced on March 25 and will now begin trading under the NYSE symbol 'KING' on March 26, after recently delaying the plan to prove its worth. [Image: King Digital Entertainment Plc]
King withdraws 'candy' trademark attempt [Update: King issues statement]
Candy Crush Saga developer King has withdrawn its trademark application for the word "candy," reversing a controversial move and potentially leaving developers free to create candy-themed mobile games without fear of legal action. King requested abandonment of its broad trademark on February 24, following a recent opposition statement from the International Game Developers Association. King's trademark was approved for publication in January. "Our IP is constantly being infringed and we have to enforce our rights and to protect our players from confusion," a King representative stated following the trademark's publication approval. The trademark application's complete history is documented under the "Prosecution History" subheading here at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website. King's related attempt to trademark the word "saga" remains under suspension. [Update: A King spokesperson clarified the company's decision. "King has withdrawn its trademark application for Candy in the U.S., which we applied for in February 2013 before we acquired the early rights to Candy Crusher," the spokesperson said. "Each market that King operates in is different with regard to IP. We feel that having the rights to Candy Crusher is the best option for protecting Candy Crush in the U.S. market. This does not affect our E.U. trademark for Candy and we continue to take all appropriate steps to protect our IP."] [Image: King]
IGDA makes opposition statement to King's 'Candy' trademarks
The International Game Developers Association has issued a statement opposing King's recent Candy Crush Saga trademark filing, criticizing the developer's "predatory" attempt at owning and controlling the words "candy" and "saga" across all gaming platforms. The organization plans to leverage its Business and Legal Special Interest Group to investigate the filing. King's "candy" trademark was recently approved for publishing by the US Patent and Trademark Office, giving developers and organizations 30 days to oppose the mark's final publication. "While we understand and respect the appropriate exercise of Trademark rights," IGDA executive director Kate Edwards said. "King's overreaching filing in its application for the Trademark for its game 'Candy Crush Saga,' and its predatory efforts to apply that mark to each separate word contained in that name, are in opposition to the values of openness and cooperation we support industry wide, and directly contradict the statement King's CEO, Riccardo Zacconi, made on January 27th." Edwards continued: "Our Business and Legal Special Interest Group will be providing a more comprehensive analysis of this issue from its perspective soon." King targeted indie developer Stoic Studio last year, claiming that its title The Banner Saga was "confusingly and deceptively similar to [King's] previously used Saga marks." King relented in the following months, stating that it "has not and is not trying to stop Banner Saga from using its name." [Image: King]
Candy Crush dev King pulls Pac-Avoid following copycat accusation
King has pulled Pac-Avoid, the game indie developer Stolen Goose recently accused the Candy Crush Saga developer of cloning. Stolen Goose alleged that Epic Shadow-developed Pac-Avoid was a direct clone of its own 2009 game, Scamperghost, which the developer pitched to King before backing out of the deal to bring the game to rival online game portal Max Games. "The details of the situation are complex, but the bottom line is that we should never have published Pac-Avoid," King CEO and Co-Founder Riccardo Zacconi wrote on the company's website. "We have taken the game down from our site, and we apologise for having published it in the first place." Zacconi added that this "unfortunate situation is an exception to the rule," stressing that the developer "does not clone games, and we do not want anyone cloning our games." He noted that King performs "a thorough search" of existing games and reviews trademark filings to avoid infringement. Former Epic Shadow developer Matt Porter responded to King's retraction of the game, calling King's claimed thorough search of games in the marketplace "an obvious lie." "Our only additional term to the deal, was that the Epic Shadow branding not be placed in the game, as we found the entire project to be sketchy and we wanted nothing to do with it post-release," Porter wrote. This is the latest in King's controversial saga, in which it trademarked the word "candy" in order to deny mobile clones of Candy Crush Saga. King also set its sights on The Banner Saga developer Stoic Studio, opposing its application for "Banner Saga." Zacconi said King will not enforce the use of its trademarked word "saga" on Stoic Studios, but opposed the application to "preserve our own ability to protect our own games."
Indie dev claims Candy Crush Saga publisher King copied its game
Indie developer Stolen Goose has leveled a public complaint against Candy Crush Saga publisher King.com, alleging that the casual games company deliberately cloned its game after a licensing deal fell through. According to developer Matthew Cox, Stolen Goose pitched its enemy-avoiding game Scamperghost to King in 2009 but later backed out after striking a more lucrative licensing deal with a rival online games portal. King responded by publishing a clone of Scamperghost, doubling down on its similarity to Namco's Pac-Man by giving it the new title Pac-Avoid. King claimed that it was looking into licensing similar games when the Scamperghost deal fell through, but Stolen Goose alleges that this turn of events was more than coincidence. Speaking with Pac-Avoid's developer, Stolen Goose learned that King ordered another indie studio to specifically clone Scamperghost, citing a nonexistent breach of contract as justification. According to Stolen Goose's report, the developer was additionally requested to finish its clone before Scamperghost could hit the market. King trademarked the word "candy" this week in a bid to curb mobile clones of its hit Candy Crush Saga, and recently targeted The Banner Saga developer Stoic Studio over its use of the word "saga."
Banner Saga dev will make another 'saga' game despite King's trademark
Candy Crush Saga developer King says it isn't trying to strip Stoic Studio's The Banner Saga of its name – but a legal opposition to the word "Saga" remains in action, Stoic says. In a statement on its website, Stoic says it's making another game in the Banner Saga universe, regardless of King's trademark attempts: "We won't make a viking saga without the word Saga, and we don't appreciate anyone telling us we can't. King.com claims they're not attempting to prevent us from using The Banner Saga, and yet their legal opposition to our trademark filing remains. We're humbled by the outpouring of support and honored to have others stand with us for the right to their own Saga. We just want to make great games." In December, King claimed The Banner Saga was "confusingly and deceptively similar to [King's] previously used Saga marks," but just yesterday said it wouldn't take action against Stoic. "King has not and is not trying to stop Banner Saga from using its name. We do not have any concerns that Banner Saga is trying to build on our brand or our content," King said. King has also filed to trademark the word "candy," and that one has been approved for publication in the US, giving the public 30 days to file opposition against the mark before it becomes law. King said it already trademarked "candy" in the EU because its IP "is constantly being infringed," but it won't enforce the mark against all uses of the word. "Some are legitimate and of course, we would not ask App developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so," King said.
The Candy Jam invites devs to make games using the industry's litigious vocabulary
In response to news that Candy Crush Saga developer King has trademarked the word "candy," and has begun enforcing it in a way reminiscent of patent trolling, indie devs Cariboo and UUAV have established The Candy Jam. The Candy Jam invites developers to make games involving the litigious world of sweets, throwing "bonus points" behind teams that make liberal use of other common words dredged up in recent outrageous trademark fillings, such as "scroll," "saga," "edge," and more. The game jam is open to developers from today through February 3. Why hold a gamejam revolving around the current candy saga? "Because trademarking common words is ridiculous and because it gives us an occasion to make another gamejam," the event's website proclaims.
Candy Crush dev: we won't enforce against all uses of 'candy' trademark
Candy Crush Saga developer King said it will not enforce against all uses of the trademark "candy." This follows news that the broad trademark was approved for publication in the United States, granting the public 30 days to file opposition against the trademark once published before King receives a certificate of registration for the mark from the USPTO. "We have trademarked the word 'CANDY' in the EU, as our IP is constantly being infringed and we have to enforce our rights and to protect our players from confusion," King told Gamezebo. "We don't enforce against all uses of CANDY – some are legitimate and of course, we would not ask App developers who use the term legitimately to stop doing so." The developer first applied to register the trademark with the USPTO in February 2013 and was granted approval for publication by the examining attorney last week. King also applied to trademark the term "saga" in regards to online and multiplayer video games with the USPTO in late 2011, though that application is currently suspended.
Candy Crush dev's 'candy' trademark approved for publication
The US Patent and Trademark Office has approved the trademark "candy" for publication for King, the developer of the hit free-to-play match three game, Candy Crush Saga. King filed an application with the USPTO for the trademark in February 2013, which was updated last week to note its approval for publication by the examining attorney. If it's published without opposition, the trademark grants King the exclusive use of the term "candy" in video game and clothing products. Once published, the public (namely, developers of games and apps that use the word "candy") has 30 days to issue a statement of opposition to the trademark office before a certificate of registration is handed to King. The phenomenon isn't new, as another social games developer threw its weight around with its seemingly broad trademarked terms: Zynga sent cease-and-desist letters to developers like Blingville LLC and Kojobo for the use of its now-trademarked suffix "ville" in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Candy Crush dev delays IPO to prove its worth, announces new game
Candy Crush developer King has delayed its stock market launch until next year in order to establish its worth beyond a single standout hit in the social and mobile gaming markets, The Telegraph reports. In a bid to prove that it's not just a one-hit wonder, King announced that it will bring its Facebook hit Farm Heroes Saga to iOS and Android devices in 2014. Boasting match-three gameplay in the same vein as King's Candy Crush Saga, Farm Heroes Saga will sync save data with Facebook, allowing players to resume their progress and unlock new levels on any supported platform. Rival social game publisher Zynga began public trading on Nasdaq in 2011, but faltered when it failed to follow up on the success of its Farmville games. Rovio faced similar concerns with its Angry Birds series, announcing recently that it has no plans for an initial public offering.
Even the Candy Crush developers are worried that they're a one-hit wonder
Candy Crush Saga (you know, that über-successful puzzle game that's almost exactly like Bejeweled, which, by the way, is superior in every way... but I digress) is successful on a level that most developers never even dream of. To date, the game has been downloaded more than half a billion times. That's fantastic for its creator, a London-based mobile game company named King, but it also poses a bit of a problem for its potential IPO, Telegraph reports. The game's runaway success is a concern for potential investors because King hasn't proven its ability to duplicate the winning formula. The epic debut, spike and subsequent decline of Zynga's stock price is still fresh in everyone's mind, so to help assuage Wall Street's worries, King is putting a hold on its bid for a Nasdaq listing until it can prove it won't pull a Vanilla Ice. So if you were hoping to cash in on the Candy Crush hype, you'll have to wait until an unspecified 2014 window to do so.
Candy Crush Saga passes 500m downloads, Bejeweled fans shake their heads
I won't play Candy Crush Saga -- mainly because it bothers me that Bejeweled never reached the same level of mainstream popularity -- but a lot of people do play it. Developer King revealed to The Telegraph that a whopping 500,000,000 have played the game across web and mobile platforms. The color-matching puzzler debuted on Facebook in April of 2012, followed by an iOS version in November and finally an Android release in December. According to King, a staggering 78% of US fans play the game while watching TV, and Level 65 is the one that is most likely to trip players up. When players do hit a brick wall they always have the option of resorting to the game's in-app market for a help in exchange for cash, but the company claims 60% of players don't pay a dime. Of course, that still means that the other 40% are shelling out an unspecified amount of cash to get passed the more difficult levels.
