iGame Radio

Flurry, the mobile analytics company, released their industry Pulse report today about the genealogy of developers of the App Store. Flurry tracks over 20,000 live applications and over 2 billion user sessions each month, so has an immense amount of data to rely on.

Flurry created six “heritage” categories by generating a list of 200 applications across the top 100 free and paid apps lists. Each category consisted of companies that had been founded for a particular purpose, and had made their way into the App Store.

The categories included:

• Native iPhone: Companies founded to create applications for iPhone (e.g., Freeverse, PageOnce)
• Traditional Media: Companies established on Film, TV, Print and Radio (e.g., Disney, TBS, NYT)
• Mobile: Companies having started on J2ME, BREW, BlackBerry, etc. (e.g., Digital Chocolate, eBuddy)
• Retail & CPG: Brick-and-mortar companies or ones that manufacture goods (e.g., The Gap, DKNY, Kraft)
• Online: Companies who began on the web including e-Commerce, social networks, online gaming, streaming music, etc. (e.g., Google, eBay, Facebook, Pandora, PopCap, Zynga)
• Traditional Gaming: Video game companies from console, portable or PC (e.g., EA, Activision).

Wait…what? Freeverse was a company founded to create applications for the iPhone? That’s news to me.

Freeverse was founded in 1994 as a shareware company bringing games to the Mac. And though they have focused mostly on the iPhone, even just recently merging with ngmoco, they still have stated that they will be bringing some games to the Mac, and are still supporting past games and applications.

Also, notice that PopCap is listed in the Online category. Now, I will agree that in 2000 when PopCap first started, it introduced Bejeweled as a web-based Flash game. But that was ten years ago. One can hardly list PopCap now, or even when they first starting porting their games over to the iPhone, as an online gaming company, certainly not in the vein of Zynga or Facebook.

What if we moved Freeverse and PopCap into the only category that really describes them…Traditional Gaming? How would that change the percentages?

According to the report, the current percentages for the App Store in the games category are:

Flurry Developer Heritage, Games Category

It’s hard to tell exactly, not knowing what the exact numbers are, but I would hazard to say that the 21% for the Native iPhone category would probably drop down a bit, and I think the Online category would take a pretty big hit…PopCap’s numbers with Bejeweled 2, Plants vs Zombies, etc, are no small potatoes.

So, what is the purpose of these categories in the first place? The Flurry Pulse report states: “To generate a sample that allowed us to compare across categories and pricing models (paid, ad supported, micro-transactions, etc.)” If that is the case, then Flurry does the industry a disservice by taking some big hitters and placing them in other, smaller categories.

The reasons behind these placements are not clear-cut. Freeverse may have only come onto Flurry’s radar when they jumped into the iPhone development scene with both feet. But this itself points to a lack of research on Flurry’s part. PopCap did begin its life as a web-based game company, but many years ago (2003?) moved to PC gaming as its main development platform, with web-games as a support mechanism. And showing where the first few years of a company’s life came from doesn’t really help the industry.

This report seemed to be about where these companies where shortly before they entered the iPhone scene. There is no doubt that PopCap was a PC/Mac game development company that ported their games to console and used the web as gaming support, and Freeverse was a Mac game development company. Both belong in the Traditional Gaming category.

By placing Freeverse and PopCap in the categories that they did, Flurry has done a disservice to the industry by misrepresenting where it is, and thus where it might go in the future.

Appular, the iPhone app marketing service, has launched a new initiative aimed at helping iPhone and iPod Touch developers get the most out of their applications. Announced yesterday, Appular will begin publishing selected games and apps to the App Store, engaging in a revenue sharing opportunity with them. Developers will experience virtually no up-front costs to publish their games in exchange for a revenue-sharing plan that includes marketing, business strategy, and publishing services.

Appular will work with current social mobile gaming platforms, such as OpenFeint and Plus+, but hinted at more to come. “We have some plans that we can’t reveal just yet, but we definitely see some opportunity for improvements on the social leaderboard front,” said Brian Akaka, founder of Appular.

Akaka also noted that Appular will be moving towards iPad publishing as well, saying, “We plan to have at least one iPad app out within the next few months.”

To aid in this publishing initiative, Appular has brought on former Freeverse Chief Financial Officer, Dino Decespedes, as their new Director of Publishing. During his three plus years at Freeverse, Decespedes performed a wide variety of roles for the iPhone development company, including financial forecasting, pricing strategy, launch strategy, and evaluating and increasing development efficiencies for the App Store. “Few people have a better understanding of the iTunes App Store and the dynamics that really drive it than Dino”, said Ian Lynch Smith, founder and CEO of Freeverse.

Appular will initially work with developers to ensure proper implementation of business and marketing strategies, but is currently soliciting for more developers with upcoming games and apps to be evaluated for partnerships on a case-by-case basis.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• A review of Parachute Ninja by Freeverse. Fling your little ninja around the screen and glide back down. Cause all ninja’s have a parachute.
  
• Plus, a review of Battle Blasters by Little Guy Games. Blast your rivals to little bits as you advance your score. Just don’t be surprised if you suddenly stop moving…man that screen is small!
  
• Finally, a review of Warheads by Pangea Software. A gorgeous remake of Missile Command, but lacking in the social networking department. Maybe one of those missiles shot it down?
  

Show Notes:

• Omaha chats it up with Corey Tamas, who reveals he’s soon to become the editor-in-chief of Macgamer.com. Wait…what?
• Freeverse merges with ngmoco, and Omaha and Corey talk about the fallout.
• Apple cracks down on adult apps in the App Store. Corey and Omaha battle it out about the ethics and whether you can measure boobs online.

Music Notes:

• Zach Young featured music from The Great Tree.
• Tomas Dvorak featured music from Machinarium. You can find more information about Tomas’ music at floex.cz/.

Leading iPhone game publisher ngmoco announced today the acquisition of long-time Mac and iPhone game developer Freeverse. Freeverse will retain all its name, branding and management after the acquisition.

ngmoco was formed in 2008, and has produced a large number of hits, including Rolando 2, Eliminate Pro, and Touch Pets Dogs. They also run the Plus+ social gaming network, which include global leaderboards and game challenges.

Freeverse has a long 15 year history in the world of Mac gaming, but in 2008 also began focusing on iPhone games; releases include the Flick sports series, Skee-ball, and Parachute Ninja.

ngmoco also specializes in free-to-play games, releasing iPhone games for free, then charging for in-app purchases. Freeverse founder and VP Colin Lynch Smith has found this very attractive. “We see the value and immense potential in free to play services on mobile web,” he noted. “ngmoco is the leader in this realm both in terms of vision and execution and therefore the right partner for us to take our business to the next level.

iGame Radio spoke with Freeverse marketing director Lydia Heitman, who stated that current and future titles that have already been announced (such as the anticipated Warpgate) will not be moved into the free-to-play (F2P) model. “They were not designed for that model and they’re doing great right as they are,” she said. “…our new titles going forward will most likely be Free-to-Play as that is where we believe the future lies in this industry.”

Freeverse announced today the release of Zombie Cannon Carnage, their latest iPhone game. Zombie Cannon Carnage centers on three intergalactic zombies who’ve crash-landed on earth and are trying to get home. Yes, you heard it right. Alien zombies. But wait, there’s more.

So our mash-up of alien and zombie fun decide that using the Zombie Cannon to blast themselves into space is the best way to try and get home. Once the cannon is used (because rockets are so passe), they can operate their Jet Pack to rocket through the city and attempt to avoid everything therein. Successful avoidance racks up Insane Points, because there was just no other name for it, which you can use to purchase upgrades and powerups.

Zombie Cannon Carnage features realistic rag-doll physics, Plus+ integration, and 11 signature impact trophies to collect. Pick it up from the App Store for $1.99.

 

What’s inside this episode:

• A review of The Movies Superstar Edition by Feral Interaction. This baby’s got everything for the budding movie mogul. Just hop in and express your creativity.
  
• Plus, a review of Thor by Freeverse. This slide-scroll platform game pits a goofy god Thor against giants, the goddess Hel, even a serpent. And Thor just keeps running and running and running and…
  
• Finally, a review of the Phantom Mansion: The Orange Library, the second episode in the Phantom Mansion series. No, Hector is still stuck in the Mansion. And Omaha is still waiting for more difficult puzzles.

Show Notes:

• A great conversation with Peter Cohen of The Loop!
• Peter and Omaha talk about Macworld Expo 2010, and the game scene, or lack thereof.
• Peter is going to the GDC. Should you?

Music Notes:

• Digital Droo featured music from Active Lancer by Freeverse; the Active Lancer soundtrack is available at CDBaby.
• John Gatti featured music from El Ballo.

Announced just last week, Freeverse’s most recent offering to iPhone game fans, Parachute Ninja, is available today on the App Store. A platform game for the iPhone, players sling a ninja (or at least part of him) through 30 levels in 4 regions using tap-activation for the parachute. Defeat enemies and collect fireflies through both a story mode and a survival mode.

You can challenge yourself, friends, and family with online leader boards and Plus+ support for gathering awards. You can grab Parachute Ninja for only $0.99.

Freeverse has announced the imminent arrival of Parachute Ninja, a platform game for the iPhone. Sling a ninja (or at least part of him) through 30 levels in 4 regions using tap-activation for the parachute. You’ll be defeating enemies and collecting fireflies through both a story mode and a survival mode.

You can challenge yourself, friends, and family with online leader boards and Plus+ support for gathering awards. And the price upon release will be only $0.99.

 

ETA: Heard back from the developer regarding Gravity Sling, and I wanted to share some of his comments with you. My issues with lack of navigational information is not just mine alone, and he’s looking at tweaking the game to include something like that in an upcoming release. Also, no promises, but there might be a fast-forward feature so we don’t have to wait around to see if our astronaut crashes or not. Finally, the discrepancy regarding the OS requirements for Gravity Sling Lite and Gravity Sling Deluxe are because the Lite version has the In-app purchase feature, which requires OS 3.0 or later. That makes a lot of sense.

What’s inside this episode:

• An interview with Michael Agustin of Gendai Games about the Macworld 2010 GameSalad Challenge. Make a game, win an iPod Touch.
• Also, a review of Magician’s Handbook II: Blacklore by Red Marble Games. Not just another hidden object game, this is a title to play with your kids. Even lack of replayability doesn’t get in the way.
  
• Plus, a review of Hanged by Freeverse. What happened to those lovers? What was in that letter? Did she really hang him? And, boy, do those water droplets look awesome!
  
• Finally, a review of Gravity Sling by RipTide Games. Send your astronaut round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and…well, you get the idea. But, hey, the orbits look amazing!
  

Show Notes:

• Top ten lists of the year: why they suck.
• Modern Warfare 2 gets two awards: Most sales during launch and most pirated game of 2009. Wait, you can have both?

And that ball is still hanging in the air, cause we don’t know if they scored or not. But you can find out by picking up the game. NBA Hotshot, their casual arcade game, officially licensed from the NBA, is now available in the App Store. The game incorporates the same flick-based controls as in many of Freeverse’s other games.

NBA Hotshot lets the player shoot hoops with time limits or a high scoring mode. A three-strikes feature adds to the fun with precision basketball shooting. Up to five players can shoot against each other in multiplayer battles via bluetooth. Leader boards and achievements are included through Plus+ integration. Best of all (well, if you are into basketball) you can win official NBA team prizes, such as team balls and other basketball souvenirs, to use in-game.

The game’s price is $1.99, but will intro for a low price of $0.99.