Social games news roundup: Criminal Case, Super Knights and Into the Dead

Criminal Case already at 1 million DAU— Developer Pretty Simple revealed its macabre hidden object game Criminal Case is already seeing a huge amount of success. Approximately two months after the game's launch, Criminal Cases already reached 1 million daily active users and the company expects to report eight-digit revenue for the game in 2013. Pretty Simple also says it plans to open 25 new positions at its office in Paris, which will bring its staff population to 60 employees. Super Knights comes to Android [Launch] — Chillingo this week brought its mobile arcade game Super Knights to Android. Before this, the game was available on iOS. Players lead a knight on a platforming adventure as he dodges enemies while swinging through levels to save various princesses. Into the Dead digs up new update — PikPok's iOS survival horror endless runner Into the Dead just got updated to Version 1.2. The update includes new zombie theme packs, a Massacre Mode and new map layouts. You can read our review of Into the Dead here. Square Enix opens up on the difficulty of succeeding with social games— Square Enix producers Ichiro Hazama and Takehiro Ando recently spoke to Japanese game magazine Famitsu and touched on how regular success in the social games market is still a difficult feat. According to Ando, "You can do different things from consoles, but you have to make it something playable during short bursts of free time. You aren't going to see people playing your game on the phone for hours on end. So I think you really have to nail down the essence of the brand." SqueePlay using Kickstarter to fund Facebook games— Boston-based developer SqueePlay announced this week it's trying to raise $15,000 via Kickstarter to support the first of its "next generation Facebook games." The first Facebook title will be SqueeDogs, which casts players as a "puppy private eye." The campaign currently has $7,200 pledged and will end on Feb. 15. Safari Challenge combines social games and philanthropy— Desert River Games' flagship social game Safari Challenge is letting players help make players into a better place. According to Fox News, the game is going to fund initiatives in rural communities on the continent that will help provide fresh water wells, school supplies, playgrounds and homes for orphans where they're needed. GREE launches NFL Shuffle -- Game developer and publisher GREE and the NFL teamed up for NFL Shuffle, a mobile team management game which takes advantage of the NFL license. The game is available to download for free from the iTunes App Store. DeNA joins the ESA -- Japanese mobile game developer and Mobage platform operator DeNA announced that it has joined the Electronic Software Association. The news could possible mean that DeNA will more of a presence at this year’s E3.

Social Pro Daily

Social games news roundup: Criminal Case, Super Knights and Into the Dead

Mike Thompson

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mike Thompson