Pocket God: The Runs scurries to (the loo?) iPhone, iPad this spring

Pocket God The Runs
We're thinking that the pygmies of Pocket God might have more a personal problem this spring. San Francisco-based Bolt Creative announced that its net major release in its acclaimed Pocket God series will be almost a completely different game. Titled Pocket God: The Runs, this relatively fresh take on the franchise will turn the iconic game into an endless runner.

No clue what an "endless runner" is? Do us a favor and go play something like Canabalt or Halfbrick's new Jetpack Joyride, then come back and finish reading this. The team at Bolt Creative have essentially taken the mini game featured in Episode 32 of Pocket God and fleshed it out into a completely new game. And based on these early screen shots, it looks like quite a lot is in the works to give players their money's worth come spring 2012.
Pocket God The Runs in action
"Over the past few years we have explored many different ways to annihilate those poor little islanders, many of the suggestions coming from our own community of devoted followers, and the original The Runs mini game was definitely one of the more entertaining ways to dispatch Pygmies, " Bolt Creative co-founder Dave Castelnuovo said in a release. "As anticipated, The Runs proved to be quite popular and we really felt that it deserved to become its own full featured game, we're not releasing all the details on it yet but be assured that it'll fit nicely within the Pocket God universe."

Players--or pygmies--will have to run across 13 different tropical landscapes to gather the shards of an idol that will restore their immortality. Based on the creator's love of killing these little guys and gals, you can probably expect plenty of fun ways to send them on their way to pygmy purgatory. (Maybe you can break the record of 129,770,223 pygmies killed in a year.) Pocket God: The Runs hits iPhone and iPad this spring.

Are you psyched to hear about a new Pocket God game? What do you think of how the franchise has been holding up so far both on mobile and Facebook?

Casual gamers dump 3DS, PSP to hook up with iPhone, Android

As Facebook would say, "It's complicated." According to a survey released by research firm Cowen and Company, only 26 percent of casual gamers are playing on a Nintendo DS, 3DS or Sony PSP, GamesIndustry.biz reports. By contrast, 52 percent of those surveyed reported playing games on their phone. Granted, this is a survey, but we smell a trend ... a bittersweet one.

"Over the last five years, the penetration of dedicated handheld platforms into survey respondents self-identifying as casual gamers has declined by 29 per cent, with the vast majority of that decline occurring in the last two years," the report reads, according to GI.biz. "We believe cellphone and smartphone gaming is significantly impacting demand for dedicated handheld devices."

The report is based on a survey conducted in September across 1,300, randomly selected people throughout the US, 1,001 of which reported that they've played video games. The report resonates with not only recent surveys, but with how a lot of investors feel. Well, at least in Nintendo's case. The big N's response?

"The concept of having our core franchises on other systems really flies in the face of what we believe in, and that's because by understanding the hardware, that's how we're able to bring these great experiences forward," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently told us, referring to games like Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS. At the very least, bonus points for sticking to your guns, guys.

Do you think Nintendo and Sony have a chance to regain supposedly lost ground in portable gaming? Where do you play most of your handheld games now?

Ever want to joust on a Vespa? Then thank social game maker Naoplay

Soon, friend--your weird, weird dreams of impaling your best friends while riding a motorscooter will come true. French social game developer Naoplay has announced MetroJoust, a new social game headed to Facebook, iOS and Android come 2012. Expected in the year's "first trimester (what kind of time frame is that?)," MetroJoust sounds fairly self-explanatory.

You'll get to compete in a joust ... in a metropolitan area with metropolitan themes. We can already imagine how this is going to turn out. (Spoiler: It'll probably be a skill-based affair.) According to the announcement, "MetroJoust offers different and complementary playing experiences depending on the platform you play it on." We're just gonna go out on a limb and guess that means you'll earn rewards usual across multiple versions of the game.
MetroJoust artwork
Naoplay says that MetroJoust will start off like a casual social game, but later ramp up in complexity. The game will later feature "real RPG dimension including character leveling, interaction with other players but also non playing characters, a complete guild system and from the start, a thousand items available, allowing players to upgrade and personalize their characters."

Based on these initial screens, we know that the game will focus heavily on artwork evocative of themes like urban decay or perhaps even post-apocalypse. Players will get to deck out their modern knights like new shields, armor and steeds--er, rides. Naoplay will release another teaser for MetroJoust on Dec. 8, and maybe we'll get to see a Vespa joust in motion. But only if it's a Vespa.

Are you intrigued by a Facebook game focusing on modern jousts? Which of the three platforms do you think a game like this would do best on?

Zynga starts decorating really early in CityVille Holidaytown for iPhone

We can just imagine the meeting that spawned CityVille Holidaytown: "You know what, this is the holidays, gosh darn it! Forget an in-game event--we're doing a full-blown Christmas--er Holiday game." Zynga has released its second CityVille game to the App Store, CityVille Holidaytown, and what better way to stir the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa (did we get them all?) spirit than an iPhone game?

The game looks like it plays essentially the same way as CityVille Hometown, but swap the human residents for elves and and bricks homes for gingerbread houses. Players are tasked with building the ultimate Christmas town with, of course, the help of their Facebook friends. Zynga's first-ever holiday-themed game is governed by quests, much like the original, though it's not connected to your web CityVille game.

Simply put, CityVille Holidaytown is a CityVille dedicated solely to ringing in the holidays (even if a tad early). With the stress of the holidays that begins on the dot on Nov. 25, the least this game could do is get you in the mood to celebrate amidst the Christmas chaos. Besides, it's 100 percent free to play ... now we've got your attention.
CityVille Holidaytown on iPhone
Click here to download CityVille Holidaytown for free from the App Store Now >

Are you ready for Christmas just yet? Do you think a Christmas game wherever you go can put you in the spirit?

PopCap feels the power of 'free,' more freemium games incoming

Perhaps "PopCap feels the power of Facebook" is more like it. During an interview with PocketGamer.biz, PopCap senior director of mobile product and business strategy Giordano Contestabile revealed that the Bejeweled Blitz creator has plenty more plans for freemium mobile games. That's especially since its recent Plants vs Zombies freemium-inspired update.

"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.

"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."

While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.

Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Car Town Japan drifts onto Mobage, Cie Games opens Tokyo office

If The Fast and the Furious has taught us anything about the "real" world, it's that Tokyo is a haven for gear-heads. Car Town creator Cie Games looks to bring Japanese social gamers just what they've been looking for in a social game with Car Town Japan. Inside Social Games (ISG) reports that the Facebook racer with over 5.8 million monthly players will expand to Mobage, DeNA's mobile social games network, before the end of this week as the company opens its Tokyo office.

"When we launch future titles, you'll see us deployed internationally much more quickly on multiple platforms," Cie Games CEO Justin Choi told ISG. "We are planning on opening additional offices. We are going to use Japan as a hub to expand into other markets in Asia."

According to ISG, this Japanese version of Car Town on Mobage is different from what sounds like a dedicated version of Car Town for iOS and Android devices that's in the works, which will be released "soon." Car Town Japan features a decidedly Japanese look and feel, though folks will still race, build, decorate and upgrade cars based on real-life brands like Toyota, Honda and Ford.

For you lucky folks going to the Tokyo Game Show next week, Cie Games will have a playable version of Car Town Japan there, too. For the rest of us back in the states and elsewhere, we'll just have to wait patiently until the game speeds onto our iPhones and various Android devices. So pump your brakes, and go play Car Town on Facebook some more.

[Image Credit: Inside Social Games]

Do you think this is a sign of Cie Games rise to social game notoriety among the elites like Zynga and EA? Are you excited to soon have a mobile version of Car Town to take around? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment