PocketGamer.biz Week That Was: The Apple gamepad, Facebook Home and the game that nearly broke Halfbrick
The past 7 days in bite-sized portions
Last week, PocketGamer.biz exclusively reported that Apple is working on a dedicated gaming controller. This week, we've been pondering exactly what that could mean.
For Pocket Gamer editor-in-chief Kristan Reed, it's an obvious next step, and the positive response to this report suggests that there are plenty of devs out there who would be keen to support such a device.
And while controller peripherals have been a niche offering to date, an official model - with Apple TV support - could see iOS gaming reach TVs, effectively creating a console with unprecedented developer support.
You could argue that touch screen games won't transition well to bigger screens and joypads, but iOS developers have proven themselves adaptable in the past - updating builds for new hardware on a regular basis.
For some, tweaking a build for controller support would be a relatively small investment of time, and given the scale of the opportunity on offer, it's one many would be willing to make.
But that's quite enough pondering for now. Instead, let's take a look back at the last seven days of mobile gaming news, interviews and features on PocketGamer.biz.
Platform wars- Nvidia's Tony Tamasi claims the next generation of smartphones will outperform the PS3 and Xbox 360.
- The latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel suggest that Windows Phone is beating BlackBerry in the battle for third place.
- V-Play co-founder Christian Feldbacher extols the virtues of his company's game engine, claiming it's unrivalled for the speedy creation of 2D titles.
- As Disney looks increasingly to mobile instead of console, the company shuts down in-house development at LucasArts.
- Mark Zuckerberg unveils Facebook Home, a social skin for Android smartphones.
- Former Call of Duty creative strategist Robert Bowling discusses mobile's "terrifying" but "proven" free-to-play future.
- EA All Play general manager Nick Earl claims the "market has spoken" on free-to-play.
- Rovio reveals that its full year revenue for 2012 is up 101 percent to $201 million – and the company's largest growth area is now the sale of consumer goods.
- Halfbrick CCO Luke Muscat explains Tank Turn Tactics – the prototype that almost tore the studio apart.
- Freemium versus premium bickering is pointless, argues Applifier's Oscar Clark. The real shift is to games as a service.
- Pocket Gems CEO Ben Liu explains how the firm measures retention rates in its free-to-play games.
- Twitter announces changes its mobile app, introducing features that could open up new sharing and user acquisition options for mobile game developers.
- In this edition of the chart of the week, a case study from Tapjoy and 5th Planet shows how incentivised users can sometimes be more valuable than organic ones.
- Cosmocover's John Tyrrell explains how small developers can master mobile games PR.
- Pocket Gamer editor-in-chief Kristan Reed gives his take on the news that Apple is working on an official gaming joypad, concluding that "the games market is there for the taking is Apple wants it."
- PocketGamer.biz editor Keith Andrew reflects on GDC 2013, calling it "the industry event you can attend without a ticket."
- Indie developer Byron Atkinson-Jones tells us how the Beyond the Final Boss project is giving hope to bullied children.
- NimbleBit's Ian Marsh shares the NimbleDos and NimbleDon'ts of mobile game development.