Week That Was: Messaging services and games go huge globally, Square Enix looks for mobile revival, and Sony to let Vita shine

Change, and cicadas, are in the air as spring broils into summer (in the northern hemisphere, at least!) Last week, we wondered how - or even if - mobile gaming would factor into the next generation of consoles.

This week Sony has made it abundantly clear that it wants to bring the traditional living room gaming experience onto the Vita's smaller screen. Yet in a true "the grass is always greener" moment, we're also seeing some heated competition in the emerging unconsole market as different companies try to bring the Android mobile gaming experience into the living room.

Different strokes for different folks, so the saying goes, and here's how the week that was went.

• Line and Kakao started as messaging services, but after rolling out game services their potential as a mobile gaming powerhouse is now clear.
• Not to be outdone by Line and Kakao, DeNA has rolled out casual games to its Comm messaging service.
• In the unconsole wars, the subscription-based Ouya competitor GamePop received a $129 pricetag.
• And Sony plans to give the Vita a new lease on life by mandating Remote Play for all PS4 titles.
• Meanwhile, Amazon fires back at Google+ with an open ID system dubbed Login.

• HandyGames weighs in on monetising on Android and how it's "completely different" than iOS.
• And no one knows that better than Mobage, who generated 48% of its $10.7 million US revenue in April via Google Play.
• Square Enix isn't too big to pivot - the Japanese publisher plans to release games on smartphones and tablets that it previously released on consoles.
• Sales are a marathon, not a sprint and this week's Charticle looks at the pacing of Zynga's Running With Friends to prove it.
• Playnomics puts a human face on the whale, and looks at how 0.0077% of players generate 33% of free-to-play revenue.
• Meanwhile, Glu is set to unleash a real-money mobile competition in the US starting with Deer Hunter for Android.

• Former Pocket Gamer writer Fraser MacInnes is overwhelmed by the sheer number of games on the market and that's led him to have a total gaming crisis.
• 148Apps' Carter Dotson talks about the lessons we can learn from the bombing of Bombcats.
• CreatioSoft's co-founder Ankit Agrawal gives an insider's perspective on the emerging Indian mobile gaming market.
• Spacetime Studios talks about the importance of being 'first' and where it plans to go post Legends.
• Not one to be content with 11 million monthly active users, Nodeus talks about its strategy to branch out into new games.

• Spacetime Studios exceeds 250 million play sessions for its Legends games, despite only having 20 million downloads.
• Taptica unveils its 'multi-arm bandit' insight, which allows for smart machine-to-machine bidding in the name of user acquisition.
• And finally, Lady Shotgun's Anna Marsh questions if designers are confusing immersion with engagement.