Audience

• Developers can now build Synative playable game demos in Google Play for free

  24 hours ago News

  

  Game ad tech specialist Synative has moved to make its Playable Studio platform free for devs looking to build playable ‘Try Now’ demos for Google Play. In essence Synative offers in Playable Studio an accessible platform for building playable ads, all without the need to write a single line of code. Using that platform game developers – or their marketing or PR colleagues with little-to-no dev experience – can build demos of their games that exist as a playable ad. Those [...]

• E3: Microsoft reveals Xbox One successor, coming 2020

  1 week ago News

  

  With this year’s huge E3 gaming conference hardly underway, Microsoft has revealed that its follow up to the Xbox One console, announcing that the machine is due to launch in 2020. Code-named Project Scarlett, the coming console promises to be ‘four times’ as powerful as Microsoft’s current-generation Xbox One. Console ‘power’, of course, is too complicated to exist on a linear spectrum where all games machines are comparable using a single metric. But thanks in-part to a custom processor, built by Microsoft [...]

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• Google confirms pricing structure, launch details and games for cloud-based Stadia gaming platform

  2 weeks ago News

  

  Google has moved to reveal more details on its eagerly anticipated Stadia cloud-gaming service; namely pricing structures, launch details and launch games. The gaming platform – due in November this year – requires no console-like ‘box’ or dedicated hardware beyond a game controller or mouse and keyboard. Instead, games will be streamed over the cloud direct from Google data centres to customers’ screens and controllers. Stadia will be available over smart TVs, laptops, desktop computers and smartphones. Users will access the [...]

• Panic, Playdate and the crank: A lesson learned in engaging the games industry

  3 weeks ago News

  

  The last two days have been a bumpy ride for Panic. The software company and occasional game publisher recently dazzled the global games industry by revealing its delightfully unconventional gaming handheld, the Playdate. Then the organisers of a modest gaming event also titled Playdate stated that they had received an email from Panic asserting that the former could no longer use the name. That has not gone down well. There is little unusual in companies moving to protect or claim brands. However, [...]

• Minecraft revealed as best selling game of all time... probably

  4 weeks ago News

  

  As Minecraft’s tenth anniversary dawns, its owner Microsoft has revealed that the game has sold 176 million copies. The news came via a Microsoft blog post – spotted by PC gamer – that also reveals a new AR title called Minecraft Earth is underway. Minecraft is no doubt a bona fide cultural phenomenon. It’s star may have faded a little compared to the high of a few years ago, but it can truly stand along household names like Tetris, Pong and Fortnite [...]

• Sony and Microsoft partner to explore cloud gaming and more

  1 month ago News

  

  Sony and Microsoft are to collaborate to develop their respective cloud platforms, covering gaming and other entertainment forms. The pair will also partner to pursue innovations in artificial intelligence and semiconductors. While the two tech giants are looking at the potential of pairing Sony’ semiconductors with Microsoft’s existing cloud offering, their announcement does not suggest that they are developing a single platform or device that they will release together. This collaboration, it appears, is about the two collaborating to bolster their [...]

• One Billion Female Gamers: How the Demographics of Play are Shifting

  1 month ago News

  

  New research conducted by game analytics outfit Newzoo has revealed that today over 46% of gaming enthusiasts are women. That’s perhaps as many as one billion people. While the sheer size of the audience offers plenty to be optimistic about, their current gender ratio shouldn’t come as a surprise. Many statistics over the past decade or so have pointed to a rise in the numbers of females playing games regularly. Thanks to an ongoing diversification of the types of games available [...]

• China’s Mobile Game Revenue Predicted to Exceed USD$25bn by 2023

  1 month ago News

  

  That figure – and Niko’s other findings – point to rapid growth in China’s games market, despite state involvement stifling game releases in the country through 2018 and into this year. Niko’s in-depth report points to the fact that China presently accounts for 25% of the world’s mobile games market. As home to 18.4% of the world’s population, China is clearly punching above its significant weight when it comes to mobile. China is currently home to 1.4 billion people. Niko’s figures [...]

• In-app ads: Are you leaving revenue on the table?

  2 months ago News

  Liz Waldeck-Pinckert is director of publisher monetization and strategy at mobile advertising and marketing platform AdColony. In this contributed piece, she shares valuable insights into embracing in-app advertising, while busting some myths about how users – and content creators – perceive in-game ads. If you’re just beginning to think about how to monetise your new app, or are thinking about working with ads for the first time, consider the following essential reading. Great work! You’ve just put the finishing touches on your [...]

• Next-Gen On-Device Mobile AI: What Is It & What Might It Mean for Game Ad Tech?

  2 months ago News

  

  Tencent, Qualcomm, and Vivo recently announced a new partnership, with a view to refining game experiences by harnessing the potential of on-device mobile AI. We’ve all heard so much about AI in recent months that it’s easy to assume any reference to it is simply over-enthusiastic marketing speak. But what this collection of tech giants have underway is pretty fascinating. It’s also somewhat confusing, as it’s a little complicated on the technical side of things. So let’s take a look at [...]