Tag: 8.99 »

FDG Entertainment has released the Oceanhorn "V2.5 Ultra Graphics Update" for the holidays. Now fans can enjoy super-refined graphics with ambient occlusion (really fine shading), improved lighting effects, and 60fps performance on their iPhone 6, 6 Plus, or iPad Air 2.

FDG is also holding an Oceanhorn Screenshot and Fan Art Competition where you can win an iPad Air 2. All you have to do to participate is take a cool screenshot and tweet it with the hashtag #oceanhorn before January 10, 2015. The development team will select the best entry. For more details check out their blog.

You can check out this sleek new Oceanhorn for $8.99 on the App Store.

It has been announced that the long-awaited 'Game of the Year' update for Cornfox & Brothers'/FDG Entertainment's Oceanhorn is set to arrive tomorrow (August 7).

This free update will bring several new features to the game, including the all-new Island of Whispers and a new fishing mini-game. Overall, the developers say that this update will add around four hours of content to the Zelda-esque title.

Oceanhorn is available on the App Store now for $8.99.

Shock! Horror! it turns out that Bossa Studios, whose port of Mike Bithell's Thomas Was Alone made its way onto the App Store last week, want you to actually play through the game as you're meant to.

In the version of the game that released last week, an option existed for players to skip levels, allowing them to skip straight to the end and miss out on the story of Thomas and co, as spoken by Danny Wallace. In today's update, that option has now been removed - meaning players will now have to actually "skillfully play through all of the levels to complete them rather than cheating and skipping to the end."

You too can discover how alone Thomas really was, as the game is now available for $8.99 for iPad.

Panzer Tactics HD, bitComposer Games' upcoming World War II turn-based strategy game, has had its price and release date announced. The iPad version will cost $8.99 and release on May 22. This updated version of the DS original will boast three campaigns, over thirty missions, and over 150 total units across the land, sea, and air.

The iOS-exclusive adventure game Oceanhorn has gotten a sizable update this week.

The foremost addition is iCloud support, which was added due to player feedback. Thus, it is now possible to sync game data across multiple devices. Also, there is now new localizations and language support for Russian and Korean.

We had a look at the game late last year, and mostly liked it.

Oceanhorn is available on the App Store for $8.99.

Cornfox & Bros. and publisher FDG Entertainment's Oceanhorn has been an anomaly in the rise of free-to-play games on the App Store: it's one of the few attempts at making a grand-scale game on iOS and priced at an $8.99 cost that few others have dared to try. The game's launch saw it rocket to #1 in the paid app charts and in the top 10 of the top grossing apps, bolstered not just by its App Store Editor's Choice but by a pre-release hype cycle that's rarely seen for mobile games.

Oceanhorn's price risk has paid off: the game recouped its production cost in less than a week, seemingly showing that the kind of games with high production values and premium price points can succeed on the App Store. Thomas Kern, Executive Producer of Oceanhorn at FDG Entertainment, spoke to me about the game's success at its price point.

148Apps: Why launch at $8.99, and that price point specifically? $6.99 has been a more typical "high" price for games on the App Store, and $9.99 is a more "round" number - so why $8.99? Was launching at a premium price point the plan all throughout development?
Thomas Kern (TK): We’re not setting prices on trends or from a psychological “round number” point of view. The launch price is related to the production cost and quality of the game. We got lots of emails and feedback about the price and it was all positive. People felt it was the right price and the game has done tremendously well at $8.99. We’re very happy about the success of the game.

148Apps: Was there ever any thought to making the game free-to-play, or incorporating a hybrid model like what Infinity Blade uses?
TK:The plan for this game was always to go the traditional premium route, something players are used to from game consoles or handhelds. Oceanhorn is a loving tribute to games we enjoyed in our childhood and we see it as a fan-service to offer the full experience without additional costs.

148Apps: The game was bolstered by Apple's featuring of Oceanhorn as an Editor's Choice - do you feel like the game would have done as well without this?
TK: When we launched the game it immediately shot up the charts, before Apple even featured it. It was great to see that Apple agreed with many happy users that this game is a milestone in iOS gaming so they featured it very prominently and supported the game's launch the best way they could. It seems Apple really appreciates efforts like this, after all, Oceanhorn's development time was over 2 years!

148Apps: What about the long-term prospects of the game? Can the game continue to succeed at $8.99?
TK: It does! We see very healthy sales and we’ve recouped the investment in less than a week. For us and the development team, the game is already a great success.

There is no sale to be expected, Oceanhorn will stay at $8.99 but we’ll add more content to it in 2014 so the value will become even better.

148Apps: Do you think that other games can succeed at high price points? Do you believe that Oceanhorn changed anything with the market?
TK: We’ve been contacted by many people in the industry and they’ve been surprised about the success despite the high price point. Especially because the production cost was recouped really quickly. Oceanhorn definitely proves that premium games are not dead and it’s a viable business. We can’t beat some insanely successful Free2Play game revenues, but that was not our plan. Healthy revenues don’t require a position in Top 10 Grossing.

Thanks to Thomas Kern for his time.

Hey all you rugby fans! Tru Blu Entertainment has released three new Rugby League Live 2 apps on your favorite iOS devices. You can download Rugby League Live 2 Mini Games, Rugby League Live 2 Quick Match, and Rugby League Live 2 Gold Edition, depending on what type of play you want to experience.

Make sure you check out all the rugby action in the Gold Edition trailer below!

The Incomplete Map of the Cosmic Genome is an app of wonders, letting users listen to scientists, writers, and performers express their opinions on love for the imagination and all things science. The app includes all sciences and will continue to update with additional content each month that features new ideas, people, theories, interviews, and explanations on current scientific projects.

Sounds perfect for those who enjoy the science of things, though the app description mentions that even non-sciencey people will find it entertaining. You can always find out if that's true or not, though it does cost $8.99.

Square Enix has updated Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions, adding new artwork and iCloud support. Pocket Gamer reports that Square Enix has redrawn all of the unit graphics in high resolution and has optimized the game's drawing processes for mobile devices. To go along with the update is a 50% discount on both the iPhone and iPad version of the game, dropping the prices from $18 to $8.99 on the iPad, and from $16 to $7.99 on the iPhone.