Ngmoco releases Rolando 2 for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersGame creator and publisher ngmoco has released Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid. It's available for US$9.99 at the Apple App Store.
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News: Ngmoco releases Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid
Ngmoco has released Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid, the sequel to the company's popular Rolando game for the iPhone and iPod touch. In Rolando 2, players once again control a number of round characters, using a combination of accelerometer and touch controls to roll, jump, and otherwise navigate throughout the various levels. iLounge was given the opportunity to play a pre-release build of the game while we were at WWDC, and we found…
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100 Greatest iPhone Apps of 2009
From marking its first year this past summer, to boasting over 100,000 applications in its catalog, the App Store has been great for many developers on the iPhone platform this past year. With 2010 right around the corner, we wanted to take a look back at the 100 greatest iPhone apps of 2009. These applications were nominated by Mac|Life readers. All of these apps have something in common: They've helped make the iPhone better over the past year. MobileMe iDisk (free)This little iPhone app lets MobileMe users browse through files stored on their iDisk with ease. The app also lets you view files like PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image files, and iWork files. In addition, you can share files right from your iPhone. Evernote (free)Evernote is the free online service/application that lets you store notes and images in notebooks for later use. The iPhone application really comes in handy, especially since it syncs with the cloud. Coupled with the new offline viewing for premium users, Evernote has to be one the best iPhone apps, hands down. Facebook (free)It seems like all of our friends are on Facebook these days, so why shouldn't Facebook be everywhere? Well, with their iPhone application it can definitely seem like that. This application allows you to manage all of your friends, posts, messages, uploads, and otherwise use Facebook without being inside of a browser. Shazam (free)Without this wonderful application, we would still have that snazzy song stuck in our heads without knowing the title or band. Shazam provides a great service to iPhone users for the wonderful price of free; however, if you're into product(RED), they have a Shazam(RED) version available as well. Tweetie 2 ($2.99) It seems like Twitter is becoming as ubiquitous as Facebook, and it also seems like there are a bevy of iPhone Twitter clients. Tweetie would have to be a newcomer that won the hearts of the iPhone users everywhere. Multiple Twitter accounts, contact linkage, multiple attachments, offline mode, and more. Tweetie 2 has you covered. Twitterrific (free)Twitterrific is the great-granddaddy of Twitter clients on the Mac and iPhone, but it doesn't disappoint. Twitterrific got a new face lift this year that updated the client to be in line with other clients like Tweetie. By far, this is the nicest looking Twitter client on the iPhone. SimplyTweet ($4.99)With the advent of push notifications for the iPhone, SimplyTweet is probably one of the cheapest solutions for bringing push to your tweets. This app also contains all of the features of other comparable Twitter clients. Zipcar (free)Zipcar is one of those revolutionary applications, giving you the ability to not only pick out a rental car from the Zipcar service, but also unlocks the doors on the car right from the iPhone. Dropbox (free)This small newcomer of a company has shown time and time again that they can play with the best when it comes to online storage in an iDisk-style fashion. Dropbox offers up 2GBs of free online storage to users (along with other premium paid services). With their iPhone application, you can view and manage files on-the-go with ease. Pastebot ($2.99)With iPhone 3.0, cut, copy, and paste became a reality on the iPhone. With Pastebot, multiple clippings in an easy to use clipboard manager become a reality. This application also lets you sync over your clippings from your Mac to iPhone and vice versa. Stanza (free)With Amazon Kindle-like finesse, Stanza lets you read eBooks on your iPhone for free or little cost. Download free Guttenberg Project books, or paid books from several publishers right from the app; then sit back and read. TomTom U.S.A. ($49.99)This year gave way to turn-by-turn GPS navigation apps for the iPhone. TomTom is one of the many GPS apps available that is really well designed. This app has 3D maps, fast route calculations, and a new lower price that many iPhone owners will enjoy. Navigon MobileNavigator ($59.99)With maps from NAVTEQ, and features like Lane Assist Pro, Navigon is a great navigation app for the iPhone. The app also includes Google local search, iPod control, and bird's-eye view of maps. Things ($9.99)Sure, it's been around since the App Store launched, but it gained tighter syncing with its Mac counterpart, which makes it all the better. Things is a complete GTD (Getting Things Done) solution for your Mac and iPhone. 1Password Pro ($7.99)What would we do without 1Password? This handy application manages all of our passwords on both the Mac and the iPhone. And with the pro version, you get all kinds of nifty features like copy/paste passwords, folders for managing, and copying multiple field values. If you're always forgetting your passwords, this app is for you. VNC Lite (free)This application is a must have if you want to control your Mac or PC right from your iPhone. It has zoom and scroll capability, landscape mode, and support for 8 and 32 bit color modes. AP Mobile (free)AP Mobile lets you browse local, national, and international news right from one iPhone application. Utilizing news from the Associated Press newswire services, this application sends out push notifications of breaking news straight to your device. You'll always know what's going on with AP Mobile. Air Sharing Pro ($6.99)Air Sharing Pro gives you the ability to turn your iPhone into a wireless hard drive that can be mounted on your Mac to add files for viewing from the device. You can also mount remote file server, connect to your computer, perform advanced file operations, and print files directly from your iPhone. Documents to Go ($9.99)Docs to Go has been around since the Palm days, but the application has also made its way over to the iPhone and it's pretty decent. The application lets you sync your Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.) files to your iPhone and create/edit Word and Excel files. You can then sync the files back to your Mac or PC with the included Desktop sync utility. Yelp (free)Yelp has definitely helped us when we're hungry and visiting a new area. This application searches for places around you like restaurants, bars, cafes, and more; plus, it lets you write and read reviews. With the augmented reality of the Yelp Monocle built right in, this app is worth a look. Remote (free)Apple's Remote application has cut down on the clutter needed for a Mac or Apple TV. With one device you can control the ATV, iTunes or Front Row on the Mac via a Wi-Fi connection. Pandora (free) The iPod feature on the iPhone is great, but if you're looking for a great music experience, Pandora is a good way to go. This application allows you to stream uninterrupted music from Pandoras online service straight to your iPhone in an iPhone styled application. AOL Radio (free)AOL Radio gives you a streaming music experience from their online service and from CBS Radio. This app also lets you listen to streaming local radio stations, including live steaming sports stations. Plus, AOL Radio now streams 128kbps while on Wi-Fi, 3G, or EDGE. Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid (free)Ngmoco did something interesting with their latest iteration in the Rolando series. Rolando 2 is free for the first chapter, but other levels can be purchased using the in-app purchases. Ngmoco has created a game play that is like no other on the iPhone with the Rolando series. OmniFocus ($19.99)OmniFocus is similar to other GTD (Getting Things Done) applications, but it gives you the ability to manage tasks by location. OmniFocus is like a task list on steroids. Lose It! (free)So many people try to lose weight all the time, but often time fail to succeed. This iPhone application can keep you motivated to lose weight by keeping you on track with eating and exercise habits. Lose It! is a free application that also interfaces with an online companion website. Todo ($9.99)Todo is a great GTD task manager that lets you sync with applications like iCal, MS-Outlook, Remember the Milk, and Toodledo over Wi-Fi and 3G. You also get a full calendar view for choosing due dates. Assassin's Creed ($4.99)Gameloft has innovated the iPhone game marketplace with games like Assassin's Creed. They've taken a game that's from another console and brought it to the iPhone, but the game feels like it has been created especially for the device. You can take this great RPG with you anywhere. Dragon Dictation (free for limited time)Dragon Dictation gives you speech to text software for the iPhone that lets you speak what you want to say instead of typing it. This application, which is built around the popular Dragon Naturally Speaking Engine, works extremely well. Convertbot ($0.99) Ever out and about and need to convert between two units? Convertbot lets you convert between over 440 different units with ease. It can also convert currencies and the rates are updated upon launching the app. I Am T-Pain ($2.99)Admit it, you've been singing along to T-Pain songs and you've really wanted to make your voice sound exactly like his? Well, with this auto-tune music application for iPhone you can do exactly that. Just select your favorite song and start singing. Being famous not included. Shoot It! (free, paid service)Shoot It! is a social network application that lets you take any picture you want and turn it into an actual snail mail postcard. You can select a photo, add an address and note, and the next business day the postcard will be printed and mailed out for you for only $0.99 for the US. IMDB (free)The Internet Movie Database has long been the go-to destination for looking up information about movies and TV shows, and now it has its own app on the iPhone. You can get all of the information you would on their website, but now in a convenient iPhone-formatted way. Analytics App ($5.99)Analytics App for iPhone lets us see our Google Analytics stats no matter where we may be. This app offers up a Today report, dashboard quick view, and more analytics data than you could ever want. HyperBowl ($1.99)Sure, there are a lot of bowling games for the iPhone, but none of them match the legacy that HyperBowl has. The gameplay feels organic, with its beautiful outdoor themed bowling lanes. Wolfram Alpha ($19.99, on sale)Wolfram Alpha is the new smart search engine that Wolfram Research recently launched. You can now have all of that power right on your iPhone with this small application. Wunder Radio ($6.99)Wunder Radio is an iPhone application that can stream live from over 50,000 Internet radio stations. This application also includes a sleep timer and ability to listen to local NOAA weather radio streams. New York Times (free)Always stay up to date on the news with the New York Times application. The application synchronizes with the NYT news site so you can read stories even when you don't have an Internet connection. Occasions ($0.99, on sale) Never forget any of those important dates with this application. It syncs with Facebook and your contacts to find Birthdays and reminds you via push notifications. Also reminds you of holidays and other important events. Doodle Jump ($0.99) This addictive little game has been likened to the original version of Mario Bros. Tilt the iPhone to move around in this 2D game. Facebook and Twitter integration means you can brag about your accomplishments to your friends. Touch Todo ($0.99, on sale)Touch Todo lets you sync your todos with Google Calendar (not Google Tasks, however) and in turn to the native iPhone calendar. Application backs up your todos on Google Docs for safe keeping, and send tasks from one iPhone to another. Tap Forms Database ($8.99)The Tap Forms Database lets you easily and securely store information like social security numbers, drivers license number, or credit card numbers for later look up. Handy if cards get lost or stolen, and includes AES-256 bit encryption for all data stored in it. Bento ($4.99)Bento for iPhone is the companion application for the Mac version. It will sync with your Mac and bring over all of your databases. You can then edit and create data on-the-go. Daylite Touch (free, additional software required)The Daylite Touch application syncs with the Daylite Server on your Mac to help you manage your business projects, contacts, and tasks all in a streamlined interface that feels very native to the iPhone. Skies of Glory (free)Shoot World War II airplanes out of the sky in this action game. Featuring awesome graphics and great Internet 8-player multiplayer mode, this game is a great deal. BeatMaker ($19.99)Who says you can't create music on the iPhone? With BeatMaker that's completely possible. This application is basically a recording studio in your pocket with the ability to export your creations right from the device. Comics (free)Reading comics is just plain fun, and with Comics for the iPhone, you can read over 70 comics for free from one simple application. The app allows you to browse and view nearly 700 different comics. Ustream Live Broadcaster (free, account needed)UStream Live Broadcaster gives you the ability to stream live audio and video from your iPhone over Wi-Fi or 3G to the world via the free UStream.tv service. You can also take live polls and see the UStream IRC chat room for your stream. The Oregon Trail ($4.99)The classic Oregon Trail game is back in an iPhone version that's just as good as the original. In this side-scrolling adventure game, you'll guide a family through the Oregon wilderness in search of shelter. Along the way, you'll have to protect yourself from wild animals and other events that take place. Amazon Mobile (free)Amazon has changed the way many of us shop online, and they've also changed the mobile shopping experience with their iPhone application. This application lets you do all of the normal Amazon.com stuff, but you can also take a picture of an object and let Amazon figure out where the product is on the website via Amazon Remembers. Tap Tap Revenge 3 (free) A music rhythm game that started out life as a jailbroken game when the iPhone was first released has matured into a great game backed by music from popular artists. The third iteration of this game boasts extensive online multi-player support over both Wi-Fi and 3G. In addition, TTR 3 gives you weapons and shields for use when playing online. Gorillacam (free)The iPhone includes a great camera, but some of the functions are limited. Gorillacam is an application that can extend that functionality to include a bubble level, grid, time-lapse, and even a self-timer. You can also specify how many shots are taken over a specified interval. Photoshop.com Mobile (free)Good, free, photo editing software on the iPhone is hard to find, but who would have guessed that Adobe would release their Photoshop.com software on the iPhone for free? Well, you get some basic editing functionality and the ability to upload your photos to the Photoshop.com cloud. Mover Lite (free) Moving items like photos, video, contacts, and calendar events from one iPhone to another can be a bit of a kludge depending on what application you're using. But with the free Mover+, it's easy and cool at the same time. Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies ($9.99)A mini game from the World at War console game, CoD:WaW:Zombies lets you frag zombies all day... right from your iPhone, too! Choose from several different modes, including an infinite mode. This game makes any company meeting go by much faster (Please note: We're not responsible for any job loss resulting from the mention of this game). BeeJive ($5.99, on sale)BeeJive gives a lot of instant messenger bang for the buck. Not only does it support the most popular IM services, but it also lets you create as many logins as you need. Plus the application includes Push Notification support, and the ability to send and receive attachments like photos, video, and audio (recorded directly from the application). Awesome Note (+Todo) ($3.99)Combining both notes and to do lists, Awesome Note (+Todo) has a great-looking interface that lets you organize all of your ideas and projects in one app. In addition, you can insert images into notes from the camera, and import/export to Google Docs and Evernote. Credit Card Terminal ($0.99, on sale)This application has been shown on Apple's commercials and is quite nifty if you are a small business. Credit Card Terminal gives you the ability to accept credit card payments anywhere you may be, quickly and easily. ReelDirector ($7.99)Who says you can't put together a full movie on your iPhone? With ReelDirector you can, and you can even include opening and closing credits, transitions, and more. When you're done, save, email, or upload directly to YouTube. Trivium ($2.99)Test your trivia skills against the computer or against a friend around the world. Trivium has thousands of questions for you to answer and a head to head network play that works over Wi-Fi, 3G, and EDGE. Four different modes including: Endless, Endurance, 100 Questions, and Timeless. Rock Band ($4.99, on sale)A rhythm game to end all rhythm games, Rock Band lets you play the drums, guitar, or bass. Plus, you can sing your way to the top in this game that includes 26 free tracks. Tweetr ($3.99)Have something amazing to say on Twitter, but don't want to tweet it right now? Tweetr is an application that lets you schedule tweets for multiple accounts for a later time when it might be more relevant. Peggle ($1.99, on sale)Pop Cap's highly addictive game for Mac and PC made its way over to the iPhone in a move that just seemed natural. Shoot your way to becoming the Peggle master in this arcade adventure game. NetNewsWire (free)NetNewsWire changed the way that many people read their favorite RSS (really simple syndication) feeds on the Mac, but that same experience was moved to the iPhone. The earlier versions were a bit clunky, but NNW now syncs with Google Reader which makes reading feeds on-the-go that much better. Yowza!! (free) We normally stray away from applications with two exclamation marks in the title, but this one is just that good. Yowza can end up saving you a few chunks of change with its many coupons that are sorted by your location. WriteRoom ($4.99)Distraction-free writing at its finest on the Mac, and now the iPhone. Sync documents over with built-in syncing, and just write. Plain and simply. You can change the colors in the preferences. Wikitude (free)Augmented reality on the iPhone was a huge hit this year, and with Wikitude you can browse the space around you and see all of the Wikipedia articles that correspond to your location. Just launch the application and bubbles will appear all around you with Wikipedia articles for cities, buildings, etc. Mark the Spot (free) AT&T finally started paying more attention to its network and users when they launched the Mark the Spot application for iPhone. You can submit network trouble spots, which will help AT&T in fixing network problems. Sure, this app isn't the nicest looking, but it gets the job done. Ramp Champ ($1.99)Skee ball is just plain fun, and with the Icon Factory's Ramp Champ, it's even fun on the iPhone. Choose between several different lane themes, and even purchase add-ons that will expand the available themes. Earn tickets to "purchase" cool digital trinkets. WordPress 2 (free)Mobile-Blogging (MoBlogging) has becoming increasingly popular among people who travel, and it's extremely easy with WordPress 2 on the iPhone. If your blog platform is WordPress, then you'll be all set to connect and add content right from your iPhone. Fandango (free)Find movies around you, watch previews, get showtimes, and even purchase tickets on-the-go with the awesome Fandango application for iPhone. You can also see critic and fan ratings for different movies. Flickr (free)Upload, view, and share your photos with the world on Flickr with this application. In addition, you can view friends photos and comment on them from one convenient location. DOOM Classic ($2.99, on sale) Who doesn't love DOOM? Now you can play it all day long, right on your iPhone. Includes multi-player mode with up to four players over the Internet. MapQuest Navigator ($3.99, service plan required)MapQuest started offering turn-by-turn directions with its maps. Not only that, but they offered a completely different pricing strategy than the other guys: With the $3.99 purchase, you'll get 30-days of use, after which you can purchase different tiers of service between 30-days and one year. Where To? ($2.99)With GPS-style POI (point of interest) searching, Where To allows you to pinpoint a location, be it a restaurant, amusement park, or even an archery range. The application then locates the POI inside of the Maps application on the iPhone. Skype (free)Skype VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) has been beneficial more than once for us, and with AT&T's announcement that they'll be allowing VoIP apps on the 3G network, we're extremely excited about Skype. This application will allow you to place calls through Skype and chat with your friends. Fring (free)Fring is a free VoIP and chat solution for the iPhone. The cool factor about this application is that they just started doing one-way Skype video chat right from your iPhone. SlingPlayer Mobile ($29.99)SlingBox Solo, Pro, or Pro-HD owners will appreciate the ability to stream live TV to their iPhone over Wi-Fi. In addition, you can control the video for many set-top boxes including the Apple TV. PocketGod ($0.99)A minigame that lets you rule over an island. You can bring life to new islanders, take life away, and otherwise demonstrate your powers in this hypnotic game. FlightTrack Pro ($9.99)Never be in the dark about your flight information again. FlightTrack Pro lets you track your flight and get updates via push notifications. You can also see a live flight map with weather radar. RedLaser ($1.99)Scan the barcodes of products and instantly get back product search results that includes the price online. A great way to bargain shop when in the store. Attendance ($3.99)Always know who was missing at that last meeting with Attendance. This iPhone application lets you mark atendees present or absent for any meetings or class for later reference. You can import people from contacts in Address Book or from a CSV file on a web server. Read It Later Pro ($4.99)Who says you can't put something off for later? Well, you can put off reading webpages with Read It Later. This application interfaces with a free online service and Firefox plugin that allows you to save webpages for reading later. FastMall (free)Ever been in a mall and didn't know where the rest room was? Well, you could find a mall guide, or you can also bust out your iPhone with FastMall. This application lets you download mall maps (for a small fee) that will guide you around the mall similar to the way a turn-by-turn GPS does. CBS Sports: Live College Games ($4.99) This CBS application lets you view stats and live stream video of college football and basketball games from the Big East, SEC, and Bit Ten conferences. This application will work over both Wi-Fi and 3G. Vintage Video Maker ($2.99)Turn your iPhone 3GS into a camera that can shoot video with three different filters: 20's movie, black and white video, and 60's home video. You can assign classical 20's piano music to accompany your video or the sound of a projector running. G-Park ($0.99)Never forget where you parked your car with G-Park. This application uses the GPS in the iPhone 3G or 3GS to park your car and locate it when you're ready to drive home. CubeCheater (free)Solving a Rubik's Cube is fun, but you might be in the mood for letting your iPhone solve it for you. With CubeCheater, just input your cube's state and it will tell you how to solve it. Where R U? ($0.99)Want to find out where friends or family are located geographically at a particular moment? If they have Where R U, they can let you know where they are and you will be shown their location on a Google Map. Nifty application for keeping tabs on your kids. Photo2Contact (free trial, in-app purchase)Do you get tired of sending photos to each and every one of your friends or family members? Photo2Contact allows you to easily export a group of photos as a zip file and uploads them to an FTP location, and automatically emails your friends to let them know how to download them. DogBook (free)Join the over 2 million pet owners who have created a Facebook profile for them. DogBook lets you see a list of your animals, their friends, and even lets you find nearby Parks. If your pet gets lost, use "Arf Alerts" to alert everyone in the area. Qik Live (free)When you just want to post a quick video to the Internet, Qik is a, well, quick solution. Their new Live application lets you stream live video from your iPhone over 3G and WiFi. You can also send and receive chat messages with your viewers. Cha-Ching Mobile ($2.99) Cha-Ching mobile is money management software that complements its Mac-counterpart. This application gives you the ability to manage your money and budget on-the-go and sync back later to your Mac over Wi-Fi. Amazon Kindle for iPhone (free)Read Kindle books on your iPhone without having to purchase a separate version of the eBook. Amazon delivers the content wirelessly over Whispernet. Get an almost identical reading experience as on the Amazon Kindle. Shelf Life ($1.99)Keep track of the expiration dates on food in your refrigerator and pantry with Shelf Life. This application uses a database that its users contributes to to determine the shelf life of foods found in your kitchen. You can also specify a custom shelf life. Pizza Hut (free)Need food and need it quick? Pizza Hut now allows you to place an order for anything on their menu, directly from your iPhone. Checkout and pay right from the device as well without ever leaving your house. Memento ($0.99)Send customized greetings to people through e-mail right from your iPhone. Memento lets you pick a template, add a photo and message, and send to loved ones. The application comes with 19 templates. Eventful (free)Never be bored with Eventful. This free application lets you find local events happening in your area and lets you know what venues and performers will be heading your way. OpenMaps ($1.99)OpenMaps for iPhone uses the open map data from OpenStreetMap.org, which contains editable maps for the entire world. The application lets you download maps for use when you don't have an Internet connection, and can use the built-in GPS to locate you. TextGuru ($4.99)Sure, there are a lot of text editors for the iPhone, but TextGuru will let you edit HTML documents and preview them right from the device. In addition, you can download PDF files from the Internet into TextGuru for offline viewing. Got a favorite app we missed? Drop it in the comments and share your excitement with the world.Â
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ngmoco releases Topple 2 for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellersngmoco, creator and publisher of games exclusively for iPhone and iPod touch, has released Topple 2 for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available at an introductory price of US$2.99 at the Apple App Store.
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ngmoco launches Rolando Lite on for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellersngmoco has released Rolando Lite, a stand-alone game experience showcasing the opening series of levels from the Rolando game. It's now available for free on the Apple App Store.
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Weekend diversion: Rolando 2 for iPhone
I’ve found a game that’s a wonderful distraction for an iPhone that’s dedicated to email, Web surfing Excel attachments: ngmoco’s amazing Rolando 2 – Quest for the Golden Orchid (iTunes). It’s a $10 game for the iPhone and iPod touch that’s rated 4+ stars in the App Store and yes, it’s that good. Rolando 2 is [...]
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ngmoco releases WordFu for the iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis Sellersngmoco has released WordFu, a word puzzler game for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for US$0.99 from the Apple App Store.
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GDC 2010: Ngmoco's Neil Young on how freemium will change the App Store world
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Apple, Developer, iPhone, iPad On the third day of GDC 2010, Ngmoco's Neil Young took the stage in one of the largest rooms at the conference to talk about what his company had "unlearned" in its time in the App Store. Ngmoco has become a large and polarizing figure in the world of App Store development -- after starting out with a big investment from the iFund, it's moved quickly to become one of the biggest iPhone-only developers, and after starting out with a few premium titles like the very successful Rolando, have recently made waves with its "freemium" business model. Young talked about the company's history so far, and went in-depth on Ngmoco's plan for ruling the App Store and why he believes it's the "most significant shift and opportunity for [game developers] since the birth of this business." We've summarized Young's long address in this post. It was pretty incredible -- not only did Young lay out his idea of a clear plan for building and developing a large portfolio of very profitable App Store titles "at scale" (the company plans to release twenty new freemium products on the iPhone in the near future, as well as six titles on the iPad), but he made it very clear that he fervently believes that freemium and the model he's structured is the future of the video game business. He began with a recounting of the history of the company (complete with a Mark Twain quote and impersonation -- later in the lively talk, he also imitated Don King and sang a line from High School Musical), from all the way back at standing in a line "outside of an Apple Store in Santa Monica" waiting to buy an iPhone. He said he quickly saw that the iPhone changed the usage pattern of a smartphone -- usability and capability meant people were interacting with it in new ways. He saw that people were using over half of their time with the iPhone "not making a telephone call," and was convinced enough that games could be a big market that he called up an old partner and went to work. Ngmoco started with a $5.6 million round of funding from the iFund, and Young and his company were in business. He said that the first idea Ngmoco had was to use "highly instrumented" free apps to promote premium products. It would run a bunch of quick, free apps out to the App Store, monitor how and when people used them, and then use that knowledge to promote more in-depth, premium apps. Ngmoco released Mazefinger, Topple, Dr. Awesome, Dropship, and its "first commercial hit," Rolando, all in that first round, using the free apps to drive sales of the higher-level premium apps. After a little while and a lot of data gathering, the company concluded a few things: premium apps were working, but the fast apps were not. Ngmoco would need a better way to reach a bigger audience, and it'd need to do that fast -- Young said that at that time, the App Store market was growing at 400%, but actual app releases were growing 1200%, so his company decided that "it's going to get messy." So it began phase 2. First, another round of funding, and $10 million investment. All legacy products were shipped or killed, and focus was placed on premium titles only -- Star Defense and Rolando 2 -- while the Plus+ network was created for app promotion (to replace the "fast apps" that it'd started with). But it didn't work out: "Star Defense disappointed us," said Young, "and Rolando 2 did better, but it didn't map to the growth of the market." Ngmoco didn't like what it was seeing at other companies either -- in the first few quarters of 2009, the average price in the top five paid apps was only $1.68, and that basically consisted of a few big name premium apps like Rock Band bringing up the average from 99 cents. At that rate, said Young, a company would have to keep a game in the top five for 365 days straight (a relatively impossible task, he said) to make only $12 million. In short, it wasn't possible, in the paid app section of the store, to make a quality application and profit off of it long term at scale. Still, Ngmoco did believe that usage patterns on the iPhone still showed that there was a market to be found, so it went to phase 3 -- "Freeing ourselves," Young called it. He and his company decided that an app was a trade with customers -- customers would pay money to have the company fill out their free time. And that's how the company attached itself to the concept of DAUs. DAUs, explained Young, are "daily active uniques" -- all of the people who log into an app to play with it daily, the number of unique users per given day. The company is also interested in dollars (actually cents) per DAU, or the average number of cents earned per daily user. 250,000 users may play your free app every day, but only 2% may actually pay for it using in-app purchases. If that money total equals $5000, Young said that's like 2,000 users (the average number of downloads for the top list of paid apps at the time) buying your app for $2.50. In short, you don't need to have a paid app at all -- you just need to monetize usage for that 2%. And so in July of 2009, Ngmoco began its push for freemium. The company looked at its library, and killed or shelved everything that it didn't believe would be viable in a free-to-play model. After that, it had only two titles ready to go: Eliminate (which was called Eliminate Pro in the App Store, because that was meant to be the premium version, and the name never got changed), and Touch Pets. It also purchased a social MMO called Epic Pet Wars, and let it operate on its own, silently watching and learning what they could about how it all worked, all while "seeding" its own Plus+ network. And that worked. Eliminate and Touch Pets both went to the #1 spot on the App Store on their releases, and Touch Pets is still growing -- it had its highest-grossing day on Valentine's Day of this year. "Vision became math," said Young, and he was convinced he had something. The design of both of those apps actually drove DAUs, and more DAUs meant more engagement, which meant more in-app purchases, which meant more profit. Ngmoco, Young believes, has "tangibly connected" game design to business success in a model that it can replicate. And he believes the biggest game in this model is yet to come -- if Ngmoco can make a game with 10 million DAUs, and design it well enough to get more than five cents per DAU, then "that would be a really, really big business." One more round of financing, this time $25 million, and Ngmoco is taking the freemium model off to the races. Godfinger and We Rule are currently in beta (which, in the strange environment of the App Store, means they're only released in the Canadian region, not only because "we like them and they seem nice," Young joked, but because they are 5% of the global audience and happen to map pretty nicely to 75% of Ngmoco's business, in the US and the UK), and the company is planning a whole slew of titles for this year. Next, Young ran through the three ways he believes this model is completely rethinking game design. First, it's doing things different in terms of development: traditionally, a large team of people works for a long time on a game, and once it's been through QA and testing phases, the game is released, with possible DLC afterwards. When Ngmoco started making games, it did things a little differently -- much shorter development times, highly instrumentalized (to track customer usage), with a team of five to seven people for fairly constant updates (to keep users engaged). But under the freemium model, the plan looks very different in three major ways. First, development only takes a few months, and only until the company develops an MVP ("Minimum Viable Product") -- a game that's not yet finished, but polished enough to be released. Then there's a limited period of testing in Canada, and then the game is not released, but simply made "live," at which point a small team of different people (because developers tend to get tired of a product soon after release, Young said) oversees it through "active," "sustain," and eventually "sunset" phases. The business model is also very different -- in a freemium model, the few subsidize the many. Young compared this to old-school arcades, where only a few "very engaged users" (about 2%, he pointed out) were constantly dropping quarters into arcade machines, even though lots of people came and played them. "Free to play is the new quartersink," he said, and then went further to say that in Ngmoco games, the "core compulsion loop is limited" even further by social interaction and gameplay mechanics (like Eliminate's Energy), which means they have an even better chance to "motivate" users than arcades ever had. And this, said Young, is the real shift in the business -- the design of games can directly increase retention, which can directly increase profits. Ngmoco can "build designs as beautiful engines" that will scale with its audiences. And its goal is to create games that require monetization not simply as a gate to content, but as an "enabler" -- instead of preventing enjoyment while not paying, it wants to "enable" enjoyment for users who are "motivated" to pay. Time can also be used as a gameplay variable, said Young, and the company is planning to use push notifications to increase engagement -- your games will send you notices that you need to take some action or that something has happened, and you'll be pulled back into becoming a DAU. And Young ran through the various ways that companies would be able to monetize those DAUs -- they can sell ads in the apps or use links to sell other apps on the store, or they can sell virtual goods directly to customers (Touch Pets, said Young, is making about $2.87 per transaction, and Eliminate is making about $2.17 per average transaction, which he expects will be low for them in the future. Finally, Young said that hits will look very different under this model -- apps will make the Top Grossing chart in the app store, but being in that chart will be the result of their sales, not the reason for them. And he believes that Ngmoco's biggest game is still to be made -- all of the Plus+ apps average about two sessions per DAU (in other words, most people log into them about two times a day), Ngmoco apps as a whole log about 3 sessions per DAU, and We Rule, the first big release with lessons learned under this model, logs about 5. Young believes that when Ngmoco finally gets its "superhits" going, the revenues will put other handheld gaming platforms "to shame," and even approach the revenues of mainstream console games. "This is the biggest transition since gaming began," Young told the crowd, and finished his address to rapturous applause.TUAWGDC 2010: Ngmoco's Neil Young on how freemium will change the App Store world originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments iPhone - Neil Young - Ngmoco - appstore - Rolando
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Devs quickly move to new models after in-app purchase change
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touchIt was just yesterday that Apple announced they would allow free apps to enable in-app purchases, and developers are already jumping on the "get the app for free, buy the content later" business model as quickly as they can. ngmoco came out swinging, as Touch Arcade reports, with both a free intro version of Rolando 2 out for purchase, with later chapters of the game as add-ons. They've also been working on a shooter called Eliminate, and we're now told that title will be free as well, with extra content to buy later. The creators of Urban Rivals, an app that is based on a virtual trading card game, have let us know that they too plan to go the free-with-microtransactions model as soon as their app is released, and though we haven't actually heard from Tapulous, Andrew Lacy told us outright that the only reason Tap Tap Revenge 3 had a 99 cent price tag on it was because of Apple's limitation, so we'll expect that app to go free as soon as it can. Clearly, there's a drive for this model on the developer side, but the question will be just how much this echoes with consumers -- certainly the "download a trial, buy more later" model has worked well on other platforms, so we can expect it to work here on the App Store as well. But on the other hand, just as when the App Store first opened for business, it's a very "wild west" moment -- everybody and their brother is offering up in-app transactions, and they're all of varying prices and quality. My guess is that we'll see a few "hits" -- a few free apps that everybody buys content for (Tap Tap Revenge 3 is a good guess; considering that because you know most of those songs, there's much less guessing on what the quality of the transactions will give you). At the same time, there will likely be apps that everyone agrees aren't worth the in-app purchase (it's the old story of "horse armor" when Xbox Live started doing microtransactions). Until we find a good balance, where quality meets price, odds are that it'll be tough for consumers to know just what's worth it, and thus tough for developers to convince them that their content is.TUAWDevs quickly move to new models after in-app purchase change originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Sponsored Topics: iPhone - App Store - Apple - Tapulous - IPod Touch
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Apple Celebrating First Birthday of the App Store
In just a few days time (July 11), the App Store will officially celebrate its first anniversary. To mark the occasion, Apple has introduced a special section in iTunes, which gives kudos to some of the company's top App Store picks. The apps on the list are mostly ones you'd expect to see, based on their general popularity or prior success, but there are a few unusual choices that make the list interesting. The lists vary by country, but I'm pretty sure apps are common to all where availability allows. So for instance, here in Canada we get CP (Canadian Press) Mobile instead of AP Mobile, and miss out entirely on Pandora. I've highlighted some picks below, all of which should be available in most countries. Favorite Apps Photogene ($2.99, iTunes link) — This has long been a standby on my iPhone, and it recently became far more useful, thanks to the inclusion of MMS in iPhone OS 3.0. It's a lightweight, but effective, photo editor in your pocket, so you can touch up and add fun effects, like speech bubbles, to pictures you take with your iPhone's camera (or that you download from the web). Yes, you can use it to make your own instant Lolcats. Dictionary.com Dictionary & Thesaurus (free, iTunes link) — Between the iPhone's auto-correct and this app, you have no more excuses for poor spelling. I bought Wordbook before this Dictionary.com app was released (the day before, actually), and I regret it. This free app offers everything most of the paid ones do, and doesn't require an Internet connection to function. Favorite Games Before I get into specifics here, I just want to point out that a few companies are very well represented in this list. Chillingo, ngmoco, Gameloft, and EA all take multiple spots in this top list, and rightly so. They're the ones to watch in this space, with ngmoco especially topping my list of iPhone gaming heavy-hitters. Zen Bound ($4.99, iTunes link) — I love this game, and it actually does help to focus, relax and center me. It sounds cheesy, but download the free trial and you'll see what I mean. This is one of the few titles I recommend to friends without considering their general taste in gaming. Rolando ($5.99, iTunes link) — I'm sure that if Rolando 2 had been out long enough, it would've made this list as well. If you've yet to experience just what the adorable little Rolandos have to offer, give either or both of these games a try. There never was a better game designed so perfectly for the iPhone/iPod touch platform. Now that you've had a year with the App Store, what are your picks? Market research you can use: Keep informed about Cloud Computing and IT Infrastructure. Learn more »
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Weekly App Store Roundup: Jan, 24. 2009
Unholster your iPhone and boot up iTunes because it's that time of the week when we all gather round the App Store and have a look at some of the freshest picks from the last seven days. While I've been wandering the boutiques and bars of Berlin this week, things have been busy for Apple. First up was the Q1 conference call where Tim Cook — standing in for Steve Jobs — revealed that the $199 iPhone price point is working well. Less pleasing for those in Cupertino was a court ruling that, due to the fact that the first generation iPod Nano is overly susceptible to scratch damage, Apple is going to have to pay up to $25 to owners of the tiny damaged device. Setting the serious stuff aside, let's get down to business with this week's App Store Roundup. This week, I've been looking at iSniper, Slingshot Lite, Fantastic Contraption and Haruzou - Photo Uploader. iSniper ($1.99) Back in my student days, I was an avid online gamer; favorites included Counter Strike, Team Fortress and Battlefield 1942. My class of choice was always sniper — you need to be cunning, patient and then quick on the draw when the time comes. While I've ditched the gaming PC for my luxurious but FPS-free Macbook Pro, my trigger-finger still itches for the thrill of shooting faces off. Imagine my joy therefore at discovering iSniper, a game which strips away all the running and jumping, leaving just the satsifying snipey bits. Slingshot Lite (FREE) Slingshot Lite brings applied physics to your iPhone, as you literally slingshot your missiles 'round planets in a bid to destroy your target. It's a game of trial and error, constantly refining the variables until you achieve success. The best thing though is that, due to all the number balancing and variable tweaking, you feel exceedingly clever after completing each stage. It's like an ego-boost in your pocket. And, if you dig the lite version, the full edition is available for a few bucks. Fantastic Contraption ($2.99) First things first, let's get this out the way: this game is an absolute must have. It should sit in your iPhone game collection alongside  that other essential title, Rolando. The idea is that you craft your own clever contraptions which move themselves — through the joys of phsyics — to the goal area. Chuck together a device using cogs, wood and other bits and bobs, then set your creation in to action. The game even features a built in level editor, extra levels and the ability to share your contraptions with the community. If you're still not positive that you should immediately purchase this game, go try it out now, online. Haruzou - Photo Uploader (free) Even though I've just purchased an awesome new camera (Panasonic  DMC LX3, for those wondering), my iPhone (with the help of Polarize) is still getting some photo love. In the past I've recommended Klick for uploading to Flickr, it's feature-rich, polished and free; however, some users may want a more bare-bones solution to getting their snaps on Flickr. Haruzou  uploads to both Flickr and Picasa, includes multiple-image uploading, re-size and rotate, plus it's totally free. Just One More Thing Back in the Summer of '08, Kentaro Kumagai released an app for touch and iPhone called iview. The description on the App Store was lacking, there was only one preview image and, despite being free, the app has only notched up one review on the store (albeit a four star rating). General App Store fluff? No, it's anything but, this is an entertaining toy for passing the time and, at best, a feature-rich re-blogging tool for users of Tumblr. The problem is that Kumagai just ain't the world's best copy-writer — he's not so hot at marketing his wares — as such, this app got lost amidst the general onslaught of App Store releases. The app allows you to view images from several image book-marking services such as FFFFound!, We Heart It and Vi.Sualize.Us – it's a great way to wallow in weird imagery or browse for creative inspiration. For users of Tumblr — a site that is somewhere in between Twitter's micro-posts and traditional blogging — iview takes it to the next level, allowing users to reblog any image with a quick tap of a button. No forms to fill in, no multiple taps, no text entry. Just click the reblog button and it's posted to your esoteric corner of the Internets. For creatives on the look out for inspiration, Tumblr users looking for their next potential meme or iPhone owners with a penchant for visual stimulation, iview is a wonderful app in need of some serious championing. Grab it, use it and tell me if you dig it. That's all from the App Store this week, I'll be back next Saturday with more of the latest releases. In the meantime, drop by the comments and let me know which apps you've been looking at. Concentric Hosted IT Solutions and Web Hosting Click here to save cost on your IT demands