Gameloft To Finally Bring An Unreal Engine Powered Title To Android

Gameloft, arguably the foremost creator of premier mobile titles, could be about to bring its fist Android game powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine, although there is no information available with regards to what the title might be. A teaser image has been released via Gameloft’s Facebook page, and although the blogosphere seems, for obvious reasons, the title will be of the Android variety, the company is yet to confirm this.

Still, it’s certainly exciting news for those who enjoy cutting-edge titles, and when one looks at the likes of Infinity Blade for iOS (also powered by Unreal Engine), it’s clear to see how much better a game can be when Epic infiltrates the development stage. Although I’m not a fan of Infinity Blade or Infinity Blade II per se, I still find both of them pretty awe-inspiring to play, and they are prime examples of how incredibly strong mobile gaming as come along in the past couple of years.

The teaser image itself doesn’t really give us a great deal to go on, but one thing is for sure – the title will be one to yield extreme interest from those partial to gaming on an Android device. Aside from a bloody sword and a skull, there’s precious little else in terms of giveaway signs, but those interested can now place a vote for what the next hint will be. The choices include another image or a teaser trailer, and I’m pretty sure those keen to discover what Gameloft has up its sleeve will opt for the latter.

Android is certainly left out in the cold when it comes to games available, with developers opting to create titles for iOS as a matter of priority. Once a game (or indeed, an app) has proved its worth on Apple’s ecosystem, it is often then that devs decide to create a port for Google’s market-leading mobile operating system. (Redmondpie.com)

Game Over, Zynga? Stock Down 40% After Poor Earnings

Zynga reported its second quarter earnings Wednesday and the results aren’t good, falling short of analyst estimates for both revenue and earnings per share.

This is only Zynga’s second quarter as a public company and after tepid first quarter earnings, the company needed a win. That didn’t happen. The stock is down nearly 40% after-hours trades at the the time of this writing.

Looking at the results, its hard to find any bright spots for the social gaming giant.

Revenue was $332 million, up 19% year over year, but falling short of analyst expectations. Moreover, bookings were down 8% compared with the first quarter of 2012.

Zynga also reported a net income loss of $22.8 million, thanks in part to a $95.5 million stock-based expense.

The company reported a diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of ($0.03) for the second quarter and a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) EPS of $0.01.

Zynga also adjusted its outlook for the rest of 2012 in order to “reflect delays in launching new games, a faster decline in existing web games due in part to a more challenging environment on the Facebook web platform, and reduced expectations for Draw Something.”

The Facebook revelation is interesting, as it could indicate either increased competition on the platform or larger monetization problems on Facebook itself.

Facebook stock is also down about 6% in after-hours trades. Facebook announces its first earnings as a public company on Thursday.

What do you think of Zynga’s dismal stats? Has the bubble burst? Let us know in the comments. (Mashable.com)

OUYA: Android Game Console’s Secrets Raise Questions

While the OUYA — the Android-based, hackable video game console — is still raking in funds on its multi-million dollar Kickstarter project, the secretive nature of the project is raising questions for game developers.

“How can the OUYA convince developers who are sitting on the sidelines to jump in?” asks Gree Vice President of Studio Operations Anil Dharni. “I am very interested, but where are the users? Where are the gamers?”

Until three months ago, Dharni was the Chief Operating Officer of Funzio, which released three well-received titles on iOS and one on Android. He and CEO Ken Chui sold Funzio to Gree for $210 million, giving Gree, a Japanese social network that has been expanding aggressively into America, its own development team.

Dharni says OUYA has two distinct advantages: it is using Android as its platform, and its focus is on the television market. He said the biggest challenge its makers face will be luring developers to create games that will have to be programmed differently from any others on the Android market. Since the OUYA will use a traditional console controller with a touchpad in the center, even games on the Android market will need to be restructured to work with it.

OUYA is not entirely bereft of content. On July 19th, the company announced via its Kickstarter page that Robert Bowling would bring prequel games to his recently announced zombie survivor game Human Element exclusively to the OUYA. Though a big name for the platform, it’s only the second title confirmed for the console.

Bowling, who was behind the Call of Duty series of games, said he has already contributed $10,000 to the console’s development. This type of developer involvement is something that Dharni says could be a concern.

“It’s a chicken and the egg situation,” he says. “I would like to know if it’s gamers or game developers funding the project on Kickstarter. It makes a difference on who will end up using it.”

Dharni says Gree will take a wait-and-see approach with the OUYA; the company doesn’t want to have its products associated with something that is going to flail in the marketplace. But he said the console space is the next frontier to be disrupted, similar to how free-to-play has changed mobile and PC gaming.

“It’s often the case that the first one that launches doesn’t end up being the right product,” he says. “I hope it works out for them and I wish them luck.”

OUYA Image courtesy AngelList. Source: Mashable.

Facebook Game Subtlety Teaches 20-Somethings Financial Literacy

A Facebook game currently in development will teach young adults financial literacy, while getting them hooked on an addictive online experience.

Kicked Out, the product of developers and social entrepreneurs in Vienna, Austria and San Francisco, strives to train players to intuitively become responsible with money. The group is hoping to raise a major funding round through Kickstarter, with just three days left to reach its $300,000 goal.

Creator Katharina Norton began working on Kicked Out when she realized financial literacy is a universal struggle for nearly all young people. There’s an imbalance between the ease of spending money and the challenge of saving money.

“I wanted to answer the question of ‘how do we, coming from civil society, teach young adults about finance,’” Norton told Mashable. “Learning about finance, especially at a young age, makes you feel bored and creates feelings of inferiority. We thought we could overcome these emotions with a game.”

Norton spoke with debt counselors in her native Austria. In the process, she learned that one in five clients is 30,000 euros in debt by the age of 25. The fastest growing group declaring bankruptcy is between 18 and 24 — and the number has increased 96% in the last 10 years.

“By going through these levels of tests as teenagers and young adults, they’ll learn to train alarm bells for real life,” Norton says.

Kicked Out’s storyline begins as you are forced to leave your parents house. In order to survive, you must manage your personal finances and make long-term decisions while avoiding debt traps. Players learn how to take a loan, avoid debt, check balances on a regular basis and not overspend on what you earn. Throughout the game, you’ll never hear the word money, rather you’ll learn to manage “resources.”

“Teenagers have a very skewed expectation of their future salaries and costs of living,” Norton says. “They don’t realize that if they buy a cat, it’s not just the cost of the cat, but also the vet visits and its food.”

Though Norton says Kicked Out is not being marketed primarily as an educational game, teens in test groups have expressed excitement about learning to deal with money.

“We’ve found that it’s equally exciting to those who want to learn and those who want to play,” Norton says.

Though Kicked Out’s Kickstarter campaign is yet to pick up significant fundraising steam, it won a Central European innovation prize Ideen gegen Armut (ideas against poverty), sponsored by Coca-Cola. Kicked Out’s supporters include entrepreneurs from Fast Company, National Field and Ashoka.

Gamifying real-world problems has become an increasingly popular way of teaching skills to teens such as social dynamics, and cause and effect. Do you think financial literacy will be the next skill added to the list through Kicked Out? Can teens learn to be responsible with money through a game?

Source: Mashable

Sony postpones Nasne NAS due to quality control issues

Due to a quality control hiccup just one day before the Nasne was due for release in Japan, Sony has been forced to postpone it. The product combines a networked recorder with 500GB of storage and can be used to stream TV and other media to a range of Sony devices including the PS3, Vita, VAIO, Tablet and Xperia phone ranges -- potentially becoming a key example of Kaz Hirai's "One Sony" strategy. Judging from the official explanation of the problem, it sounds like some goods were simply damaged while being transported and hence the delay shouldn't last long.

Source: Engadget