Hollywood & Games returns to Los Angeles on December 10, bringing together 250+ executives, founders, investors and decision-makers at the Grammy Museum's Clive Davis Theater. Explore the business of entertainment's biggest partnership through independent, journalist-led conversations on IP, investment, storytelling and new opportunities across gaming and Hollywood. Space is limited. Secure your seat today.
We’ve had another busy week here at GamesBeat, but you can easily see all our coverage with this convenient collection. You’ll find stories about the rise and fall of Flappy Bird, the Titanfall beta, news from Nintendo, and much more.
Who needs chocolates when you can have video game journalism?
Mobile and social
- The DeanBeat: Developers need platforms that aren’t always in flux
- Valentine’s Day is potentially bigger than Christmas for mobile gaming
- Thor: Lord of Storms publisher Animoca releases new dating sim as it crosses 220M downloads
- FlowPlay helps developers like Joju Games differentiate their social-casino titles
- Clash of Clans maker Supercell generated $892M in revenues with huge profit margin in 2013
- Mobile game portal Joyme gets $21.5M from BlueRun & Fosun
- Everyplay overcomes technical hurdles to bring gameplay recording to Android 4.1 and up
- GameOn teams with Dutch government to fund mobile-game startups
- After getting 10M users, Grantoo launches virtual goods rewards for multiplayer tournaments
- IGT hires ex-Zynga game creator to run DoubleDown Casino division
Game news
- The Evil Within will horrify us all starting Aug. 26
- Goal! Popular soccer-RPG finally hits North America
- January 2014 NPD: PlayStation 4 outsells Xbox One by 2-to-1 margin
- Xbox One versus Xbox 360: How Microsoft nimbly pivoted to execute a successful launch
- PlayStation 4 versus PlayStation 3: How Sony regrouped after its arrogant PS3 launch
- Asian companies account for nine of the top 10 game mergers and acquisitions
- AMD launches its latest low-cost graphics chip for gamers
- Asian gaming giant Nexon announces Owen Mahoney as successor to CEO
- Blizzard makes tens of thousands of arcade games available for free
- Warner Bros. Interactive cuts jobs at Infinite Crisis developer Turbine
- New consoles will drive global game business to $96 billion by 2018
- Disney starts seed-stage accelerator program for consumer and entertainment startups
- Titanfall developer working with Microsoft to ‘fix’ the Xbox One controller
- Xbox One update still under construction — it’s coming this week
- Russia’s premiere tech investor funds a cloud graphics company Otoy
- Game makers beware: Virtual goods purchases are about to be regulated
- Over 4,000 Rust players banned, claim anti-cheat program is busted
- Game-related content generated $15.39B in U.S. last year
- Xbox One getting official headphones and stereo headset adapter in March
- This adventure game has a publisher — but its fans are eager to help fund it, too (updated)
- $200 PlayStation Vita ’2000′ Borderlands 2 bundle invades U.S. this spring
- Ubisoft revenue down as expected thanks to console transition
- Indie survival sim Rust reaches 1 million in sales
- More than half of PlayStation 4 owners subscribe to PS Plus
- Watch Dogs release coming in April, May, or June
Nintendo direct
- Nintendo Direct trailer roundup: Smash Bros., Bayonetta 2, and Mario Kart 8
- Nintendo reveals its first experiments in free-to-play gaming
- Bayonetta 2 gets a new trailer but no release date
- Nintendo announces NES Remix 2
- Mario Golf: World Tour is coming May 2 — and you can play as your Mii
- Monolith Soft reveals battle gameplay for its Wii U role-playing game X
- Kirby: Triple Deluxe arrives on Nintendo 3DS this May
- Metroid Fusion, Mario & Luigi, and more GBA games coming to Wii U Virtual Console
- Punch-Out!!’s Little Mac is coming to Super Smash Bros.
The Flappy Bird saga
- Why I love and hate Flappy Bird
- How in-app review mechanics pushed Flappy Bird to the top of the charts
- Flappy Bird creator pulled it because it’s too ‘addictive’ — but gamers are still getting their fix
- The great Flappy Bird clone rush: Here comes Ironpants, FlappyDoge, and more
- eBay seeing bids of thousands of dollars for phones with Flappy Bird still on them
- Frustrated developer removes the No. 1-ranked Flappy Bird from app stores
- Flappy Bird creator says he’s pulling the game from app stores
- Flappy Bird gets an update after 50M downloads
Previews and interviews
- Comparing Titanfall’s futuristic warriors: Pilots vs. giant robots (preview)
- Infamous: Second Son increases the moral burden on your superpowered shoulders
- A peek at Supercell’s next mobile game: Boom Beach
- How Turtle Rock Studios created the 4-on-1 monster-hunting game Evolve (interview)
- Evolve is a terrifying and fun co-op monster-hunting game from the makers of Left 4 Dead (hands-on preview)
- Felicia Day and Freddie Wong talk geekdom, stereotypes, and Internet fans (interview)
- Google Niantic’s Ingress aims to make gamers thinner and more social in the real world (interview)
Reviews
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII’s armor-based combat barely makes up for its overwrought story (review)
- Strike Vector is a blast, but its flaws are major bummers (review)
Pieces of flair
- M-rated Valentine’s Day cards for your gamer sweetheart
- 25 awesome Disney Infinity Tox Boxes — and how to get yours featured (gallery)
- Community reviews spotlight: Octodad, Telltale adventure games, and Outlast
- Porn viewing increases 18 percent on PS3 on Valentine’s Day
- EA Sports reveals the best Olympic hockey players according to NHL 14
- VentureBeat hosts 6 industry-leading events in 2014 — here’s the lineup
- The String Arcade — available today — beautifully combines video game music with string instruments
- 5 games reimagined as romance novels (gallery)
- Global Gaming Initiative gets gamers to donate money for bikes in Africa
- Why mobile gaming isn’t killing consoles