Inside mobile apps news roundup: GDC 2013, Windows Phone, Uber and more

PlayJam will begin shipping GameStick dev units next week -- PlayJam, the creators of the Android-based games console GameStick, showed off the GameStick Storefront, running on a GameStick development unit at the Game Developers Conference this week, and also announced that developers can get their hands on the GameStick dev unit and free GameStick SDK starting next week. The GameStick will be launching with compatibility for 50 games in various genres, with titles like Riptide GP, Shadowgun and Smash Cops, as well as media apps like XBMC and Netflix. GameStick's business model is revenue share-based, splitting revenues 70-30 from any in-app purchases or upfront premium price of an app. The GameStick plus a controller will run for $79, and $99 for the GameStick, controller and connectivity dock. Look for a full retail launch in a couple of months. EA Mobile shows off upcoming mobile titles -- Earlier this week at the Game Developers Conference, Inside Mobile Apps got their hands on three upcoming mobile titles from Electronics Arts, including TMi Trivia, Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar and Tetris Blitz. Trivia game TMi Trivia, which is set to launch in spring for iOS, features asynchronous multiplayer and trivia content that remains fresh, receiving new questions often from sources like Variety, Spin and a user's own Facebook friends. Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, a spiritual successor to Ultima 4, is a synchronous co-op RPG for iOS, featuring dungeon crawling and tons of loot collecting. We were told the game is "coming soon." Puzzle game Tetris Blitz is a new Tetris game that adds a twist to the Tetris formula, altering gameplay into short rounds of Tetris in two-minute bursts, with usable power ups. Look for it in the spring. Mega Run launching April 4 for Android -- Canadian mobile game developer Get Set Games announced that it will launch auto-running platformer Mega Run for Android on April 4. The game, which first released for iOS, is packed with 80 levels across five worlds. Read our review for the iOS version here. Glu Launches Frontline Commando: D-Day -- Mobile game developer Glu Mobile celebrated 35 million downloads of Frontline Commando with the launch of a sequel, Frontline Commando: D-Day. The World War II third-person shooter is free to download from Google Play and the iTunes App Store. You can read our full review of the game here. Square Enix launches Mini Ninja’s -- Game developer Square Enix launched its Mini Ninjas game on iOS. Other games in the Mini Ninjas franchise were previously released on the Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The iOS version is a runner game featuring the cartoon ninja characters and is priced at $0.99. Into the Dead rises on Android -- PikPok’s first-person zombie-themed endless runner game is now available to download for free on Google Play. You can read our full (and favorable) review of the previously released iOS version of the game game here. Windows Store grows its game lineup -- Microsoft has announced a list of new games that were released on the Windows Store during GDC or will be released in the upcoming weekend. New titles include PopCap’s Bejeweled, Glu’s Samurai vs. Zombies, Disney’s Temple Run Brave, GameHouse’s Emily’s Wonder Wedding and more. Sega announces Puzzle Pirates for tablets -- Game developer and publisher Sega announced that it will release developer Three Ring’s Puzzle Pirates on the iPad and Android tablets in the spring and summer of 2013. The tablet version of the game will feature full cross-platform play with the currently available versions of the game for PC, Linux and Mac. Sherpa raises $1.1M in seed funding -- Techcrunch is reporting that predictive intelegence app for iPhone raised $1.1 million in seed funding from Andreesen Horowitz, Google Ventures, InterWest Partners, Merus Capital, Innovation Endeavors and AngelPad. The hasn’t released yet but users can sign up for the beta here. Uber launches on BlackBerry, Windows Phone -- Uber, the app which lets you order and pay for a personal driver has launched on BlackBerry and Windows Phone. The app was at the same time updated on Android to include Forsquare integration and the latest improvements from the iOS update in December.

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Inside mobile apps news roundup: GDC 2013, Windows Phone, Uber and more

Emanuel Maiberg

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Emanuel Maiberg