Archive for October, 2008

1. Gamelab lays off ten staff

   October 20, 2008

   Diner Dash creator Gamelab has made ten of its 25 staff redundant. The company is now focused exclusively on Gamestar Mechanic, a “multiplayer online game for kids that lets them create games”. Added to the Job Loss Tracker.

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: gamelab, job loss tracker, layoffs, redundancies

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2. Kongregate shows gamers how to *make* games

   October 15, 2008

   Kongregate Labs is Kongregate’s attempt to show its users how to make games themeselves. It’s a sensible strategy – user-generated games are hard to make compared to Wiki entries or home videos, and yet Kongregate’s lifeblood is garage developers. Giving users a walkthrough on a basic Flash game has the potential to push more gamers/designers [...]

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   Posted in: Sandbox

   Tagged with: casual games, flash, kongregate, user generated content

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3. YouTube in “Sells games via Amazon” non-story

   October 9, 2008

   YouTube announces that it will put a link besides video game trailers that will take users to Amazon where they can buy the game. Well, duh!

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   Posted in: Sales

   Tagged with: advertising, affiliate marketing, amazon, google, non-story, youtube

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4. Adsense for games goes beta – a lifeline for casual games companies?

   October 8, 2008

   Google today announced the launch of Adsense for Games, claiming that this will fuel the growth of the online games sector. Given that video advertising is the sector that is still holding up in these trouble times, this is a timely shot in the arm for the finances of the casual/free games sector. Initial partners [...]

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   Posted in: Sales

   Tagged with: adsense, advertising, casual games, google, monetisation, playfish

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5. It’s not all gloom – Internet advertising holds up

   October 7, 2008

   Latest research from the Internet Advertising Bureau shows that online advertising grew 21% in the first half of 2008. Total online adspend in H1 2008 was £1,682.5 million, up from £1.3 billion in H1 2007.  The total ad spend in the UK for that period was £8.98 billion, down 0.7%, and would have been down 4.6% [...]

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   Posted in: Sales

   Tagged with: advertising

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6. Metaboli forms global all-you-can-eat games channel

   October 7, 2008

   Last month marked the creation of a global subscription service for games when Turner injected its US-based Gametap subscription service into Metaboli, a predominantly-European service. Turner injected Gametap in return for substantial equity in the merged company. Unconfirmed rumours suggest that Turner is putting some cash into the merged entity too. This seems like a [...]

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   Posted in: Distribution

   Tagged with: digital distribution, games industry, gametap, investment, m&a, metaboli, online games, turner

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7. Silicon Knights lays off 26 workers

   October 6, 2008

   Kotaku reports that Canadian developer Silicon Knights has laid off 26 workers. In an official statement, Silicon Knights says it has “temporarily” laid off the employees as they ramp up on other projects. In effect, this looks like Silicon Knights moving towards the contractor/freelancer model, just without admitting it. I expect we will either see [...]

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   Posted in: Game Over Zone

   Tagged with: job loss tracker, layoffs, redundancies, silicon knights

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