Monthly Archives: February 2016

Train2game News Mobile Fraud Prevention Suite

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At the San Francisco Mobile Growth Summit, adjust announced a major product addition to their mobile attribution and analytics system with the Fraud Prevention Suite.

With today’s product release, app developers and marketers will be able to leverage a comprehensive suite of tools that analyze and intervene in hundreds of millions of user acquisition workflows to prevent fraudulent activity from claiming payouts. Early beta results of the Fraud Prevention Suite indicate a substantial improvement in campaign activity with an estimated $1.7 million USD identified within 17 days, based on recent CPI rates of fraudulent charges.

Paul H Müller, adjust’s Co-Founder and CTO, said: “The Fraud Prevention Suite gives our clients a completely new way to proactively mitigate potential fraudulent charges and optimize their user acquisition spend across their entire user acquisition stack. We’re uniquely positioned to offer this kind of solution in the market because our technology is directly embedded in all the advertising our clients run – so we can analyze every interaction as it happens, and change how that data is interpreted on the fly. This is unlike reactive, after-the-fact analysis tools that are unable to prevent corrupted datasets and illegitimate payouts.”

adjust’s Fraud Prevention Suite specifically targets three typical approaches by fraudulent publishers:

● Anonymous IP Filtering is the first implementation to actively reject pay-outs for simulated traffic originating from data centers or other illegitimate locations.
● Purchase Verification synchronously vets and verifies purchases, allowing app publishers to block cost-per-acquisition payouts or revenue shares from faked purchases.
● Click Spam Distribution Modelling analyzes the aggregate distribution of users acquired to rapidly prevent apps from faking background “clicks” and thereby claiming organic traffic as paid.

In January, adjust ran initial beta tests of its product suite with customers, like San Francisco-based HotelTonight, by sampling a traffic flow that included more than 400 million installs to generate an overview of fraudulent activities. This initial test targeted only the portion of paid user acquisition from major US and European brands which were generated from so-called “anonymous IPs” – a strong indication that the traffic had been tampered with or falsified. Starting today, all customers have the opportunity to access adjust’s product suite for protection from fraudulent activity and charges.

Brian Han, Head of Growth at HotelTonight, said: “Controlling the quality of our traffic, and thereby preventing fraudulent activity, is a key concern for us. adjust’s Fraud Prevent Suite is the first solution we’ve found that is able to proactively intervene, and we’re really excited about using adjust for that purpose.”

Additionally, to provide deeper understanding and insights to customers and partners, adjust is hosting the first-ever European mobile fraud conference, called “Mobile Spree”, on June 2 in Berlin. Initial confirmed key speakers for the conference include Spotify, Zalando, Delivery Hero, GetYourGuide, and HotelTonight. Interested parties can learn more at http://mobile-spree.com.

Train2Game News Scottish Games Industry Growth

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The SNP has today pledged to support the continued growth of the computer games industry after five ‘exceptional’ years for the industry.

The number of computer games companies operating in Scotland has increased from 15 in 2010 to 100 in 2015, with 95 of those businesses registered in Scotland – an increase of over 600% in five years.

Between 2010 and 2013, the last year for which figures are available, turnover increased from £38.1m to £67.6m.

Scottish computer games companies include Rock Star North, producers of the Grand Theft Auto series, and 4J Studios, involved in the production of Minecraft.

Previous SNP action to support the industry includes:

    Successfully lobbied the UK Government to introduce tax incentives for the computer games industry

    Funding 40 post-graduate places for a new masters programme in Computer Games Development at the University of Abertay Skillset Media Academy

    Financial support for Scotland’s first digital skills academy CodeClan

Commenting, SNP MSP Joe Fitzpatrick said:

“Computer games are a massive success story for Scotland and the growth since 2010, both in terms of established companies and in turnover, has been exceptional.

“This is an industry that drives exports and makes a huge cultural and economic contribution to Scottish life.

“The SNP want to ensure that this sector continues to grow as a key part of Scotland’s creative industries.”

Train2Game News Sinclair smashes Crowdfunding Record

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Sir Clive Sinclair Smashes His Previous Crowdfunding Record in Less than 3-days

The Vega+ comes complete with 1,000 licensed games built-in.

Sir Clive Sinclair has smashed his previous Crowdfunding record of £155,677 in less than 3 days  – having achieved his initial target of £100,000 within 48-hours, the campaign to produce a 2nd games console,  called the Vega+ now exceeds the sum raised during the entire  2-month campaign last time round to fund the original Vega console. Contributors now have a further 38 days during the current Indiegogo campaign to pledge to secure a Classic Black Vega+ or a limited edition version – available in red, white or blue, of the new pocket size, fully mobile games console or a number of other perks from as low as £5.

The Vega+ is based on his hugely successful Spectrum products of the early 1980s. The Vega+ is the only games console that exists with 1,000 licensed games already included and with an LCD for you to use on the go. This launch follows the huge public and media support of the initial Vega product last year, and is the next step in the evolution of the Vega.

The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ to give it its full name takes advantage of major advances in technology to achieve big cost savings by replacing most of the electronics in Sir Clive’s earlier computer products. Instead the Vega+ uses a low cost micro-controller and some clever software to enable the Vega+ to run all of the games, 14,000 or more of them, developed during the years when some 5 million of the original Sinclair Spectrum were being sold.

The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ is being marketed by Retro Computers Ltd, the Luton-based start-up in which Sir Clive’s company Sinclair Research Ltd is a shareholder. The development and marketing of the Vega+ is under licence from Sky In-Home Service Ltd, who inherited the intellectual property rights to the Spectrum computers from Amstrad.  Development of the product is complete, and a fully-functioning prototype is ready to go into production.

The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ is as simple to use as any of the popular games consoles, but far less expensive. It has a colour LCD so the user can play it anywhere. Additionally, it can be connected to a TV so the user does not need a computer monitor, and it comes complete with 1,000 licensed games built-in. The user will also be able to download additional games free of charge from the thousands that are available on the web, so there is no need for users to pay any more than the cost of the basic product, which will be in the region of £100 from the company’s web site and from various online retailers and High Street outlets.

The Vega+ has been developed by Chris Smith, who is the world’s leading expert on Sinclair Spectrum technology and author of the definitive technical book “The ZX Spectrum ULA: How to design a microcomputer”. The design concept of the Vega+ is by Rick Dickinson, who was responsible for the design of all of Sinclair’s ZX computers in the 1980s.

Paul Andrews, Managing Director of Retro Computers Ltd, is a lifelong fan of Sir Clive’s products, and has himself worked within the games and media publishing market for many years.

David Levy, the company’s Chairman, is President of the International Computer Games Association and has been responsible for the development of more than 100 consumer electronic products since the late 1970s.

Sir Clive Sinclair says that the success of the original Spectrum was due to the fact that: “it was adaptable, approachable, very easy to program, and simple to use”. Of the Vega+ Sir Clive says: “The present surge of interest in retro products inspired me to plan the Vega+ as a handy games console which can be played anywhere.”

Retro Computers Ltd has today launched its financing for their new product via the Indiegogo crowdfunding web site. The funding will be used for the UK manufacture of the first production run, which will be for sufficient numbers of the Vega+ consoles for all those supporters of the Indiegogo campaign who choose the Vega+ as a perk, and to prepare us for the second production run. A range of limited edition Vega+ consoles and other related exclusive items are being offered on the site, including some special edition Vega+ consoles with red, white and blue bases, which will only be available during the Indiegogo campaign.

Indiegogo: http://igg.me/at/vegaplus/x/9227470

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXhtTYj7Oc

Train2Game News Stone Carved PS4

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Today, Ubisoft Entertainment has released a range of stunning photos of a hand-crafted Sony PlayStation®4 and DUAL SHOCK ®4 controllers, to mark the upcoming launch of Far Cry Primal on February 23rd, 2016.

Working free-hand, accredited master carver and stone mason, Nick Roberson, was commissioned to intricately replicate these items from stone, to showcase the Stone Age era that the franchise moves to in the latest installment.

In addition to the PS4 console and controllers, Nick Roberson was also commissioned to craft an entire gaming den from hand-carved finest Fletcher Band sandstone. The den was also kitted out with a stone television, pizza box, beer can and an impressive carved coffee table.

The result is a stunning image of a prehistoric take on the contemporary items of today, as regularly seen in modern gaming pads across the country.  

Footage of the main pieces being chiseled can be viewed here in the official video feature: CLICK HERE

“This project was undertaken to highlight the vast landscape and rich setting of the Stone Age era in Far Cry Primal,” comments Tom Goldberger, Senior PR Manager at Ubisoft. “Nick has managed to immortalize, in stone, the beautiful, elegant designs of these iconic items with unbelievable accuracy.”

Stonemason, Nick Roberson, who has over 20 years of experience, which has seen him take on commissions for Hollywood movies, comments on his involvement on creating the man cave; “This project was a great challenge for me and I really enjoyed seeing the modern and techy items come together in this natural form. The buttons of the controllers were certainly tricky but I’m delighted with the final results and the fantastic way they’ve been collated for the shoot.”

Far Cry Primal is available to own on February 23rd on the Sony PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system and Microsoft Xbox One®, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and will be available on Windows PC on March 1st, 2016.

For more information regarding Far Cry Primal, visit:
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-GB/game/far-cry-primal/

Train2game GDCA Awards to honour Notch

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The 16th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), the peer-awarded highest honors in video game development, has revealed this year’s recipients of the Pioneer and Ambassador awards.

The Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony takes place on Wednesday, March 16th at 6:30 pm at the Moscone Convention Center during the 2016 Game Developers Conference® (GDC) in San Francisco, and will be livestreamed on Twitch at http://www.twitch.tv/gdca .

The Pioneer Award, which honors breakthrough tech and game design milestones, will this year honor Markus “Notch” Persson, the famed creator of the 2011 GDCA and IGF Award-winning indie sandbox title, Minecraft. The Ambassador Award, honoring someone who is helping video games advance to a better place through advocacy or action, will be bestowed upon experimental game designer and educator Tracy Fullerton, in recognition of her work at the Game Innovation Lab, which has produced several influential independent games like fl0w and Darfur is Dying.

Pioneer Award recipient Markus “Notch” Persson is most widely known as the founder and former lead game designer at Mojang AB, the acclaimed developers behind the landmark title Minecraft, which blends exploration, survival, resource management and combat into an open-world title with literally endless content and avenues for creativity and ingenuity.  In 2011, history was made when Minecraft became the first game to win in multiple categories at both the Game Developers Choice Awards and the IGF Awards within the same year. The game and its creators  received top honors at the 2011 IGF Awards, winning both the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Audience Award, and that same night were honored with the 2011 Choice Awards for Innovation, Best Downloadable Game and Best Debut. The title has sold a total of more than 70 million copies over console, PC, mobile and other platforms. Developer Mojang and the ownership of the Minecraft property were acquired by Microsoft in 2014 in a deal worth $2.5 billion.

As the associate professor and director of the University of Southern California (USC) Games program, Ambassador Award recipient Tracy Fullerton and her research center, the Game Innovation Lab, has played an instrumental role in the creation of influential independent games that include Cloud, fl0w, Darfur is Dying, the Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and the Night Journey, with artist Bill Viola. At USC, Fullerton has drawn from her experience as a game designer at companies that include Microsoft, Sony, MTV and many others, to help guide aspiring developers. Her previous achievements include an Emmy nomination for interactive television, IndieCade’s “Sublime Experience,” “Impact,” and “Trailblazer” awards, Games for Change “Game Changer” award, and Time Magazine’s Best of the Web. As the author of the design textbook, “Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games,” Fullerton’s work in and out of the classroom has established her sterling reputation as an esteemed designer and teacher in the art and craft of game development.

This year, Ashly and Anthony Burch, the sibling team behind the “Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin’?” video series, will return to contribute original videos to the IGF Awards ceremony. These will complement a series of new videos by Mega64, the video game sketch anarchists, who are also returning to make videos for the Game Developers Choice Awards this year.

The Game Developers Choice Awards are produced in association with the Game Developers Conference® (GDC) and will take place on Wednesday, March 16th at 6:30 pm at the San Francisco Moscone Center and is open to all GDC badge-holders.

More information about the 16th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards can be found on the official website at http://www.gamechoiceawards.com – and for information about the 2016 Game Developers Conference, please visit http://www.gdconf.com .

Train2Game News BAFTA Guru Live

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) today announced a brand new three-day festival that will give aspiring creatives the opportunity to meet and learn from leading names in the film, television and games industries.

BAFTA’s Guru Live will run from Saturday 30 April to Monday 2 May at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly in London, and will feature masterclasses, panels and keynote talks by professionals including BAFTA winners and nominees. Tickets for individual sessions will cost £6, and professionals with at least six months’ experience will have the chance to purchase one of 150 all-access ‘Guru Pro’ tickets to the event, which include a day of bespoke one-to-one meetings and round tables with top industry speakers.

Guru Live is an extension of BAFTA Guru (www.bafta.org/guru ), BAFTA’s online resource that shares advice and inspiration from the best creative minds working in film, television and games. Each day will focus on a different one of the three industries that BAFTA represents, and will comprise: a ‘Creative Keynote’ talk from a highly acclaimed figure; sessions covering specific craft skills and areas such as finance and distribution; case studies showcasing recent success stories; examples of cross-sector working; and networking events.

Speakers confirmed to attend include: games producer Dan Gray (Monument Valley); film producer Mark Herbert (This Is England, Submarine); games writer Meg Jayanth (80 Days); talent agent for film and television Sara Putt; and games creators Luke Whittaker and Katherine Bidwell (Lumino City).

Tim Hunter, Director of Learning and New Talent at BAFTA, said: “Guru Live brings our successful BAFTA Guru online channel to life, giving emerging talent the chance to learn first-hand from some of the leading figures in the moving image industries. Film, television and games can be among the hardest industries to break in to, so this opportunity to meet and engage with BAFTA members, nominees and winners is a brilliant way to help break down the barriers new talent may be facing. Guru Live also offers a chance for attendees to network with peers at a similar level, which is essential for career starters.

“We’ve already seen huge success with our previous industry-specific events Generation Next for television, Filmmakers Forum and Inside Games, and we’re looking forward to Guru Live streamlining the best elements of those events to create a new BAFTA flagship festival for anyone hoping to build a successful career in film, television or games.”

Applications for Guru Pro tickets, which cost £40, are open now at http://guru.bafta.org/live/pros and close on Wednesday 23 March. Bursaries will be available to support expenses. General admission tickets are priced at £6 per session and open for bookings on Monday 29 February. To book, go to: http://guru.bafta.org/live.

Guru Live has received funding from generous individuals and BAFTA partners supporting ‘Give Something Back’ – BAFTA’s campaign to support emerging talent from all backgrounds to enter the film, television and games industries.

Highlights from the event will be available on the BAFTA Guru website: www.bafta.org/guru .

Follow Guru Live by using #GuruLIVE and following BAFTA Guru on Twitter and YouTube.

GURU LIVE PANELS AND SESSIONS:
(The full programme will be announced on Thursday 25 February)

Guru Live: Games (Saturday 30 April)

    Games Creative Keynote
    Game Masterclass
    Turning Points
    Down with the Kidz
    The Storytellers
    Capturing Performance
    Virtual Reality
    Microtalks

Guru Live: Television (Sunday 1 May)

    Television Creative Keynote
    How To Direct Your First Hour Of Television
    My First Three Years In Television
    Masterclass: Scripted Show
    Idea, Pitch, Commission?
    Casting Real People
    Where Are All The Milennials?
    Entertainment Live!

Guru Live: Film (Monday 2 May)

    Film Creative Keynote
    Panel: British Films & How To Fund Them
    Panel: My First Three Years in Film
    Producing A Debut Feature
    How To Budget And Schedule Your First Credit
    Masterclass: BAFTA Nominees
    Panel: Big Screen On The Small Screen
    How To Be A Successful Freelancer

Train2game News SpecialEffect Accessible Games Room

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David Cameron opens Accessible Games Room at Oxfordshire Charity SpecialEffect

Witney MP David Cameron officially opened the SpecialEffect Accessible Games Room at the charity’s headquarters in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, on 12 February.

The facility, the first of its kind in the UK, will allow the charity to welcome people with disabilities from across the UK and help them benefit from the fun and inclusion of video games and other forms of leisure technology.

The room was established thanks to a £130,000 donation from the inaugural Twin Town Car Challenge Event, organised by Witney businessman and SpecialEffect Vice-President Brendon Cross of STL Communications.

Mr Cameron was joined by SpecialEffect Vice-Presidents Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister for Disabled People, and Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, along with senior figures in the UK video game industry and the local business community.

He described SpecialEffect founder and CEO Dr Mick Donegan as “one of the most inspirational people I have met”. He said: “You are making an enormous difference to lots of people and I will do anything I can to help.

“It is also bringing together the things I am passionate about, because it shows business can be a force for social and economic good.”

“I would urge games companies to join in whatever way they can to back this man, to back this great charity that is doing such extraordinary work.”

Minister for Disabled People, Julian Tomlinson said: “We are very proud to see how quickly SpecialEffect is growing and we will do all we can to get it support from the industry.”

Tom Watson MP, deputy leader of the Labour Party added: “It is a great pleasure to be on the same side as Mr Cameron for once and I am deeply honoured to be involved with the charity. I hope more and more people will support them.”

“We’re delighted and honoured that Mr Cameron is here for this launch,” said Dr Mick Donegan, the Charity’s Founder and CEO. “Leisure technology is an amazing medium for fun, inclusion and quality of life. To be able to level the playing field and extend that medium to people that would otherwise not be involved is a real privilege.”

“The response to our work from Oxfordshire businesses and, increasingly, the video games community has been overwhelming so far. Their support will be pivotal to the success of the SpecialEffect mission to help more people worldwide experience the very real benefits that this technology can bring.”

Train2Game News Video Game Price Comparison

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Console Deals are proud to announce that users can now compare video games deals and prices on their leading comparison website.

Console Deals has experienced year on year growth since launching their console comparison website in 2012. The introduction of game deals is just the first step towards a fully immersive site that will allow users to compare the best console, game and accessory deals while staying up to date with the latest gaming news and reviews.

“The fact that users can now compare game deals on our website shows our commitment towards making gaming affordable,” said Phil Jones, Managing Director of Console Deals.

“As well as providing industry leading accuracy on latest deals, we’ve also launched a new look website to provide the best user experience, simple navigation and an intuitive filtering system so users can find what they need instantly.”

“We’re really excited about including game deals as we believe users will find it a useful tool in saving money on video games. We are also currently working very closely with retailers to provide a number of incentives for game enthusiasts.”

The incorporation of game deals now means that users can compare over 5000 deals from over 25 leading retailers on top titles and pre-orders, including; Fifa 16, The Division, Street Fighter V, Legend of Zelda, Far Cry Primal, Rise of the Tomb Raider and more.

Train2Game News 2016 Mobile Gaming Insights

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SOOMLA, an innovator in mobile gaming analytics, today announced its latest Q1 2016 Mobile Gaming Insights report, which illustrates user spending habits by cross-game behaviour, virtual economy model and game genre.

The new report reveals that users who completed an in-app purchase in one game are six times more likely to pay in another game, compared to any random user who hasn’t purchased. Furthermore, the likelihood of a user to pay in a second game increases by up to 40% based on the amount spent in the first game. Over 20 million players from more than 200 countries were included in the study, which is now available publicly on the company website.

The findings emphasize the contribution of cross-game purchase data to the ability to predict paying users, a coveted virtue in an industry where only 2% of consumers spend in games. Furthermore, knowing a user’s in-app purchase history by genres played, dollars spent and virtual items bought empowers game developers to tailor personalized offers at the user’s “comfort zone” price point.

Yaniv Nizan, Co-founder and CEO of SOOMLA, said: “Attracting payers to your game is like finding a needle in a haystack, but when crossing in-app purchase data from thousands of other games, our payer prediction technology reveals which user segments will eventually convert and what they’re likely to buy.”

Key Report Insights:

●      Past in-game payers are six times more likely to pay in another game.
●      Quick payers (first in-app purchase within 24 hours of install) are nine times more likely to pay in another game.
●      Over 40% of users who paid $25 or more in one game, will also pay in another game.
●      Holiday season savvy developers achieve an average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) lift in December of 83% above the annual average.
●      For each in-game item users purchase with real currency, an average of 18 additional items are purchased with virtual currency.
●      65% of all app revenue comes from “lifetime” goods (e.g. characters, level packs, remove ads), which cost $2.60 USD on average.
●      “Single use” goods (e.g. “save me”, ammo, 30-second boost) account for 71% of all in-game purchases.

Solomon Foshko, Manager of Strategic Intelligence at Wargaming Inc., said: “SOOMLA’s latest report provides a greater understanding of key trends in the mobile market and how best we can apply that insight for a competitive advantage within our product portfolio.”

Additionally, the report provides developers with insights on when players are more likely to play and how they play. For instance, daily active users increase as much as 33% over weekends, and this occurs primarily on phones, although sessions on tablets are often longer. Usage patterns differ across game genres as well, with strategy games boasting the highest average session duration of 11 minutes – 2.6 times more than other genres.

SOOMLA enables payer segmentation with its realtime payer prediction system – a programmatic API that detects when a highly likely paying user has just walked into your game.  Developers can adapt the game to potential payers from the first session and segment them for targeting and in-game promotions. For big publishers, SOOMLA offers highly targeted payer audiences through its recently introduced Audiences dashboard. Mobile marketers can build custom and lookalike audiences based on SOOMLA’s proprietary dataset and provision their campaigns to reach the best users.

Train2Game News Gaming Istanbul Succcess

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From February 04th – 07th, GL Events celebrated a first of its kind gaming expo for Turkey, attracting over 50,000 visitors to Istanbul’s Congress Center.

Furthermore, more than 300 industry representatives from 13 nations attended Gaming Istanbul trade and industry conference. GIST’s pitch & match system alone counted more than 500 meetings that have been arranged through this system. GIST Gaming Istanbul 2016 attracted visitors from all target markets: Europe, MENA and Asia.

“Gaming Istanbul was intended to create a bridge between markets in Europe, the MENA region and Asia – and this is exactly what we achieved. GIST 2016 was an enormous success, after evaluating all data; we can count around 50,000 visitors, said Cevher Eryürek, Project Director Gaming Istanbul at GL Events. She continued, “Gaming Istanbul debuted as the MENA region’s biggest gaming expo, and ranks GIST in the top 5 of European gaming expos in their first year. We’re very thankful that the Turkish and international gaming industry for their support. GIST 2016 connected industry representatives from all our target markets with each other as well as with the Turkish industry.”

With 84% of all B2B visitors originating from Turkey, including distributors, big and medium-sized developers, as well as indie studios and universities, GIST saw representatives from all areas of the local industry attending. International visitors came mainly from Germany, the UK, France and Poland, as well as from MENA markets such as Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran.

Cevher Eryürek continued, “Exhibitors from all areas of the industry, from AAA to indie, presented the latest in gaming and hardware. For the first time, Turkish consumers had the chance to personally interact with the gaming industry in such a broad manner. Consumers reacted very positively, while we had constantly well-filled halls on all four expo days.”

Additionally to Gaming Istanbul, GIST Developer Conference, which took place prior to the expo, and the Turkish gaming industry association TOGED’s symposium generated exceptional content and was well received by local and international attendees.

GIST Gaming Istanbul 2017 is scheduled for February 2017, taking place in Istanbul Congress Center as before. GL Events will announce detailed event dates shortly. For 2017, GIST plans to continue following its successful blueprint and grow in all areas, attracting more international exhibitors and visitors.