EA inviting Sim City Social refugees to Plants vs. Zombies Adventures – Last month we reported that game developer and publisher Electronic Arts announced that on June 14 it will retire three of its Facebook games: Sim City Social, The Sims Social and Pet Society. Today we’ve learned that EA is inviting Sim City Social players to play the beta for the highly anticipated Plants vs. Zombies Adventures Facebook game via emails. The game will launch publicly on May 20.

DreamWorks, PikPok and Verizon promote Turbo with mobile game and $1M in rewards – DreamWorks Animation announced it is promoting its upcoming film Turbo with a mobile game by developer PikPok, which will feature a contest with $1 million in total cash prizes. The Turbo Racing League mobile game is available on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android handsets and tablets, and Windows Phone 8, but players on Verizon, which is presenting the $1 million Shell-Out contest, will have access to unique content. You can read about the contest rules in detail here.

Former New York Times digital and mobile products manager joins EA’s Board of Directors – Game developer and publisher Electronic Arts has appointed Denise F. Warren to its Board of Directors. Warren is executive vice president of the digital products and services group and former chief advertising officer at The New York Times Company. The announcement comes on the heels of EA’s Q4 2013 earnings report which revealed the company earned $104 million in revenue from mobile, and its increasing focus on mobile and digital products.

Elephant Mouse launches Star Trek Rivals – Mobile game developer Elephant Mouse announced the launch of a free-to-play card battle game based on the recently released Star Trek Into Darkness feature film. The game will feature more than 100 cards for players to collect, representing characters, starships and technoolgies that appear in the film. The game is avilable to download for free from the iTunes App Store.

Sonic The Hedgehog debuts on Android – Game developer and publisher Sega announced that the 16-bit Genesis classic Sonic The Hedgehog has launched on Android. The game, which was already available on iOS, is now available to download from the iTunes App Store for $2.99.

Kabam to implement Google+ Sign-In – Social game developer Kabam announced that it will be the first games company to implement Google+ Sign-In. The new integration will provide users with a simple and secure sign-in process on Kabam.com and the ability to engage users with interactive posts, which allow players to share content and prompt friends to take specific actions in their games.

Corona Labs announces Dilbert Game Jam — Venture-backed mobile software company Corona Labs has teamed up with the creator of the Dilbert comic strip Venture-backed mobile software company for a mobile game development contest. Developers are invited to create a winning a game with the Corona SDK and Dilbert artwork. The winner will have the opportunity to publish the the game to major app stores. Additional prizes include yearlong subscriptions to Corona SDK Pro, iTunes gift cards and more. The contest runs from May 14 through July 12 with winners to be announced on July 19. You can read more about the Dilbert Game Jam here.

Google announces game services — During Google’s sixth annual I/O keynote in San Francisco Google’s vice president of Android product management Hugo Barra announced the launch of Google’s equivalent to iOS’ Game Center, Google Play game services. The new feature allows developers to add cloud sync to any game, so users can save their data like player progression and game state across any Android device. Additionally, Google Play game services adds leaderboards and achievements support as well as a new multiplayer feature. Also, game services isn’t limited to Android apps, the service can be integrated into an iOS or web app, allowing cross-platform play.

Coming in at the No. 2 spot for the second week in a row is GamePoint’s German word game WortSalat with 19,556 new MAU for a gain of 64 percent. 2Bsocial’s dinosaur-themed Jurassic Farm took the No. 3 spot with 18,903 MAU for a gain of 27 percent. Coming in at the  No. 4 spot is Turkish developer Consala’s Pirate-themed Son Korsan with 18,283 MAU for a 57 percent gain. Finally, closing out this week’s list top emerging games on Facebook is Spanish developer Pot Country’s País do Baseado with 18,120 MAU and a 25 percent gain.

This week also saw significant gains in emerging apps outside the top 5. Starting at the No. 8 spot through the No. 11 spot, Bytro Labs’ Supremacy 1914, Spelpunt’s Spelpunt Bingo, Idea Channel’s CASTLOT and Akamon Entertainment’s Roulette all showed a gain of 97 percent. Lastly, Webkinz Friends from developer Ganz came in at No. 14 spot with a gain of 95 percent.

	Name	MAU_ESTIMATExxxxx	Gainxxxxx	Gain,%
1.	SlotoQuest: Gambling Adventurexxxxx	91,210	+19,901	+ 28%
2.	WortSalat	50,117	+19,556	+ 64%
3.	Jurassic Farm	90,212	+18,903	+ 27%
4.	Son Korsan	50,117	+18,283	+ 57%
5.	País do Baseado	90,212	+18,120	+ 25%
6.	Royal Casino Slots	96,477	+14,981	+ 18%
7.	KnobelParty	75,976	+14,854	+ 24%
8.	Supremacy 1914	20,047	+9,860	+ 97%
9.	Spelpunt Bingo	20,047	+9,860	+ 97%
10.	CASTLOT	20,047	+9,860	+ 97%
11.	Roulette	20,047	+9,860	+ 97%
12.	Ashtaria	30,070	+9,696	+ 48%
13.	TheFacemons	30,070	+9,696	+ 48%
14.	Webkinz Friends	19,865	+9,678	+ 95%
15.	Warzone	40,094	+9,533	+ 31%
16.	Crazy Car	50,117	+9,369	+ 23%
17.	ILikeBasketball	50,117	+9,369	+ 23%
18.	Motorcycle Madness	60,141	+9,206	+ 18%
19.	EcoCity	60,141	+9,206	+ 18%
20.	Playwright Slots	60,141	+9,206	+ 18%

All data in this post comes from our traffic tracking service, AppData. Come back next week for our top weekly gainers by monthly active users on Monday, our daily active users on Wednesday, and the top emerging apps on Friday.

I am MT: Card Battle starts off by letting the player choose between three characters. Once the player has decided which character he or she wants to use, they’re thrown into a well-detailed tutorial. The game holds the player’s hand as it introduces various aspects of the experience, such as the flow of a battle. In I am MT: Card Battle, players will build a team out of five character cards (and an optional card borrowed from another player), then watch as those characters fight through a level, with the ultimate goal of defeating a final boss. Battles are almost completely automated, allowing players to change only the position of their characters so they can best utilize their strengths. Some players may be instantly turned off by the automated battle, but those who stick around will find a lot more depth between fights.

I am MT: Card Battle features a ton of customization options outside of battle. Completing a stage will unlock other character cards and equipment. Character cards can either be added to the team or may be fused with other cards to increase that card’s stats and level. When a card’s level is high enough, it can be combined with collected equipment and it will evolve into a more powerful form. As players progress through levels, enemies quickly get stronger, so it’s important to not only strengthen cards frequently, but to strengthen all cards on the team. In some cases, players may opt to switch cards out for new ones, and I am MT: Card Battle frequently gives out new cards, but others may be purchased via the in-game shop.

I am MT: Card Battle monetizes entirely through in-app purchases, with only one form of in-game currency: Runes. Early in the game, runes are supplied often, and a large amount is used during the tutorial. After the tutorial, runes can be occasionally earned by completing various in-game challenges, logging in daily, and by progressing through the game. Even with the numerous opportunities to earn runes, the amount earned is less than practical. If they want more, users can purchase runes in two ways. The first is a monthly pass that gives 100 runes per day for 30 days for $4.99, provided the player logs in daily. Otherwise, runes can be purchased in bundles starting at 60 runes for $0.99 up to 7770 runes for $99.99. Smaller bundles of runes won’t provide much value to the player, since anything less than 300 runes will only buy increases to inventory and friend list limits.

Overall, I am MT: Card Battle is a fun game that Is likely to attract casual players and some hardcore players looking for a lighter experience, The automated battles may not appeal to many and the limited interaction with friends can be a bit of a let-down. That said, the simplicity to I am MT: Card Battle will draw in many players and its depth will likely keep them sticking around for a while.

You can follow I am MT: Card Battle’s progress with AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social apps and developers.

Play

A game that’s easy to grasp, but carries a lot of depth.

Pet Rescue Saga, which first launched on Facebook in October 2012, joins Candy Crush Saga and Bubble Witch Saga as the third mobile title from the U.K. company. Pet Rescue Saga is a match-3 puzzler in the same vein as the mega popular Candy Crush Saga. The title will launch with more than 72 levels, providing cross-platform gameplay across mobile and Facebook, meaning a user’s game state including their leaderboards, scores and progress remain synchronized. Cross-platform play has been a feature that has shown to be very successful for King’s mobile games so far. Pet Rescue Saga for mobile was developed by King’s Malmo studio.

King’s 70 DAU is significant because it topped Zynga’s 52 million DAU, which it announced during its latest earnings call. When comparing the companies, King is a private company with 450 employees, while on the other hand, Zynga is a public company with a much larger workforce.

Chief marketing officer of King Alex Dale told us King reached 70 million DAU by making easy-to-understand games which are designed for their respective platform.

“First, games need to be playable by a mainstream audience, you can’t succeed with a game at scale that requires you to learn moves or takes a great deal of time to progress,” he tells Inside Mobile Apps. “It has to be quick and easy to understand. Second, the type of games that best suite mobile are casual games, not a first-person shooter.”

For its games on Facebook, King says Candy Crush Saga currently has 14.7 million DAU, Pet Rescue Saga with 5.7 million DAU and Farm Heroes Saga with 49 million DAU.

Tommy Palm one of the leaders behind Candy Crush Saga on mobile and it’s successful implementation of cross-platform gameplay, explains that it gave the same treatment to Pet Rescue Saga on mobile.

“We rewrote the entire code, so that it should feel like it’s made for mobile,” he says. “Everything is responsive and native to the platform on both operating systems.”

Chuck the Muck is a new iOS and Android release from Kiz Studios. It is available now as a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play, and carries additional in-app purchases.

Chuck the Muck is a physics-based puzzle game that requires the player to fling, shoot, and walk a little orange creature from one end of the level to the other, collecting crystals along the way. The controls are quite simple, and when the game is first started, there’s not much of a tutorial. Before the first few levels, the game shows an image describing how certain mechanics work, such as walking the character, flinging the character in the goo slingshots, and expanding and retracting slingshots. These visual aids lack detail and some players may not understand all the mechanics right off the bat. Even once the mechanics are learned, there are occasional issues with the controls. The slingshot can be a bit too difficult to aim, and accidental launching is easy with slingshots that are near the edge of the screen. Even a task as simple as walking can be problematic with the amount of content on screen.

While the ultimate goal is to get to the level’s exit, the level will still be a failure unless the player grabs at least one crystal along the way. Each level contains three crystals, which are used to track completion percentage and act as in-game currency. It isn’t necessary to collect more than one crystal in a stage, but players who want to buy in-game upgrades without spending real money will find that to be the easiest way to accomplish that goal. Collecting all the crystals is hardly an easy task, however. Most stages have at least one crystal that easily obtainable, but the others are typically more challenging. Mastery of the game’s physics and understanding the necessary steps are both crucial in collecting all the crystals. Using power-ups helps, as well, but they’re not required for success.

The amount of power-ups and in game purchases in Chuck the Muck is outstanding. There are basic power-ups, such as level skips and beans that make the character jump higher. There are also costumes that add new gameplay elements and modify the existing ones. Finally, there’s a 99 cent purchase available that will unlock all levels and remove ads. The ads aren’t generally disruptive, so if a player wants to unlock all levels for free, there’s an infinite-use level skip power-up, which can be purchased with in-game currency. The crystals earned in-game act as the currency, and casual players will earn more than enough to get through the game. Players who want more variety, or who want to make use of all the costumes, have the option to purchase more. Crystal purchases start at $0.99 and go up to $99.99. Higher bundles have a lower price-per-crystal, and the top bundle also nets the player a free t-shirt. There’s not a big need to buy one million crystals at this time, but with future levels on the way, some players may get their money’s worth.

Overall, Chuck the Muck is a flawed game, but one that has its share of fun. It’s not a must-play title by any stretch of the imagination, but since it’s a free download, it’s worth checking out. The controls are likely to turn off many players, and the ads can be annoying (though they usually pop up between levels). The simple, yet challenging, gameplay is sure to leave an impression on some players. Hopefully future updates clean up some of the gameplay issues and give users even more ways to spend their hard-earned crystals.

You can follow Chuck the Muck’s progress with AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social games and developers.

Wait

Some gameplay issues can be a real turn-off, but there are future updates planned.

Pretty Simple’s Criminal Case once again came in at the No. 2 spot with 364,656 DAU for a 7 percent gain. The No. 3 spot went to Social Point’s Social Empires, which added 183,412 DAU for a 12 percent increase. Plarium’s Stormfall: Age of War came in at the No. 4 spot with 173,132 DAU for a 50 percent gain. Finally, another game by Social Point, Social Wars, came in at the No. 5 spot with 151,455 DAU and a 15 percent gain, bringing it to an estimated total of 913,249 DAU.

One other notable gainer this week is War of Mercenaries, which brought in 70,753 DAU for 102 percent gain.

	Name	DAU_ESTIMATExxxxx	Gain	Gain,%
1.	Farm Heroes Saga	4,859,143	+377,029xxxxx	+ 9%
2.	Criminal Case	4,348,350	+364,656	+ 7%
3.	Social Empires	1,333,079	+183,412	+ 12%
4.	Stormfall: Age of Warxxxxx	283,101	+173,132	+ 50%
5.	Social Wars	913,249	+151,455	+ 15%
6.	Pengle	1,280,045	+130,626	+ 10%
7.	Pool Live Tour	2,245,541	+123,413	+ 6%
8.	Candy Crush Saga	15,567,962	+113,943	+ 0.77%
9.	CoasterVille	1,880,218	+93,425	+ 6%
10.	Buggle	1,255,444	+77,006	+ 7%
11.	War of Mercenaries	37,020	+70,753	+ 102%
12.	Baseball Heroes	515,565	+65,082	+ 13%
13.	Marketland	460,021	+64,843	+ 13%
14.	Bubble Safari	1,830,544	+57,509	+ 4%
15.	Zynga Slingo	754,279	+56,923	+ 8%
16.	Stick Run	543,988	+54,905	+ 10%
17.	Wild Ones	315,980	+47,079	+ 15%
18.	Happy Family	18,606	+44,859	+ 61%
19.	YoVille	125,641	+42,276	+ 36%
20.	Cafeland	584,074	+42,140	+ 6%

All data in this post comes from our traffic tracking service, AppData. Stay tuned for our look at the top emerging apps on Friday.

Read our reviews of…

• Offensive Combat
• Car Town
• Farm Heroes Saga
• Stick Run
• Criminal Case
• Stormfall: Age of War
• Candy Crush Saga
• CoasterVille

Mobile advertising and publishing platform Tapjoy today announced a partnership with South Korea’s largest social mobile platform Kakao, which will allow developers on the Kakao Games platform to monetize with Tapjoy’s advertising and monetization tools.

The Kakao Games platform allows users to play with KakaoTalk users, share game scores, and compete on leaderboards in real-time. Games on the platform now gross more than $40 million per month, the company revealed in a statment.

In March, Tapjoy revealed that approximately 100 million unique viewers who come through its network per month are international, which equates to about 75 percent of its overall unique viewers per month coming from outside the U.S.

The partnership provides Tapjoy the opportunity to deliver premium content within titles on the Kakao Games platform.

KakaoTalk currently has more than 90 million users around the globe, more than 30 million users visiting the platform every day and is South Korea’s practically ubiquitous mobile messaging app. SundayToz was the first developer to get its match-3 puzzler Anipang on KakaoTalk’s game platform. At GDC 2013, SundayToz founder and CEO Kevin Lee told us he spoke with the founder of Kakao, and proposed the idea to turn the messenger app into a game platform, which led to the launch of Anipang for Kakao. Today, Anipang is generating around $500,000 in revenue a day.

Recently, KakaoTalk also demonstrated growth outside of its native South Korea by surpassing the 10 million download mark in Japan on March 24.

Acquinity Interactive

• Partner Sales Manager
• Director of Partner Sales
• Advertiser Injections Developer
• Sr. Email Marketing Manager

App Minis LLC

• Senior Unity Game Programmer

BrightRoll

• Campaign Manager (NYC)
• Manager, Publisher Business Development
• Manager, Publisher Development
• Marketing Manager
• Account Manager (CHI)

DeNa

• Performance Marketing Manager

Disney Interactive | Playdom

• Mobile Game Designer
• Sr. Game Designer

Fandango

• Social Media Marketing Manager

GameDuell

• Lead Artist (m/f)

King

• Senior Game Developer

KIXEYE

• Unity Gameplay Engineer
• PHP Engineer
• 3D Game Engineer
• Server Engineer
• Mobile Client Engineer
• Technical Director of Game Engineering

Play Games24x7

• Marketing Lead – Social Casino Group

POPSUGAR

• Sr. Web Engineer
• Java Search Engineer

Tradeshift

• Enterprise Sales Engineer: East Coast

Wooga GmbH

• Software Engineer – Backend
• iOS Games Developer
• Game Designer – New Mobile Game

Blitz Brigade is an iOS and Android game by Gameloft. It is available now as a free download from the App Store and Google Play, and contains ads and numerous in-app purchases.

Blitz Brigade is a team-based first-person shooter that borrows elements and styles from other popular shooters and brings them to mobile platforms. At the start, the user is dropped into the main menu and can decide between playing the game and playing through the detailed tutorial. While experienced gamers will be quick to grasp how the game works, most will still need a while to adjust to the touch-screen controls. Most first-person shooters are released on PC or consoles, letting players use a controller or mouse. However, Blitz Brigade’s touch controls—along with the added option for tilt-based aiming—forces players to adapt to a system that hasn’t been perfected on mobile devices.

Entering the game’s multiplayer mode provides the player with numerous choices. There are two different game types: Domination and Deathmatch. Domination requires teams to keep control of territories, while Deathmatch is a traditional “kill to win” mode. Both modes are fun, and most players will have a preference. Upon starting a game, players will choose which team they wish to join and which class they want to use. At the start, there are only two classes available, but others can be unlocked from either playing the game or spending in-game currency. This pre-game screen also allows players to customize their equipment and weapons, creating a bit of individuality in the characters. Once in game, certain issues start to expose themselves. One of the most glaring problems with the online multiplayer is the apparent lag. There aren’t many mobile games with full 3D graphics that allow numerous players to compete at the same time. The lack of precedence is apparent in Blitz Brigade, and the gameplay suffers because of it. The troublesome controls combined with unreliable online play leaves much to be desired. Hopefully the network code can be improved with future updates, but for now, it hurts the experience.

Players who are fortunate enough to experience few multiplayer problems will be treated to a huge assortment of unlockable items. There are two forms of in-game currency, coins and diamonds. Players can earn some coins from playing the game, but purchasing diamonds is important for those who want a quick edge. Currency prices range from $1.99 to $99.99, and any purchase will grant VIP status, which gives more experience points and more coins. Coins are generally used to buy new equipment as players level up, and repair equipment as it’s worn. Diamonds allow players to obtain items and character classes ahead of schedule and let them upgrade their equipment. Blitz Brigade doesn’t feel like players need to spend diamonds to remain competitive, but those who do are likely to find themselves at an advantage. Regardless of players spending money, there’s a large amount of items for players to get their hands on, and it should keep many players entertained for the long run.

Blitz Brigade’s target audience is the hardcore gamer, and Gameloft does a fine job attracting that crowd. However, the touch screen controls and network issues are likely to turn off that very crowd. There’s a lot of upside to Blitz Brigade. The game looks nice, it doesn’t make players feel like they need to make purchases, and the mechanics are sound.  Unfortunately, until multiplayer is improved, players will likely pass on this one.

You can follow Blitz Brigade’s progress with AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social apps and developers.

Wait

A potentially good game currently held back by technical issues.

Smartphone and tablet revenues increased by 71 percent year-over-year, representing 60 percent of total group sales compared with 43 percent in Q1 2012.

Gameloft attributes its fast growth to the success of the free-to-play model. The company adds that more than 67 percent of its smartphone sales came from in-app purchases and ad revenues in Q1. In terms of which games performed well in the quarter, Gameloft says older titles from as far back as 2011 and 2012 like Dungeon Hunter 4: Zero Hour, World at Arms, My Little Pony, Ice Age Village, Order & Chaos Online, Gangstar Rio: City of Saints and Asphalt 7: Heat, have largely contributed to the company’s strong performance in the first quarter.

Gameloft hopes three recently released titles in the past few weeks including Dungeon Hunter 4, Iron Man 3 and Order & Chaos Duels, help grow sales in future quarters. Gameloft claims Iron Man 3 was the most downloaded game worldwide on the iOS after it was launched. Future releases include Gangstar Vegas, Despicable Me and Uno & Friends.

Gameloft didn’t provide an earnings forecast for Q2 2013. Gameloft’s share price closed today at €5.29 ($6.84), up 0.95 percent.