Today’s five

Gamasutra has a report on how Seattle-based Pop Cap has launched a new web-based Bejeweled that iPhone users will be able to play on their devices. Beginning today, iPhone users will be able to play the game for free by simply visiting PopCap’s web site from their mobiles. Pacific Crest Securities analyst forecasts that the [...]

Will the women gamers please stand up?

It’s taken a while, but with a Wii bit of technology and some really pretty casual games, publishers and big money advertisers are gearing up for the push towards games for women. But wait a minute. Where are these women gamers? If one can come away from the recent Blogher07 in Chicago with just one lesson, [...]

Today’s five

Casual gamers are key targets, reports eMarketer today. “US marketers spent $150 million advertising in casual games in 2006, from $124 million in 2005, according to DFC Intelligence and the Casual Games Association, cited in an Advertising Age article” and a 2006 Associate Press report and AOL study conducted by Ipsos of gaming types found [...]

Virtual Villagers, Travelogue 360: Paris goes Mac

MacWorld reports that Aspyr Media, a game publisher based in Austin, Texas that ports PC games to the Mac, will be bringing two casual games by Big Fish to stores: Virtual Villagers and Travelogue 360: Paris. The games are coming in August for a whopping $29.99 each (the PC version is $19.99). Full report here.

F&F: Women make up 74% of paying casual gamers

Seattlepi.com’s Todd Bishop’s recent coverage of Casual Connect reveals that women make up 74 per cent of the paying audience for casual games, whereas men make up only 50 per cent of the non-paying casual-gaming audience, i.e. people who stick to trials and advertising-supported games. Full report here.

Wii are the world

The London Free Press has an interesting story about how Nintendo is changing the faces of gaming. Excerpting: A pastime that was once the domain of young, nimble-fingered, tech-savvy males is being invaded by soccer moms, secretaries and senior citizens. They’re drawn to the Nintendo DS handheld and the Nintendo Wii console, two game machines [...]

Namco and Big Fish strike mobile phone games deal

Namco Networks, a leading publisher and developer of wireless games and network content, and Big Fish Games, Inc., a leading developer, publisher, and distributor of casual, family-friendly games, today announced a partnership to bring Big Fish’s popular online games to mobile phones in North America for the first time. The partnership kicks off with the [...]

Casual Connect 2008: Save a seat for me!

I’m so sad I missed the recent Casual Connect conference since I’d just decided to give my gaming blog a little more attention. Well, maybe next year, and by then I hope to have built enough content to earn a press pass. After so many years writing about mainstream video games, why have I decided [...]

Today’s five

Real Networks is releasing Sally’s Salon July 25 on RealArcade. In it, players direct Sally through a virtual beauty salon by performing and customizing beauty services and hiring employees. Nickelodeon commits $100 million over the next two years to the development of casual-oriented gaming titles. My five-year old will be delighted about this. King.com and RealNetworks enter [...]

Game review: Turbo Pizza

Where I got mine: Oberon Media’s Gamecenter Developer: Oberon Media To own: $19.95 (free trial for 60 mins available at Big Fish) Size: 20.9MB Score: 6 slices out of 10 Just when you think casual gamers have had enough of restaurant/food/clickandstack games, another one hits the arcade and you’re hooked. Oberon’s Turbo Pizza, which is slightly [...]