Posts tagged casual-games 
Zynga adds Bitcoin to payment options, Bitcoin value soars
Casual games publisher Zynga is now testing the use of Bitcoin in its games, a decision that has had a drastic (if temporary) impact on the overall value of the virtual currency. "In response to Bitcoin's rise in popularity around the world, Zynga, with help from BitPay, is testing expanded paym...
Amazon starts 10 days of free games with Chicken Invaders 2
Amazon is offering a freebie game download each day for the next ten days. If the first game -- Chicken Invaders 2 -- is any indication, these games will be of the "casual" variety, so don't expect massive discounts on AAA PC games. But free stuff is free stuff!...
Bing adds playable games to search results
At approximately 3:00pm ET, Joystiq blogger Richard Mitchell was assigned an article regarding the Bing search engine now including playable games in its search results. For example, if a user were to search the term "blackjack," the results page will include a playable version of blackjack embedde...
Consumer spending on video games reached $25 billion this year
Market research firm Newzoo recently published a report on the U.S. video game industry's sales performance during the current, nearly-finished calendar year, providing evidence for some trends you've probably already noticed. During the past 12 months, overall consumer spending on game software fe...
Casual games competition site to offer college scholarships
Unlike other competitions that might, say, award efforts to design games for the greater good, ScholarGamers.com hopes to attract teens who simply excel at beating their peers in video games. It's a simple but effective pitch: "The concept of winning student scholarships for being an ultimate gam...
Zynga shutting down Street Racing game, offering credit for in-game purchases
Casual giant Zynga is shutting down its Street Racing game on August 2, immediately rendering void all the in-game items players bought with real money. Zynga offered no explanation in the announcement, simply suggesting that players try other Zynga games. Naturally, people whose fake worlds have cr...
Playdom adds Acclaim Games to its portfolio
Back in the way back when of 2006, a group of private investors got together and decided to purchase the Acclaim name. Resurrecting the company -- the name's built-in brand awareness was a major factor for the purchase -- the new Acclaim Games aimed to grab its own slice of the casual gaming pie....
Greenberg promises surprises from first-year Natal games
Aaron Greenberg, product manager for Xbox Live and Xbox 360, told Edge magazine (excerpted by CVG) to expect a wide variety of games in Project Natal's lineup. Well, actually, the way he puts it, you can't expect it: "I think people will be surprised even in the first year by the variety of experien...
GDC: MySpace making a push into games, hoping it'll be as popular as music
While we've yet to meet those amongst you reppin' Farmville and swearing allegiance to Facebook, we worry that today's announcement of MySpace making a stronger push into the casual gaming market may stir those folks from their dismal, musty resting places. Alongside a revamped and relaunched gamin...
PopCap loses another $2.7m to MumboJumbo
[Image credit: bloomsberries] Despite PopCap's claim to appeal the original ruling of the lawsuit between it and MumboJumbo, a judge has awarded another $2.7 million to MumboJumbo citing "legal fees," according to Develop. 193rd Civil District Court Judge Carl Ginsberg ruled earlier this week tha...
