Tag: GREE »

I went to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year for the first time. The event is a sprawling, industry-level spectacle with huge press conferences during the first couple of days and then a ton of booth appointments and special behind-closed-doors meetings for industry insiders and outsiders alike.

The surprising thing to me this year was the prevalence of mobile gaming across all strata of the gaming conference, from heavy hitter console makers like Microsoft to newcomers with tons of cash, like Korean-based WeMade Games. In addition to stalwart, veteran publishers like Disney, EA / Chillingo and Gree, there were iPad and iPhone games on offer from traditional console game companies like Majesco (Legends of Loot, Sci Fi Heroes), Ubisoft (Watch Dogs with cross-play to iPad, Assassin's Creed: Utopia), and Square-Enix (Final Fantasy Dimensions).

Even Microsoft got into the act with SmartGlass, a new initiative that will let users control their Xbox consoles from their iPads, with the potential to interact on a game by game level in the near future. I'm pretty excited about this concept, to be honest.

Similarly, Sony Online Entertainment demoed Planetside 2, a massively multiplayer online first person shooter for the PC, with a killer feature: the iPad app that comes along with it. This app will let users voice chat (!!) in real time (!!!) with other faction members, access maps that are synced with live servers, and see a ton of info about weapons, armor, etc. Pretty darn slick, if you ask me.

And don't get me started about the brobdingnagian and competing mobile publishing booths placed a small walkway apart from each other on the show floor. Juggernaut Gree had a booth bigger than many small countries, with Korean-based newcomer WeMade Games a tiny Angry Birds slingshot distance away. Ignoring the games for a moment, the two companies vied for attention with bright lights, attractively clad women, and - in Gree's case - drink coupons for an on-site bar.

All in all, E3 was a blast, and incredibly instructive. Console makers, PC game publishers, and the folks from Japan and Korea have it figured out: iOS gaming is here to stay.

Bienvenidos! This week at 148Apps.com we started our Cinco de Mayo celebrations early with a special "Favorite Four" apps review from Kevin Stout. Along with several foodie apps, Stout writes, "It can’t hurt to brush up on the history of Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo: The Battle of Puebla provides users with a detailed video on both the Battle of Puebla, the military victory that led to the traditional celebration on May 5th, and the history of the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The videos include accompanying text for users impatient users that want to read ahead. The app also includes two games, a quiz and a paint game, that can be unlocked for an in-app purchase of $0.99. But the app is free and so are both videos."

Read about all of Kevin's picks at 148Apps.com.

Amy Solomon, over at GiggleApps, writes in her review of Bean Bag Kids Present Pinocchio that, "This app, as the name implies, is a retelling of the classic story of Pinocchio, about a puppet carved from wood by a lonely wood carver who wishes that one day this puppet could become a real boy. Here each actor is played by a bean bag dressed in costume as this application is styled as a live performance that one is watching, complete with red velvet curtain and other theatre details. The adaptation of this story is very nicely done, including the use of excellent narration, as is the choice to underline the text as the words are being spoken – a very nice touch that will aid young readers in following along as these words are being read."

Read all of Amy's review at GiggleApps.com.

Finally, 148Apps.biz site founder Jeff Scott writes about the latest project from OpenFeint founder Jason Citron, saying, "Jason Citron, founder of Aurora Feint / Open Feint, which sold to Japan based social games company GREE recently for $104M, just announced his new mobile games-based startup, Phoenix Guild.

Phoenix Guild will be focused on creating multiplayer games in a post-PC world. Think MMOs on your iPhone and iPad. He plans on focusing on games that would appeal to core gamers. Sounds like just what we need in a world that has nearly reached the saturation point with variations on Farmville."

Read more about Phoenix Guild on 148Apps.biz.

The week may have ended, but there's more content to come from 148Apps. Just follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook to keep track of the latest news, reviews and contests. Until next week, keep your Avengers assembling!

Social gaming company GREE is on quite the roll as of late.  Those of you that have been following this space for any length of time should remember this name as the company that snapped up cross-platform gaming juggernaut OpenFeint back in April of last year for a reported $104 million.  Since then the company has obviously continued to build on their current portfolio, announcing today that they have acquired Crime City developer Funzio for a reported $210 million.

The move seems to fall right in line with GREE's current stable of cross-platform social games.  Among the other titles that will now bear the GREE name will be Modern War and Kingdom Age, both of which already have their own established followings. This will help move the publisher one step closer to their goal of one billion worldwide users.  We can only assume that this will be followed by them running for public office and executing their plans for world domination.  Watch your back, they could be coming for your favorite social game next!

GREE's push into the US continues with a new game, Alien Family. This is the second GREE-developed title for the US, after last week's Zombie Jombie. GREE claims that where Zombie Jombie was aimed more at a core gamer crowd, Alien Family is intended more for a casual crowd.

Players build a village of aliens on Earth, bringing in a variety of colorful aliens to live in their village. They do this by building homes and facilities, farming for resources, and exploring for new aliens. Players will send off UFOs that will bring in new aliens, that they can then power up using the Fuse Machine to send them off to explore for new aliens, in order to help create the best alien village possible.

Zombie Jombie had a solid launch for GREE, reaching #9 on the top free games chart, and #37 on the top grossing chart. Despite being new to the market, their promotional methods appear to be already in high gear, and with a more casual title, those numbers could increase. Alien Family is available now.

Japanese developer GREE has been looking to make a splash in the US, and today we just learned about the company's first US-developed game, Zombie Jombie. The title will be a card-based game featuring zombies and humans but with a unique twist; this time the zombies are the good guys.

According to GREE players will build a deck of cards which they can use to battle evil human bosses and their friends while completing quests in levels based on major US cities. Players can upgrade their decks by finding treasure chests, trading with friends or even fusing cards together to enhance their powers. GREE is promising an exceptional amount of customization as well as the promise that no two decks will be the same.

GREE is positioning the game as "made in the US, for a US audience," so we'll soon see just how in tune they are with this market's sensibilities. We're excited to see how the launch goes and are looking forward to trying Zombie Jombie out for ourselves.

This week, April 17-24, Japanese company GREE announced a $104 million acquisition of OpenFeint, the social gaming network that operates similarly to Apple Game Center. For consumers, this meanss "faster SDK updates, awesome new products, and network improvements" (official press release). 148Apps Founder Jeff Scott comments "this acquisition seems to be a win for both parties and will allow OpenFeint to continue to do the great work that they do while letting GREE better benefit from that."

In other news, Final Fantasy users can rejoice with gladness, for the third instalment of the popular game is now available to download natively on the iPad. "The iPad version of the game features improved 3D visuals and the touch screen controls have been adjusted specifically for the iPad" writes Phillip Levin. "Today, many consider Final Fantasy III to be one of the greatest RPGs of all time." Follow the link below to get stuck in.

You Don't Know Jack picked up the latest Editor's Choice badge at 148Apps. The comical application that tests how smart you really are, by asking you inquisitive questions designed to question what you've perhaps always thought to be true. "Simply put, You Don’t Know Jack is the kind of experience that not only stretches the mind with challenge, but inversely massages it with humor to ease the blow of defeat" writes Blake Grundman. "Buy it for that know-it-all in your life, because sometimes it is just too much fun to see a person put in their place. Rest assured that it will be fun for all parties involved."

You may remember in last week's column that I mentioned Tweetbot, the new and exciting application designed to challenge the official Twitter app. Since then, Jeff Scott has taken it for an in-depth test drive and is suitably impressed. "Tweetbot does everything you’d expect a Twitter client to do ... [and] has a few great unique features aimed mainly at saving you some time [like new gestures]." Although it isn't perfect, with some animation lag and lack of response at times, Jeff has "been using Tweetbot exclusively on [his] iPhone for almost a week now. Now this review is done, [he] will stick with it."

Episode 81 of The Portable Podcast is available to download, featuring guests Dave Castelnuovo from Bolt Creative. Host Carter Dotson and Dave discuss the mobile industry and the questionable freemium price model that some developers have scrapped in favour of traditional pricing models.

That's all for this week! 148Apps wishes you a happy spring holiday of your choosing, and we encourage you to check back frequently for the latest reviews and news when it comes to iOS and your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. See you soon!