Sociality Rocks! Tech Conference Comes to San Francisco

Sociality Rocks!, an organizer of one of the largest games conferences in Eastern Europe, focused on social and mobile games, is coming to San Francisco, April 22 and 23rd. The event is held at the Hilton in SF's Financial District. Sociality Rocks! is held in Kyiv, Moscow and starting this year in San Francisco. Four previous conferences have gathered more than 2,000 participants from  450 companies. To register, visit: http://en.socialityrocks.com/

Angry Birds Developer Earnings Up 64%

Rovio's total consolidated full year revenue grew by 101%, driven by a healthy growth in games revenue and consumer product sales, and amounted to €152.2 million (2011: €75.6 million).

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were €76.8 million (2011: €46.9 million), up 64% from year 2011, and net profit after tax was €55.5 million (2011: €35.4 million). In a statement, the company said, "we doubled our revenue with an EBIT margin of 50%, more than doubled our headcount, established new offices and a New Business Ventures unit.” said Rovio CFO Herkko Soininen.

Disney to License Star Wars Video Games, Shuts Down Studio

Disney plans to shut down game developer LucasArts. In a statement, the company said, "after evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games."

DMW Games Conferences Focuses on Digital Game Monetization

DMW Games, formerly known as LA Games Conference, will be held April 18 and 19th in Los Angeles. Pearl Research readers receive 10% off registration with discount code PEARL10. The conference will feature 2 tracks with fireside chats from Playstation's Christopher Mahoney and EA's Pascal Brochier, panels, demos and presentations on digital game creation, distribution, monetization and marketing.

Online Gambling Potential Grows on Consumer Demand

In this article from our latest March 2013 newsletter, Pearl Research will analyze the financial data from DoubleDown and discuss the crossover between online gamblers and online gamers.

An analysis of Facebook app developer DoubleDown reveals some clarity to the size and scope of this market for app developer. DoubleDown, a social casino-style gaming operation known for its Facebook games, was acquired in January 2012 by IGT, a manufacturer of slot machines for $500 million. The total consideration includes $250 million in cash, $85 million in retention payments over the next two years and up to $165 million in cash payable over the next three years subject to DoubleDown meeting certain financial performance targets.  

Korean Mobile Games Market Brief

Pearl Research, a leading market research firm, is pleased to offer a 8-page brief of the Korean mobile games market. The analysis covers the emergence of KakaoTalk and LINE and the increasing number of mobile game developers in the market.

Disney Unveils New Games Platform CalIed Infinity

This all-new game universe will launch in June across all consoles and will have a phased roll out across mobile and online devices throughout 2013. Players will have a virtual “Toy Box.” Players can access their “Toy Box” and build and using their Disney characters, vehicles, settings and accessories.

Case Study of Kabam, Kixeye and Fight My Monster Report Released

Pearl Research is pleased to announce the  report, “Case Study of Kabam, Kixeye and Fight My Monster”. Please contact us for an excerpt. Three online game companies, Kixeye, Kabam, and Fight My Monster have achieved accelerated growth in the past year with prominent social and casual games.

LOGIN Conference Announces Pitch Finalists

The finalists for Startup Pitch at LOGIN Conference on September 27th have been released. The companies are TeamTap, Sense of Wonder, KeepSkor, Alist Games, Lightning, Playsaurus, Mobula Games and Yogime.

Samsung Invests $2.3 billion in New China Fab

Samsung Electronics today held a groundbreaking ceremony for a major new memory fabrication line in Xi'an, China. Once completed, the new facility will make use of advanced 10-nanometer (nm)-class technology in producing NAND flash memory chips.