Macgasm

Senior World of Warcraft producer, John Lagrave, sat down with Eurogamer yesterday to talk about the possibility (and difficulty) of bringing the world’s most popular MMORPG to the iOS platform. Ladies and gentlefolk of Azeroth, prepare to get excited.

Remember all the way back to 2009 when a video surfaced on WoWInsider (since removed) showing WoW being played on an iPhone? Vollee, the software developer who posted the video, had built an early port of the game that looked like a good start for a great mobile companion game. However, after the initial burst of excitement, nothing really came of it, and Blizzard has been relatively quiet on the issue. Until yesterday. Here’s what Lagrave had to say:

It might not be much, but at least we’re hearing it from the horse’s mouth. The WoW developers are clearly aware of the advantages the mobile space could have for them, and they seem to be keen on giving us something worth our while.

In my opinion, I think they should develop a mobile version of the game but not for the iPhone. There’s just not even close to enough screen real estate for a game like that. I think it would be better suited as a native iPad app. Can you imagine playing World of Warcraft on that sexy Retina display?

Source: EuroGamer

Halfbrick Studios, the creator of Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride for iOS, just made the smartest move they could have made with the limited grant cash they currently have: they have acquired Onan Games, creators of the Mandreel porting technology. Yup, porting. Get ready to see Fruit Ninja everywhere.

If you don’t know who Onan Games is, it’s probably because they’ve only been around for less than a year. Don’t let their infancy fool you though, because in that short period of time, they’ve worked with industry leaders like Glu Mobile and Rubicon Development, and they’ve managed to come up with a seamless porting technology that allows developers, like Halfbrick, to port their mobile games to the web. They also use Mandreel to work with porting to and from other platforms, which raises all kinds of speculation about where we might be seeing Halfbrick’s games in the near future.

Halfbrick has only confirmed that Jetpack Joyride and Fruit Ninja will be coming to Facebook, but they haven’t confirmed (or denied) any other platform yet. At least I’ll be less annoyed by Facebook game invitations if they’re for games like these.

Source: TechCrunch

Last week, we told you about the new smash hit Draw Something from OMGPOP for iPhone and iPad. The game is still currently sitting in the top spot on the App Store, and it’s not showing any signs of letting up. Additionally, TechCruch told us last week that Draw Something has become the largest game on Facebook by daily active users. Unsurprisingly, everyone’s favourite fat cat developer, Zynga, has apparently taken notice.

Rumor has it that Zynga is in talks to acquire OMGPOP, and at this point, it’s only rumor. Both companies have declined to comment on the speculations. It also looks like there are a few big Japanese names that have one eye fixed on OMGPOP, but they’re not saying anything concerning those rumors either.

What will happen if Zynga does manage to buy OMGPOP? We could be optimistic, and look at how well Newtoy’s Words With Friends did after they purchased the developer for $53M in cash and shares back in 2010. The playerbase exploded, and that game became, and continues to be, immensely popular. On the other hand, Zynga, as we’ve come to realize, is a sleazy tyrant who wants to control the social gaming market, and if the executives at OMGPOP were smart, they’d steer clear of them altogether.

However, if OMGPOP did happen to refuse the alleged offer, I’m fairly certain that that won’t stop Zynga from doing what they’ve done in past: if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em. And if you can’t buy ‘em, copy ‘em. I just sincerely hope that emerging, small-guy developers will choose to tell Zynga to take a hike if they’re ever approached by them. Let’s hope OMGPOP sets a good example.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

Source: TechCrunch

It’s been a while since I’ve had a game that was both hilariously fun and one that I could play against my friends. In Draw Something from OMGPOP, I’ve found it. You guys, this game is seriously so much fun I can barely handle it. The best part is that if you have friends who can’t draw unicorns to save their lives, the game becomes even more fun.

It’s basically a game of electronic Pictionary. You can connect with your friends through Facebook or create an account and find your pals with your email address. Once you start a match against your friend, you’re given a choice of three words, all ranging in difficulty, and each worth a specific amount of coins. This is where it gets fun. You have to draw whatever the word is, and then your opponent will have to guess what the word is out of a collection of given letters. Warning, ladies and gentlemen, this game has the potential to get all kinds of “Not Safe For Work.”

Each time you guess your opponent’s drawing correctly, you win the corresponding amount of coins. You can save up your coins to buy different color sets so you can really get into detail with your drawings. If you’re having trouble guessing what the picture is, you have a “bomb” that you can use that blows up a few of the incorrect letters. You can buy additional bombs with your coins, too. Here’s a quick demo me  and our editor, Joshua, playing the game. You’ll have to forgive his poor spelling skills.

Draw Something is based on an older web based Flash game by OMGPOP called Draw My Thing where one person would draw something, while a lobby of people would guess what it is. This is an absolutely perfect mobile version of that. While you can only play a game against one person at a time, you can have multiple games happening at once. And believe me, once you start, you won’t be able to stop. The one and only thing I would like to see OMGPOP add to this game is a picture history, just so I can go back and LOL at that one time I tried to draw Snooki.

Draw Something is currently sitting in the number one position on the App Store’s paid games, and it’s only $0.99. Go download it, and show me what you’ve got.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard someone claim that the end of  the console era is at hand, and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last. Ben Cousins, head of ngmoco’s Stockholm office, says that the slow death of console gaming has already begun.

Death, though, is probably too harsh a term for what Cousins actually means when he says this. At this year’s Game Developers Conference, he clarified his statement by saying that although the platform probably won’t disappear entirely, the market share for consoles will likely significantly decrease, and will be unlikely to bounce back. And, of course, Cousins cites the explosion in mobile gaming as the catalyst.

Cousins also says that consumers clearly want a gaming platform that is cheaper and more convenient, and that’s where smartphones and tablets come in.

Personally, I believe that the ball is entirely in the courts of the game developers. We’ve been seeing a lot of potential lately in the games being released for iOS, especially on the iPad, in both the quality of gameplay and the graphics. Will that be enough to make the console gamers put down their controllers and pick up a mobile device? I don’t know, but something tells me it won’t be long before we find out.

Via: Gamesutra

The lead game designer for the upcoming Diablo III, Jay Wilson, has announced that the initial launch of the game will not include any player versus player functionality. While this might be a major let down for most of us eager fans, Wilson has clarified that Blizzard decided to do this rather than push back the release date yet again. I suppose that’s good news, right?

After many delays and unfulfilled promises from Blizzard and the D3 team, it seems that we’ve finally received a conclusive answer as to why we aren’t playing the most anticipated game of the last two years: PvP. Here’s what Wilson had to say about it on the official Diablo website:

So, it’s great that we finally have some specifics of what’s been happening with the game, and it seems like the launch might actually happen this century. Is launching the game without PvP Arenas a bad idea? I say that although it’s unfortunate that we’ll have to wait to kill each other, it’s better than the alternative. What do you guys think?

One of my favourite big name developers, PopCap, is hosting a garage sale on some of its biggest iOS titles. So, if you don’t own some of these games, now would be the time to get them.

PopCap has slashed the prices on Bookworm (a word puzzle game), Peggle (the award-winning, super addictive peg puzzler), Chuzzle (a match-three action style game), and — wait for it — Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone. All of these have been cut down to $0.99. You can also get Plants vs. Zombies HD for your iPad for only $2.99.

We’re not sure how long this sale will last or if this is a permanent price drop. In any case, if you don’t have any of these titles, go download them now.

The follow-up to one of the most successful games on iOS has finally been announced. When Firemint released Flight Control a few years ago, it did exceedingly well on the platform, seeing nearly four million downloads and receiving shining reviews from the media and players alike. Later this month, Flight Control fans will get the sequel they’ve been waiting for: Flight Control Rocket.

Firemint has teamed up with EA to bring back the same style of gameplay and mechanics with Flight Control Rocket, only this time, you’re in space. The object of the game is to create paths for spaceships to dock on a giant mothership. Throughout the game, players can acquire a bunch of different bots that will help them achieve higher scores.

We’ll keep you up to date on the status of this release as more information becomes available. If you’ve never played the original Flight Control from Firemint, I suggest you check it out while you wait. It’s highly addictive and a ton of fun. You can check out the trailer below.