PocketGamer.biz Week That Was: LINE hits 300 million, Barry Meade talks The Room 2, and Glu eyes up Google Glass
The past 7 days in bite-sized portions
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As those in the United States were reminded this week, it's important to give thanks for what we have.
Whether you're a big company or a small studio, QA team member or head developer, we all have unprecedented freedom when it comes to how we choose to spend our free time and money.
There are more games being released in a month than we'll likely ever have time to play in our lives, and - despite the competition - we should be thankful for this surge of content which we can access on a growing number of mobile platforms.
So pull the leftover turkey out of the fridge, stick it in the microwave, and catch up on the week that was as the timer ticks down to zero.
PG Connects- Looking to get a leg up on the mobile gaming market? Want some advice on how best to bring your game to the east (or west?) be sure to check out our first-ever conference, PG Connects, in London this January where Halfbrick, Storm8, and Kakao have joined our already robust list of speakers.
- Japanese messaging app LINE continues to grow, and now boasts over 300 million users worldwide.
- Meanwhile, Korea-based messaging app KakaoTalk continues to dominate as Yooii Studios' CEO said its impossible to crack the Korean Top 10 without Kakao.
- Proving that it's truly the 'third ecosystem', Windows Phone developer support is set to double in 2014.
- And it's easy to take smartphones for granted, but Glu Mobile think Google Glass could trigger another 'iPhone moment' for gaming.
- Looking to build a successful Clash of Clans clone? Our Monetizer this week took a look at how you need to overcome the 'third builder' problem to achieve success.
- And speaking of Clash of Clans, we also examined where it's going wrong in China.
- While our Charticle for the week examined Jelly Splash for KakaoTalk, to see if it's matching its US success in Korea.
- Fireproof’s Barry Meade shared some insight on The Room 2 and said developers shouldn't be embarrassed about chasing a 'gaming classic'.
- Meanwhile, Carter Dotson of 148Apps said it's high time to stop blaming Apple and Google for poor app discovery.
- Our Mobile Mavens tackled the issue of investment, to see if it's worth sacrificing freedom for the sake of funding.
- And the Newbie Mobile Gamer falls for Simogo's DEVICE 6, citing its intelligent design - and lack of F2P monetisation - as major selling points.
- During our recent Mobile Mixer in San Francisco, Applifier's VP of business development said that it's pointless to spend $100,000 just to land in the top 10.
- Also from that Mixer, Google's Koh Kim let slip that 2/3 of Google Play's revenue comes from outside of the United States.
- And speaking of the US, Xyrality's MD believes American gamers are less patient than their European counterparts - so plan your approach accordingly.
- Throwing dollars at your UA budget? Tradmob thinks you should knock it off and focus on re-targeting your campaigns instead.
- Although there's good news if you're going the traditional UA route. AppLift's CEO Kaya Taner believes we've entered into the non-intrusive age of user acquisition.
- If you're looking for new users to court, China seems a safe bet. Research from The NPD Group suggests that 3 in 10 smartphones will be bought in China in a matter of years.
- Gamevil continued its acquisition campaign, as it extended its investment to fully acquire Monster Warlord developer, Everple.
- And King announced the opening of its second German office this week, with its new location to open in Berlin in the early part of 2014.
- After deposing CEO Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry lost its COO, CMO, and CFO in one fell swoop.
- While Kabam's COO Chris Carvalho announced that he'll be stepping down from his post at the end of the year.