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Walmart Will be Offering Exclusive Skylanders Trap Team Bundles Soon

Posted by Jessica Fisher on October 8th, 2014

On November 1, Walmart will be offering an exclusive Mini “Buddy Pack” for Skylanders Trap Team along with a “Meet the Minis” experience. You can get Hog Wild Fryno and Small Fry in the buddy pack, as well as trading cards and sticker sheets with secret codes.

For the Meet the Minis experience, the retail giant will post signs around their stores that have codes for the Collection Vault app. These codes will unlock five minis and other exclusive content such as wallpaper, videos and images.

So visit your local Walmart on November 1 to get your trap on.

Want a Free Booster Pack for Pokemon TCG Online? Yeah You Do. FREE! Buy now!

Want a Free Booster Pack for Pokemon TCG Online? Yeah You Do.

Posted by Rob Rich on October 7th, 2014
iPad App - Designed for iPad
Our rating: starstarstarstarstar :: HOW IT SHOULD BE :: Read Review »

Pokemon TCG Online marks the first official release of a Pokemon game on iOS, and our initial impressions have been rather positive to boot. No doubt many of you have already begun building your decks and hunting for rare cards - and if it's indeed cards you're after, then we have a treat for you.

We've gotten our mitts on a special code available only for 148Apps readers, which can be redeemed in-game (across all versions) for a free booster pack - and reading this makes you a 148Apps reader, so hurray for you! This random booster may include cards from a number of recent expansions, such as Black & White - Legendary Treasures, XY, XY - Flashfire, or XY - Furious Fists.

Just input the code 148APPS-PLAYS-POKEMON-TCGO (valid for 1 use per game account) and you're all set. But don't dawdle - the code will expire this Friday, October 10.

If you haven't downloaded Pokemon TCG Online yet, you can grab it off the App Store now for free. Oh, and let us know if you get anything good!

Puzzle & Dragons and Clash of Clans Gets a Second Collaboration Event FREE! Buy now!

Puzzle & Dragons and Clash of Clans Gets a Second Collaboration Event

Posted by Andrew Stevens on October 22nd, 2013
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: TOASTY :: Read Review »

Here we go again! Are you ready for a second collaboration between Gungho's Puzzle & Dragons and Supercell's Clash of Clans? From now until Sunday, October 27, Puzzle & Dragons players are able to access a Clash of Clans-themed dungeon that features a grand battle against The Crimson Dragon, six unique monsters, and four levels of difficulty.

Now go battle that Crimson Dragon and show it who's the boss!

The Real Reason AppGratis Was Pulled - Selling Top 10 Placement

Posted by Jeff Scott on April 10th, 2013

When AppGratis CEO Simon Dawlat spoke out about AppGratis being pulled from the App Store, he said he was shocked about the reasons the app was pulled. We learned today via marketing emails forwarded to us from potential clients of AppGratis what the real reason it was pulled could be.

With over 12 million users when the app was pulled, AppGratis had a bit of a mob going with their app. The large number of users allowed them to drive massive numbers of downloads to a targeted app quickly. It called this ability to drive large amounts of downloads at a rapid pace "bursting." Bursting allowed them to make the app rise in the charts at sometimes phenomenal rates. In the slide below, from late last year, they show off a few of their successful campaigns.

The large number of users gave AppGratis effective control of the App Store Top 10 Free Apps list. To grow that number of users organically is a commendable thing. But to use that control to sell top 10 placement on the App Store is unquestionably bad for the App Store ecosystem.

In an email forwarded to me by one potential customer of AppGratis, the sales representative touts:

With around 4 million users we reach high amount of downloading that translates in to the best top list rankings on the App Store.

The sales rep goes on to list the countries that AppGratis has enough users in to push an app to the top charts and the position on the charts those users can drive.

Apple has made moves in the past to keep the App Store, especially the top 10 lists, as organic as possible. This recent move comes as no surprise, especially in the light of AppGratis selling their influence on the top 10 list on a per install basis.

We've contacted AppGratis' PR agency for comment, but at the time of this writing we have yet to hear back. We've also contacted Apple for comment. We'll update or follow up with another post if we hear back.

Gameloft Celebrates 10th Anniversary with 10 Free Games!

Posted by Jeff Scott on May 10th, 2010

Gameloft will kick off a celebration of their 10th Anniversary with a promotion they call iPhone Happy Hour giving away free games for all! For this great celebration, Gameloft will set one of their games to FREE for two hours each day for 10 days. That means 10 free games, if you are on your toes.

To find out the free games first, follow Gameloft on Twitter. I suggest you set the notifications on Twitter to send you a text message when they update to get the notice as quickly as possible.

We don't know what games will be free, but we can expect them to be some of their big ones considering the importance of this celebration. The celebration starts today, so what are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow Gameloft!

Black Friday - App Sales Galore

Posted by Jeff Scott on November 25th, 2009

Updated :: 11/27, 1:09pm Pacific - Final (?) update. 284 total sale items, 34 of them free!
Updated :: 11/27, 11:59am Pacific - Added 12 more.
Updated :: 11/27, 10:51am Pacific - Added Gameloft NFL 2010, few more.
Updated :: 11/27, 10:25am Pacific - Added another 10+ games.
Updated :: 11/27, 9:42am Pacific - Added GPS apps, dozens more. Time to get buying.
Updated :: 11/26, 10:08pm Pacific - Added Com2uS games, and 30 others. Too much pie. Must sleep.
Updated :: 11/26, 10:55am Pacific - Added 20+ from the night before. Happy Thanksgiving!
Updated :: 11/25, 11:38pm Pacific - added a bunch of games from Namco and more.

Every year on Black Friday, retailers put things on huge discount. It's become a tradition to have "Door-Buster" sales to get people out and shop on this day that retailers traditionally first turn a profit for the year. Well, the app store is no different. App developers big and small are putting their apps on sale for the holiday weekend.

We'll try to update this a few times over the holiday weekend, it's a good way to escape the in-laws.

Don't forget to come back on Friday as that's when a bunch of the following go on sale.

A whole bunch of ifs, ands, or buts.

These apps are the sale items that we have been notified about or have found. Some of these items may not be on sale yet, but we've been told they are going to be on sale. The prices do change at any time and do change quickly - developers are tricky that way. Some are on sale for the weekend, others for only Black Friday. If the app you want isn't showing up as on sale, I'd check back Friday.

Because prices change so quickly, we can't always update things to show the correct prices below. We like to take a break and eat pumpkin pie too you know. Click through to the App Store to see the current up-to-the-second prices. And if you see something you like, at a price you like, grab it immediately as it may not stay on sale as long as you would hope.

It's quite possible that we missed a few sale apps - I blame the tryptophan. So, head on over to our iPhone App Price Drops for the constantly updating full list of app price drops. Also, if you are just interested in apps that have gone free, check out our Twitter stream for @148Apps_nowfree - you don't have to sign up to Twitter to see the newly free apps.

GPS Apps

All of the best GPS apps are on sale. CoPilot started it out by dropping to $20, Navigon followed by dropping to $70, then TomTom matched the price from Navigon. Magellan is now the highest priced at $80. What will they do? It's a good time to be in the market for an iPhone GPS solution.

Com2uS

Com2uS has joined the fund by reducing the prices of all of their games to only $0.99.

Namco

Namco has surprised us with an early present and put most of their games on sale. Some of the classic are at amazing prices. I'm in retro heaven!

EA Mobile

EA Mobile has put just about every single game they have released on sale. Each one maked down up to 50%. These go back to normal price on 11/29.

Gameloft

Gameloft, unlike EA, are putting some of their underperforming games on sale. But the good news is that they are nearly giving them away at only $0.99. Some really good bargains in there. I highly recommend Blades of Fury if you are at all into the Street Fighter genre. These go back to normal price on 11/29.

In addition, Gang Star, West Coast Hustle recently went on sale.

Konami

Konami jumped the gun a little and put a bunch of games on sale last week. But we're not mad at them because they are all just $0.99!

IUGO

IUGO has put a bunch of their games on sale for Thanksgiving and to celebrate the release of their new Wario world like mini-game collection, A.D.D. Highly recommended titles below include Zombie Attack, Zombie Attack Second Wave, and Star Hogs.

Pangea

Pangea, have put a bunch of their great games on sale. If you like puzzle games, make sure you pick up Enigmo and Enigmo 2.

But wait, there's more. Hit the jump to see oh, about a gazillion more.

Continue reading Black Friday - App Sales Galore »

Handmark / Astraware Tries the Sale Angle

Posted by Jeff Scott on February 7th, 2009

Handmark / Astraware have put a few of their applications on sale for a limited time. They are the latest in a long line of developers trying to use limited time price drops to increase sales. It's an interesting promotion. But one that some developers have strong argument against it working.

No matter the impact, it's the easiest way for developers to get a little promotion for their apps. They appear all over the internet on the price drops pages, like our price drops list.

Highlights from the Handmark / Astraware sale include the recently release Westward, a real time strategy game, Astraware Sudoku, and also the recently released helicopter shooter, Hellfire.

100sounds Developer Tries $1,000 Giveaway $0.99 Buy now!

100sounds Developer Tries $1,000 Giveaway

Posted by Jeff Scott on February 1st, 2009
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Todd Bernhard from No Tie Software wrote us to let us know about an interesting contest they are running to promote their app 100sounds. We're always interested in new methods app developers use to help raise awareness of their apps. With $10 prizes to 100 video producers, this one should help raise the hype behind the app.

The contest works like this -- the first 100 people to produce and send in a video of how they use 100sounds will get a $10 iTunes Gift Certificate. This offer is good for 100 days or until 100 videos are received. In addition, particularly creative video producer can also win additional prizes such as cases and headphones.

It's an interesting promotion, and we wish them all the best! For more information on the contest and info on how to enter, head on over to http://www.notiesoftware.com/

App Cubby Trying $0.99 + Donation App Pricing

Posted by Jeff Scott on January 22nd, 2009

App Cubby developer David Barnard contacted us today to let us know he's a little frustrated with the pricing in the app store. As prices trend toward $0.99, many developers are feeling the crunch. And while he thinks the app store itself is pretty sound, he wants to try a different pricing option.

On the subject app store pricing, and $0.99 apps in particular, David had this to say:

We're not complaining at the existence of $0.99 apps. We're frustrated that artificial market forces are driving down the price of apps, which in turn drives down the perceived value of the products we have invested significant time and money to create. Marketing can help, but it’s throwing good money after bad if the market discourages charging a fair price for an app.

The new method he's going to try is to price all of his apps at $0.99 -- and if you think they are worth more, head on over to his donation page and tip him what you think they are worth.

It's in interesting direction to take. All of the App Cubby apps are fantastic and worth well more than $0.99. But will people pay more? I hope so. Will Apple kick him out of the iTunes App Store for doing this? Doubtful -- really not that much different than e-book sellers or other apps with extra costs or subscriptions after the app sale.

If you are interested in iTunes App Store pricing, the blog over at App Cubby has some great thoughts on the matter. Highly recommended reading. [ AppCubby Blog ]

We wish David luck with this experiment. I hope it goes well. Take a look at the AppCubby apps, they are all very easy to recommend at $0.99. And maybe, if you like them, head on over and donate something extra.

United Lemur Announce $30,000 Cash Promotion Tied to First App Release

Posted by Jeff Scott on October 20th, 2008

United Lemur's first iPhone app, Puzzllotto will officially be available Wednesday. The details of the huge promotion tied to the release that Mike Lee of United Lemur can be announced now. The first person to finish the game could win up to $30,000 USD if they finish it in the first 30 days.

The app, Puzzllotto, available in the app store starting Wednesday at $4.99 is a puzzle game with the game play and the goal being unknown at the start. Discovery of that is all part of the exploration aspect of the game. Similar to Myst in that aspect, it’s all up to the player to figure out.

The huge announcement today has to do with the prize that goes to the player that finishes the game first. The winner gets a progressive prize pool that could reach as high as $30,000 US.

The contest prize starts out at $0 on the first day of the app's release (10/22). From there it goes up by $1,000 per day, each day at noon pacific time with a max of $30,000. The first person to beat it gets all of the money, a trophy, and the title of Puzzllotto Champion. If no one beats the game by the 31st day (11/19 at noon), then the contest will end and the money will be donated to United Lemur's charity of choice, Madagascar Fauna Group.

Prize progression:
Date :: Prize amount
10/22 :: App available
10/23 :: $1,000 USD
10/24 :: $2,000 USD
10/25 :: $3,000 USD
10/26 :: $4,000 USD
10/27 :: $5,000 USD
...
10/31 :: $9,000 USD
11/01 :: $10,000 USD
...
11/20 :: $29,000 USD
11/21 :: $30,000 USD
11/22 :: Prize donated to Madagascar Fauna Group

This promotion marks the first large scale prize-based promotion we've seen for an iPhone app. While other companies have tried smaller cash prizes, this promotion has the possibility to be very large. Good luck everyone -- let us know how you are doing in the comments below or via Twitter.

We've included the full press release and some pictures of the app after the break.

Continue reading United Lemur Announce $30,000 Cash Promotion Tied to First App Release »

Puzzllotto, First Release From United Lemer Due Monday

Posted by Jeff Scott on October 18th, 2008

Puzzllotto the first release from United Lemur is due to be released Monday with a huge promotion attached. While the game briefly showed up in the App Store tonight, it quickly disappeared. The game itself is puzzle based set in an amazingly lush jungle. The actual method of game play and the goal is unknown at the start -- it's all part of the exploration aspect of the game. Similar to Myst in that aspect, it's all up to the player to figure out. What is known is that the first person to finish the game is in for a big surprise.

We got a chance to play with a pre-release version of this game and the graphics and sounds are fantastic. The sounds have been provided by the amazing Dr. Douglas Quin -- who also did the sounds for EA's Spore. While the graphics have been done by Louie Mantia who made many of the Tapulous apps look so goodDavid Lanham. While we'd like to say that we don't want to ruin the surprise on how the game is played, the truth is we haven't spent enough time with it yet to figure it out.

While we can't tell you everything we know about the promotion that's backing this game's release -- well not until the embargo is lifted, hopefully Monday, United Lemur has set up an amazingly huge promotion lined up for this first release. The name of the app may give you some clue as to the direction, but you will be amazed at the details.

One small clue from the description of the game in the App Store:

Be the first to uncover its secrets and claim the title and trophy of the Puzzllotto Champion. The malevolent spirits are all in your head, but the fun—and the treasure—are real.

United Lemur, you may remember, is the group of veteran developers many of whom were most recently at Tapulous. After a few of them left the company, Mike Lee formed United Lemur as a socially conscious indie development house.

Check back Monday for more on the game and the promotion. Until then, keep hitting this URL as you might be able to get it early and get a head start.