Nintendo has teamed up with Japanese mobile game company DeNA to bring Nintendo’s popular characters to smartphones and tablets. DeNA and Nintendo plan to build an online gaming service that will be introduced this fall. However, Nintendo has not completely abandoned its strategy to build games for its own hardware. The company is also working on its next game console, codenamed the NX, which may be unveiled next year. It may possibly incorporate VR or media services offerings. Continue reading Nintendo Will Make Mobile Games Through New Partnership

Video game-centric website Twitch, recently acquired by Amazon for close to $1 billion, now has a global audience of 60 million users. The audience is passionate, consuming 16 billion minutes of video per month. The site seems to be an ideal way for advertisers to reach the young male demographic, between ages 18 and 30. However, televised sports content remains a viable method for reaching this audience, and advertisers have not yet shifted in preference from TV to online gaming. Continue reading Advertisers Still Favor Televised Sports Over Online Gaming

The world championship for the biggest e-sport in the world, “League of Legends,” starts in South Korea this weekend. About 40,000 fans are expected to fill the stadium to watch the tournament live while at least another 30 million will watch the games online. Riot Games runs the League of Legends World Championship along with the online broadcasting, and by producing a premium sporting experience for players, Riot Games may make upwards of $1 billion in 2014. Continue reading Free ‘League of Legends’ Game May Make $1 Billion This Year

Social gaming company Zynga is releasing gambling games in the UK, where online gambling is legal. Zynga has partnered with British online gambling company Bwin.party to introduce gambling games for Facebook and mobile devices. The gambling titles plan to leverage the popular social and mobile aspects of online games. The partnership may also be a sign that others will enter the online gambling market. Continue reading Zynga Turns Social Games to Online Gambling on Facebook

Electronic Arts’ long awaited release of “SimCity,” the first new edition in 10 years, was abruptly halted two weeks ago when servers gave out, unable to handle the influx of gamers. “SimCity” was not designed with an offline mode, and recovery efforts have been challenging. Since the launch, both EA and developer Maxis have been working hard to fix the situation and communicate its ongoing efforts with gamers. Continue reading EA and Maxis Defend MMO After SimCity Launch Problems

After the the $99 Android-powered TV game console Ouya attracted more than 63,000 Kickstarter backers last year, many independent game developers are creating games for the device, including mobile developers who want to make the jump to televisions. The system will ship to initial backers on March 28, ahead of the public launch in June, and many developers are preparing to see their games on TVs for the first time. Continue reading New Ouya Game Console Attracts Independent Developers