This week’s headlines from across Inside Network
A roundup of all the news Inside Network brought you between May 14 and 19.
Inside Mobile Apps
Tracking the convergence of mobile apps, social platforms and virtual goods.
Monday, May 14
- Zynga picks up Wild Needle in $3.8 million talent deal
- Stirring up chaos with EA’s Trouble Makers
- Mobile helps Square Enix back to profitability, $75.9 million in net income
- Facebook redesigns mobile News Feed to look more like Timeline; photos now 3x larger
- Nexon earns $154 million in Q1 2012 as 10.9% of users pay an average of $22 each
- Emerging free iOS apps: Highway Rider, Ice Rage and 100 Floors
Tuesday, May 15
- Crowdstar moves further from Facebook, partners with Tencent and Gamevil for expansion into China and Korea
- Blast some undead heads with Call of Mini: Sniper
- Lightbox employees go to Facebook, shut down Android photo-sharing app
- Nimblebit turns to Twitter for Pocket Planes design decisions
- AppStori taps crowd-sourcing craze with Kickstarter-style service for mobile apps
- Emerging paid iOS apps: iTranslate Voice, Pandemic 2.5 and N.O.V.A 3 – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
Wednesday, May 16
- Catching stars in space with Snabbit
- Appcelerator adds $3 million to Series C from Presidio Ventures
- New figures by category — how many downloads does it take to reach the top of the free and paid iOS charts?
- DeNA brings North American Mobage hit Rage of Bahamut to iOS
- Emerging top grossing apps: Kingdoms of Camelot, Race or Die 2 and Quickoffice Pro HD
Thursday, May 17
- More locked doors with 100 Floors
- New this week on the Inside Network Job Board: Sojo, SponsorPay, Wooga and more
- Zombies, Run! developer reveals how Apple let it give away 3000 “free” copies of its iOS game
- Zynga takes a swipe at Fruit Ninja’s hack and slash gameplay with Zombie Swipeout
- Facebook prices shares on the high end of its range at $38
- New hires in mobile: Atari, Glu Mobile and GREE
Friday, May 18
- Classic kids’ adventure series Spy Fox returns on mobile
- Japan officially declares lucractive kompu gacha practice illegal in social games
- Tencent sees revenues from mobile, social increase as net profit rises 16% to $467.7 million in Q1 2012
- Emerging popular Android apps: Rage of Bahamut, Hambo and Asphalt 6: Adrenaline
- Facebook makes fifth mobile acquisition this year with Karma
- Mobile app roundup: Gamevil, Millennial Media and the next iPhone
Saturday, May 19
Inside Social Games
Covering all the latest developments at the intersection of games and social platforms.
Monday, May 14
- Zynga picks up Wild Needle in $3.8 million talent deal
- Play cards the Egyptian way with Pyramid Solitaire Saga
- Nexon’s Q1 net income hits $154 million, up 60% year-on-year
Tuesday, May 15
- Crowdstar moves further from Facebook, partners with Tencent and Gamevil for expansion into China and Korea
- Bubble Safari takes players on a bubble-popping jungle adventure
- KartRider Dash gives Nexon a new shot at Facebook
Wednesday, May 16
- Candy Crush Saga holds the lead on the fastest growing Facebook games by MAU
- KartRider Dash leads the pack in synchronous multiplayer racing on Facebook
- Candy Crush Saga also on top of this week’s fastest-growing Facebook games by DAU
- Zynga’s stock recovers as Facebook IPO looms
- New this week on the Inside Network Job Board: King.com, TinyCo, Wooga and more
Thursday, May 17
- The Sims Social and Bubble Island this week’s gainer and loser among May’s Top 25 Facebook games
- Facebook prices shares on the high end of its range at $38
- Peak Games joins the bubble-popping brigade with Lost Bubble
- New hires in social gaming: Eruptive Games, Social Point and Plumbee
Friday, May 18
- Zynga’s stock halted after morning plummet
- AquaLife 3D swims to the top of this week’s emerging Facebook games
- Gem-hunting with Mystic Ice Blast
- Tencent sees revenues from mobile, social increase as net profit rises 16% to $467.7 million in Q1 2012
- EA shutting down Dragon Age Legends
- Social gaming news roundup: Jersey Shore returns, social games slow down and Jesus takes on Diablo
Saturday, May 19
Inside Facebook
Tracking Facebook and the Facebook platform for developers and marketers.
Monday, May 14
- Socialcam, Zoosk, Viddy, Pinterest, more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook apps by MAU
- Facebook increases size of ‘Page-Like’ Sponsored Stories in News Feed with recent posts
- Facebook proposes changes to Data Use Policy, updates disclosure on potential for off-platform ads
- Facebook redesigns mobile News Feed to look more like Timeline; photos now 3x larger
- PageLever adds post tagging and alerts to insights platform
Tuesday, May 15
- Facebook ups share price range to $34-$38, likely putting market cap above $100B
- Lightbox employees go to Facebook, shut down Android photo-sharing app
- Mobile, Adele, Halo, Will Smith, Porsche, Target, more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook pages
- Facebook adds app ratings and negative feedback metrics to insights tool
Wednesday, May 16
- Horoscopes, Yahoo, video, Instagram, Lost Bubble, more on this week’s top 20 growing Facebook apps by DAU
- Facebook expands IPO with additional 83.8M shares from existing stockholders
- Standalone mobile app for Facebook page management coming soon
- Zynga’s stock recovers as Facebook IPO looms
Thursday, May 17
- New this week on the Inside Network Job Board: SponsorPay, High 5 Games, Warner Bros and more
- Vevo doubles registered user count since switching to Facebook-only login; CEO hints at further integration
- Facebook prices shares on the high end of its range at $38
- Facebook hires: engineering, public policy, engineering, more
- Facebook career postings: policy, data center, recruiting, more
- Facebook redesigns first step of ad creation in self-serve tool with list of potential ad destinations
Friday, May 18
- IPO snapshot: Facebook’s top 25 apps by size
- Facebook goes public after years of delay while company focused on features, growth
- Pages, Bubble Safari, GifBoom, Groupon, Disqus, more on this week’s top 20 emerging Facebook apps
- Redesigned activity box, notification center give Facebook users in-line controls for privacy, app alerts
- Facebook makes fifth mobile acquisition this year with Karma
- Priced to perfection or underwhelming: Facebook stock closes at $38
Saturday, May 19
