After Angry Birds short trip down winner's square, many industry watchers casted doubt on if Rovio could change the formula much without losing that basic grasp of control. And if pissed off birds sacrificing themselves to kill pigs wasn't enough, by adding zero gravity, the studio has revolutionized gameplay without completely destroying the brand.
Before Space, another little game called Draw Something tore through the charts. The top download in 85 countries, it's been downloaded 35 million times in six weeks, and developer OMGPOP was recently snatched by Zynga for a cool $180 million. Initially, the price was a shock considering Draw is a new IP; maybe background politics or a bidding war played into the exorbitant amount. This deal, however, shows the ferocity of potential business from optimistic publishers.
Simple in execution and free of charge, OMGPOP's new creation emulates Pictionary in every way. The developer is planning a wealth of new features and fixes, which now parent company Zynga will be heavily promoting.
It's been a torrid year for mobile releases, and this trend is likely to continue throughout the year.
Personally, I wonder what other mobile titles will succeed this year? I don't follow mobile gaming too much, but this story just fascinates me. Voice your suggestions in the comments below! Jeff out.
My wife looooves Angry Birds, and fully plans to get this for her iPhone and iPad. She has a very fast computer (very very fast), and access to gaming systems like Wii, 3DS, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360 (no Vita yet, I know - sad), and yet she spends 90% of her gaming time on her iphone or ipad. :P
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