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Google plans Snapchat-esque stories for mobile search results
Assuming you have a basic understanding of social media and haven't been living under a rock for the last year, you're going to be familiar with "Stories" -- full screen displays of content that you can swipe or tap through, which are available for a limited time. Snapchat got the ball rolling, Instagram got on board, Facebook followed suit, and now Google is getting in on the action, following the initial report it would back in August. According to a Google blog post, "AMP Stories" are in the works, and soon they could completely shake up the look of your search results.
Facebook goes back to basics: People
Over the past couple of years, Facebook has frequently tweaked its News Feed algorithms to deliver stories that are relevant and of interest to you. It was a strategy that, until now, seemed to be the way forward for the site. But that's all about to change, as Facebook has announced that there are big adjustments coming to its News Feed. In the months ahead, the platform will start to prioritize posts from people you care about, like friends and family, over stories or videos from publishers. Users may react positively, but publications that rely on Facebook to drive traffic won't be happy.
Google aims to share revenue with news publishers
Google isn't kidding around when it says it wants to make amends with subscription-based news outlets. The search giant's head of news, Richard Gingras, told the Financial Times that the plan is to share revenues with publishers who take advantage of its new subscription tools. Similar to its ad system, it would use its machine learning know-how and vast collection of user data to find potential new and renewing subscribers, and take a cut from sales when people take action. Unlike ads, though, Google wouldn't take up to 30 percent of the money -- the terms will be "significantly more generous," Gingras said.
Facebook’s new guidelines could block news outlets from ad revenue
Facebook announced new guidelines today about what sorts of content can collect ad revenue on its platform. While it clarified the types of publications that will no longer get ad money, it also removed the line between content that promotes unsavory or offensive subjects and content that's reporting on them -- a move that could have a big impact on the sorts of topics that will appear on Facebook.
Get ready for more ads in Facebook's Instant Articles
As part of its Journalism Project, Facebook has revealed that it will allow publishers to place more ads in Instant Articles. That will allow sites like the Washington Post and New York Times to eke a bit more money out of posts published directly onto the social network. Instant Articles are good for Facebook, because users stay on the site since they don't need to click on a link. However, they're not great for publishers, because you can't see native ads, discover more articles or check out new videos -- all of which help sites keep their doors open.
Facebook buys CrowdTangle to help publishers track content
The name CrowdTangle may not be familiar to you, but Facebook just snatched up the company to help its publishers track how content moves around the internet. CrowdTangle's platform launched four years ago, giving companies a real-time look at content performance to gauge if posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social channels are effective.
E-book sales in the UK decline for the first time
There's something to be said about a printed book. It's easy to read outdoors, you can lend it to a friend and, unlike a top-end Kindle, it doesn't spell disaster if you lose it. E-readers have their place, but today The Publishers Association (PA) has confirmed that Brits still love holding paper between their fingers. In the UK, printed book sales rose from £2.75 billion in 2014 to £2.76 billion in 2015 -- the first increase in four years. Digital book sales, meanwhile, dropped from £563 million to £554 million over the same period. It's the first drop in e-book sales the PA has ever recorded.
Apple doesn't know how many people are using its News app
Apple has admitted that it has no idea how many people are using its News app, according to the WSJ. The confession doesn't put the company in too bad a light, because Apple believes it has been undercounting its users. VP Eddy Cue said that, "We don't know what the right number is. We're in the process of fixing that, but our numbers are lower than reality." He added that was better than being too optimistic, but some publishers are concerned. Atlantic Magazine CEO Bob Cohn, for one, said that his organization needs precise figures for Apple's audience, "and that's still an open question."
Tree of Savior might be getting published here according to an unofficial interview
Tree of Savior got a pretty strong showing at G-star 2014, where the staff announced that Nexon will be handling the publishing duties for the game in its native country. But what about worldwide releases? There might be hope yet. A fansite for the game has posted an interview with members of the imcGAMES staff who asked to remain anonymous. These anonymous interviewees state that the company is still looking into worldwide partners and has considered simply publishing the game itself in foreign markets. Other revelations include the prospect of developing the game for mobile devices in the future and that the game will most likely work as a free-to-play title with a cash shop. The interview also notes that these statements may not reflect the official view of imcGAMES and are subject to change without notice. Still, the full interview is worth a look, even if you need to take everything with an appropriately sized grain of salt.
EVE: Valkyrie to be co-published by Oculus
It's fairly obvious to interested observers that EVE: Valkyrie is intimately tied to the Oculus Rift. Its biggest selling point is creating that feel of really piloting a nimble little starfighter yourself, after all. And it looks like that's obvious to the team at Oculus as well, as the studio behind the VR headset has announced it will be co-publishing EVE: Valkyrie along with CCP Games. The net result is that Valkyrie will be an exclusive launch title for the Oculus Rift, making it one of the first AAA titles developed specifically for the device. Oculus is also reaching out to other development studios interested in potentially introducing more titles designed with the VR experience in mind. While there are still no firm details regarding launch dates for the title, expect to see more information about it as the headset moves toward completion.
Star Citizen breaks $27 million
Star Citizen, the crowdfunded space sim helmed by Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts, continues to demonstrate its incredible ability to generate enormous sums of money. Roberts today announced that Star Citizen has officially passed the $27 million mark, an amount that makes it possible for Cloud Imperium to add new ships and technology based on the Banu race of tradesmen. Roberts also announced the next stretch goal; at $29 million, Cloud Imperium will add more resources to the single player campaign such as an epic opening battle and more animations.
Stick and Rudder: What if Star Citizen fails?
As Star Citizen's crowdfunding totals spiral ever higher, so too do the cries of the naysayers, negative nancies, and the ne'er-do-wells who seemingly exist to rain on the space sim sandbox's parade. Some of this hand-wringing is probably justified since with each new stretch goal, fan expectations for SC increase exponentially. Regardless, what the game has already accomplished is worth celebrating, and two of the most common reasons I've seen cited for remaining skeptical simply don't make sense.
E-book publishers side with Apple, ask DoJ to scrap new price-fixing rules
Apparently Apple isn't the only company thinking the US Department of Justice's recently imposed remedies against it were "draconian." US publishers HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and others have also ganged up on the DOJ with a legal brief opposing the punitive restrictions. In it, they say the watchdog is "attempting to impose a specific business model on the publishing industry," despite assertions it wouldn't play that role. If you'll recall, Apple was recently found guilty of price-fixing following charges filed last year. Now, the Justice Department is trying to force Apple to end its current agreements with the publishers and let rival e-book retailers like Amazon link to their own online stores. Apple earlier condemned the decision, saying it was "wildly out of proportion to any... wrongdoing or potential harm." The publishers added that it effectively punishes them by prohibiting the so-called agency model, which lets them set their own prices for e-books and other media. A similar affair was settled rather more amicably in Europe, meanwhile, when the same band of publishers agreed to allow other retailers to sell e-books cheaper than Apple does, if they so choose. Evidently, they feel the DOJ overstepped its bounds in the US and seem intent to back Apple to the bitter end.
Daily iPhone App: Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is a tasty cold cut from Rovio Stars
Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage is the very first title from the Rovio Stars program, a publishing initiative from the makers of Angry Birds. The company has a whole lot of infrastructure and expertise, but not a lot of good new ideas flowing, so it's decided to publish other developers' titles, and if Icebreaker is any indication, they're going to make some good choices. Icebreaker is a really excellent puzzle game that has clearly been polished to a Rovio-level shine, and it's a perfect start for the publisher partnerships. Just like Angry Birds, Icebreaker is a casual, physics-based puzzle game, where you can cut various items in the environment by dragging your finger across them. Cut the Rope obviously used the idea of cutting in this way previously, but Icebreaker adds the ability to cut ice chunks, which then slide over each other in physics-based ways. Each level has a number of Vikings that you need to get sliding aboard a ship, and then your little hero on the ship can break up the ice (as long as it's cut small enough), free the Vikings and set sail in triumph. Icebreaker's super cute -- the little Vikings have some hilarious chatter, and sliding them around in the physics engine is tons of fun. The puzzles are clever, too: A few levels in, you'll be using the ice to create bridges, and going after optional coins to collect and treasure chests that also slide around. Despite being US$0.99 to download (or $2.99 for an HD version on the iPad), the game does have ads included in the pause screen, and there are powerups you can purchase via IAP, so Rovio isn't letting any opportunity to make money pass them by. Still, the game is great, and this is likely the start of a whole new industry for a company that's so far been propelled by what's essentially just one property. If all of the Rovio Stars title are of this quality, we'll look forward to playing all of them.
DeNA to publish Godus on iOS
Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans has been working on a Populous followup game called Godus, and the company has just announced a deal for a publisher. DeNA, the Japanese company behind the Mobage social platform, will be publishing Godus on iOS. And the game will also connect up to Mobage in Western companies and in Japan and Korea. DeNA is an interesting choice for Molyneux -- the company is usually known for casual games, and the audience is largely Japanese so far. But DeNA has definitely been looking to expand to the West and seeking well-known developers to do that with, including a game they're working on with former EA designer Ben Cousins. Plus, Molyneux has released Curiosity on iOS already, and that game didn't quite have the reception that he hoped for. So it sounds like this teamup will be good for both sides. Godus is set to arrive, after being previously crowdfunded on Kickstarter, sometime this year.
AAP reports e-books now account for over 22 percent of US publishers' revenue
It's well off the triple year-over-year growth that e-books saw a few years ago, but the latest report from the Association of American Publishers shows that e-books did inch up even further in 2012 to account for a sizeable chunk of overall book sales. According to its figures, e-books now represent 22.55 percent of US publishers' total revenue -- up from just under 17 percent in 2011 -- an increase that helped push net revenue from all book sales up 6.2 percent to $7.1 billion for the year. As the AAP notes, this report also happens to mark the tenth anniversary of its annual tracking of e-book sales; back at the beginning in 2002, their share of publishers' net revenue clocked in at a mere 0.05 percent. The group does caution that the year-to-year comparison back that far is somewhat anecdotal, however, given changing methodologies and definitions of e-books.
Roberts: Star Citizen to be 'a pretty well-realized world on all levels'
Space sim godfather Chris Roberts chatted up the game journos at Rock, Paper Shotgun recently, and the Star Citizen mogul touched on everything from cutting out the publisher middleman to the potential oversaturation of the space genre to what sets his game apart from the crowd. "Yes, you're flying around in space, but you're also down on planets. You're talking to people. You're trading. I think you're going to feel like Star Citizen is a pretty well-realized world on all levels," Roberts explained. He also outlines his thoughts on the eternal PC vs. console debate, saying that he's always played on consoles as well but prefers to develop on an open platform. "It's not so much about, 'I'm part of the PC master race and you're a puny console person.' It's more a matter of whether you're open or you're closed. It's why you've got League of Legends and all those. They're on the PC because it's open. It's not an issue for them to distribute." There's plenty more, including thoughts on the game industry, the film industry, and of course some crowdfunding discussion. Head to RPS for the full interview.
Mac Game of the Week: Borderlands 2 gets exclusive content for the Mac
Borderlands was sort of a surprise from Gearbox when it released a few years ago: It's an action RPG game, in the vein of popular titles like Diablo, but instead of the form that genre usually takes, an isometric fantasy RPG, Borderlands successfully placed loot grinding and RPG progression into an open-world first-person shooter. That first game was a bit unexpected for everyone (including the developers), but Gearbox was ready for the acclaim with Borderlands 2. The sequel is better, bigger, shinier and even more fun. And now Borderlands 2 has made its way over to the Mac App Store, courtesy of ubiquitous Mac publisher Aspyr. The biggest drawback with this release is that multiplayer isn't in yet -- this is a singleplayer version, so apparently Aspyr wanted to get it out before the holiday without nailing down the multiplayer code. That's a bummer, especially because Borderlands is most fun with friends. But Aspyr has made up for that bit of lateness in the code with lots of goodies. The first DLC for Borderlands 2 is also available right away on day one, and you can buy it separately or pick up a Borderlands season pass, which will eventually give you all of the DLC together in one package. And I'm glad to see that this version also includes some exclusive content: Some extra "Fired Up" skins come for free, and there's a Contraband Sky Rocket grenade mod included as well. So that's good to see. Plus, the game is 25 percent off throughout the holidays, for just US$44.99. Cheers to Aspyr for bringing us a Mac port like this -- it's not often that we see a port ready to go on the same year as the PC release, not to mention with some extra content. That lack of multiplayer isn't great, but it's forgivable. If you need a really fun shooter to explore over the holiday weekend (and of course have a Mac capable of running it), be sure to take a trip back to Pandora in Borderlands 2.
Alt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5
Lexis Numérique is setting its sights on its next title: Alt-Minds, a game the publisher claims will feature "a true transmedia fiction." Its first title since launching the less-than illustrious horror game Amy, the European publisher says that Alt-Minds will arrive on both PC and Mac on November 5, along with a companion app.Alt-Minds follows the story of five young scientists working on a mysterious physics experiment. While the PC/Mac game will tell the core story, players will also be able to use the location-based app to find story clues in the real world, and get (oh so not creepy) texts and phone calls directly from the story's characters.The experience will take place over eight weeks, with participants being given clues or missions at any time during the period. If you can't be on your computer all of the time, the game will also have a "catch-up mode," to access past missions and re-play live events. To help tell its story, Alt-Minds will have a web series of ten seven-minute episodes, explaining the scientific background of the proceedings as they unfold.The full experience will be free for everyone for a week. After that, players will need to pay about $5 per episode or around $30 for the entire series.
The Firing Line: What DayZ means to core gamers
The death of the core gamer has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, MMORPGs (and gaming in general) have kowtowed to the influx of new-school players flush with cash but lacking time, and the genre has reinvented itself and turned its back on virtual world enthusiasts in the process. There's still hope, though, and so far it's not coming from any of the usual sandbox suspects in the MMO space.
