Chromecast gets Starz, Showtime and… Monopoly?
Casual games and TV shows from Starz and Showtime are coming to Chromecast in the latest update of apps for Google’s streaming stick.
With new Draw Something features, OMGPOP starts move onto Z Cloud
Less than a month after being acquired Zynga, OMGPOP is on its way to being integrated into the giant game maker’s technology roadmap, says Jason Pearlman, CTO of OMGPOP. Some of the new Draw Something features released today were made using Z Cloud resources.
Gaming the magazine: IPC flips page to advergames
What if a magazine publisher had devised Angry Birds? Time Inc’s UK publisher IPC Media is creating a new division to develop casual games.
But this isn’t strictly a content play. The division, IPC Play, will create “advergames” – marketing game-candy designed as digital adjuncts to the space sold to magazine advertisers.
Making the games will be Mousebreaker, the minigame developer IPC acquired back in 2008, and Feelgood Games, the female-focused casual games brand IPC launched in 2011.
To promote the division itself, IPC is inviting media agency staff themselves to play its own game – Planner, Buyer, Fire – to win an office pool table and other prizes.
IPC has previously built game campaigns for Land Rover, Barbour, Disney, Pepsi Max and P&G, but is now formally offering it as part of its advertising line-up.
Jun Group raises $2.5m to insert video ads into social games
Social video ad firm Jun Group has raised a small bit of funding, a full six years after being founded. The New York City-based company, which specializes in serving video ads into social environments like casual games, has raised $2.5 million from Western Technology Investment.
PlayJam raises $5M to bring casual games to your TV
TV gaming startup PlayJam has raised a $5 million Series A funding round from GameStop Digital Ventures, Adobe Ventures, Endeavour Ventures, London Venture Partners and others. The financing comes as PlayJam sees a massive opportunity to bring new games to connected TV platforms.
Roku adds more casual games to its streaming box
Right on the heels of $8 million in new funding, Roku has added seven new casual games to its boxes. The games, which were developed by Accedo, follow on the release of Angry Birds on its new devices and will add some additional revenues.
Zynga’s ‘Words with Friends’ is coming to Facebook
Zynga is bringing its popular Scrabble-esque mobile game Words With Friends to Facebook, the company announced Monday. This represents the first time that Zynga has extended a mobile-only game to Facebook — showing that despite its diversification efforts, Zynga’s dependence on the social network remains strong.
Roku Adding Casual Games, Starting With Angry Birds
Roku will soon add support for casual games, starting with Rovio’s ultra-popular Angry Birds franchise, which will be launched on a new generation of devices. Angry Birds and other casual games will be rolled out this summer, as Roku adds new products to support the launch.
3 Productivity Tips for the Corporate Web Worker
I should admit to a dirty little secret: I’m a productivity junkie. I get an enormous amount of pleasure out of finding faster and more efficient ways to accomplish everyday tasks; I love to find better ways to gather and process information more quickly.
VC Views: Lightspeed Ventures’ Jeremy Liew Says Lots of Growth Left in Virtual Goods
Jeremy Liew, a managing director with Lightspeed Venture Partners, is a big believer in virtual goods. Liew recently stopped by GigaOM HQ for a quick chat about the explosive growth of that market and where it’s headed.