PocketGamer.biz Week That Was: Apple get hacked, EA names the App Store as its biggest money spinner, and we go big on China
The past 7 days in bite-sized portions
Despite their inherent disruption, market shifts are a sign of overall good health.
There are some who might worry that veteran publishers like Electronic Arts is now making more money from the App Store than it is traditional game sales, but others will simply smile and shrug knowing EA is focusing on where the money is.
The fact that money is still being spent so eagerly is a sign of great health for the games industry as a whole - and doubly so for those in the mobile sector - so let's all raise a glass to the health of the industry and the changing times as we look back on the week that was.
Oh, and as well as raising that glass, lets check out the big stories on sister site PocketGamer.biz this week, too.
Tools and platforms- Apple admits that its Developer Portal was hacked, and pulls many services offline.
- The Unity 4.2 update adds support for Windows Phone 8, Windows Store apps, and Blackberry 10.
- EA names Apple its top retail partner for June, noting that its revenue trumped brick-and-mortar retailers and its own Origin service.
- The early days of the Ouya's game sales aren't encouraging for many developers.
- ...but Ouya's CEO Julie Uhrman 'takes offence' to that claim.
- Our weekly Charticle examines the the massive success of Gameloft's Minions Rush.
- Is monetisation more important than making a good game? Our mobile mavens hash it out.
- Meanwhile, Supercell (who you might know from Clash of Clans)'s CEO argues that free-to-play games can be more than monetisation machines.
- Speaking of monetisation machines, Zynga needs friends - profits plunge 31 percent as almost 40 percent of its monthly active users jump ship.
- Machine Zone's Gabe Leydon talks about why he cares more about his players than their money.
- Lady Shotgun's Anna Marsh lays out how you can connect to your players through touchscreen controls.
- Greenfly Studios' Stephen Morris discusses the loneliness and lack of funds that come with being an Indie developer.
- 148Apps' Carter Dotson contends that developers should learn to stop worrying and learn to make the most of pirates.
- And PocketGamer.biz favourite Kirk Mckeand gives us a good look at the making of the unique horror adventure, Home.
- Flurry's research shows just how big the Chinese mobile market is - 261 million active smartphones and tablets, and counting.
- And that market is booming - sales in Chinese mobile game sector double to $412 million in the first half of 2013.
- Yet despite this market, LineKong's CEO Wang Feng predicts that the majority of Chinese mobile game developers will fail.
- Yet Chukong's monthly sales are predicted to rise to $15 million, and that makes its CEO Haozhi Chen consider a US IPO.
- And finally, more proof that we can let our hair down - here's our ChinaJoy 2013 party in pictures.