Mobile app news roundup: Oink, Charadium and Bethesda

Bethesda getting into iOS development -- Bethesda, the AAA console developer know for its hits Fallout 3 and Skyrim, is hiring iOS programmers to work in the studio’s Rockville office. IMGA Winner Charadium Pro goes free -- On5’s pictionary style game Charadium is going free for a limited time to celebrate the game’s win at the 8th annual International Mobile Game awards. The game picked up the prize for Best Social Game. Independent Games Festival winner One and One Story pirated on App Store -- Gamasutra is reporting Mattia Traverso’s One and One Story, the Student Showcase winner from the 2012 Independent Games Festival, has been pirated on the App Store by Vietnamese developer AFOLI. JSC. He has filed a takedown request with Apple. Phosphor Games backtracks on free-to-play plans for The Dark Meadow -- Phosphor games has cancelled plans to convert its atmospheric horror game, The Dark Meadow, to a free-to-play title after fan outcry. According to Pocket Gamer, the developers will now be releasing an all new, freemium version, that will stand alongside the older, paid app. Callaway to make three more Sesame Street apps -- Callaway Digital arts has signed a deal with Sesame Workshop to produce three more apps based on the Sesame Street brand. The companies previously collaborated for the apps The Monster at the End of This Book and Another Monster at the End of This Book. Oink shutdown after four months, Milk team heads to Google -- Oink, the mobile app that allowed users to rank and review a variety of items and places, has been shut down after four months. Milk, the team behind the app (lead by Kevin Rose) are headed to Google, reports VentureBeat. Paypal gets into mobile payments market -- Paypal has officially entered the hot mobile payments market, unveiling a new triangular credit card reader (similar to competitor Square’s square shaped attachment) that will allow it to process mobile payments and an app called PayPal Local. Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II will be cross platform between Xbox Live and Windows Phone -- Sega’s upcoming title, Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II will feature cross platform play between Windows Phone and Xbox Live, reports WPCentral. Xbox Live integration is one of the main selling features for Windows Phone, but so far Sega’s game is the first true cross-platform title on the system. The game will also be available on iOS, Android and PlayStation 3. Gameloft to release licensed Ice Age game for Fox -- Gameloft has announced a partnership with Fox Digital Entertainment to release Ice Age Village, a game based of Fox’s Ice Age series of movies. The game will be released this spring in advance of the release of the fourth Ice Age movie, Ice Age: Continental Drift. Gameloft has previously released games based on the Shrek, Iron Man, Avatar and Tintin movies, among others. Apple shares hit $600 -- Apple’s shares briefly rose above $600 on March 15 in anticipation of the new iPad launch. By the time of writing, they had dipped back down to $585.57. The company’s market cap is now $546 billion dollars. GMT Games’ Commands & Colors coming to iOS -- GMT Games strategic board game Commands & Colors is coming to iOS as Commands & Colors: Ancients. The game is a partnership between GMT Games and Playdek. [Funding] Mobile app platform Aarki raises series A round -- Mobile app distribution platform Aarki announced a series A round of funding led by Walden Venture Capital. The amount of the round is unknown. [Launch] Mobage debuts Dreamtopia -- Ngmoco’s newest game Dreamtopia. Available now in the Google Play store, the game is a whimsical citybuilder. [Launch] Square Enix releases world’s hardest mobile game -- Square Enix is courting gamers who like to be frustrated with its latest title 774 Deaths. Currently only available as an Android app in Japan, according to Andriasang, every one of the game’s 33 stages is filled with death traps, designed to lead the player to an early grave.

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Mobile app news roundup: Oink, Charadium and Bethesda

Kathleen De Vere

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Kathleen De Vere