A suggestion to improve app discovery

Animoca proposes a tweak to smartphone app stores which may yield improvements in app discovery: a toggle on the top charts that hides apps you have already installed. Read all about it on the Animoca blog post.

Animoca receives investments from Intel Capital and IDG-Accel

Our partner Animoca (also known as Outblaze Ventures) is one of the biggest players in the apps business in the region. Now, Animoca has closed its Series A round of funding, securing investments from none other than VC powerhouses Intel Capital and IDG-Accel.

Read the press release on the Animoca web site.

Congratulations, Animoca!

Barcamp Hong Kong this week-end

Check out the Outblaze-sponsored Barcamp Hong Kong 2011 this Saturday! The location is the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre of the University of Hong Kong (Cornwall Street, Kowloon Tong). Check out the web site for more details.

Video and Photos from Startup Saturday HK 2011

This year Outblaze sponsored Startup Saturday HK 2011, an event chock-full of entrepreneurial enthusiasm. Click here to see some quality photographs of the day.

You can also check out this very nice video montage of the event.

Animoca recent mobile app releases (2011.10.07)

Enjoy this week’s installment in the “recent app releases” series, showcasing  the latest apps by Outblaze and Animoca.

New Apps

Pretty Pet Cinema on iOS (free)

The Pretty Pet series continues its inexorable march towards utter world domination with this latest game, in which the popular Cuby needs your help to distribute tickets, snacks and drinks to patrons. Can your speed and skill turn Cuby’s cinema into the most popular in town?

Cover Beauty on iOS (free)

This new app puts you in charge of designing a fashion magazine cover look. You will choose the fashion style, make-up, hair, accessories, and more. When you are happy with your model’s look, start the photoshoot for extra experience and post your cover creation on Facebook to show the world your ability as a fashion editor.

Pretty Pet Juice Empire HD on iOS (free)

The game Pretty Pet Tycoon was such a success that users demanded a sequel, and here it is.  Grab a friend and take on the Pretty Pet Juice Empire challenge. This game supports multitouch, which lets you and one or more friends work together as you run a fruit juice business.

Pizza Picasso Pro on iOS ($2.99)

Bake a virtual pizza and make it look exactly like you want it to look! The Pro version has all ingredients unlocked and will turn you into a chef faster than you can say “what an awesome pizza, how did you do that?” Share your creations on Facebook and impress your friends with your virtual culinary artistry.

Painful Beauty on iOS (free)

You play an attractive girl surrounded by a horde of creepy men who cannot take “no” for an answer. Maneuver through the creeps by tilting your device in the direction you want to run. Try to aim for speed boosts and other items that can help you escape more easily, or go for devices such as bombs to communicate in no uncertain manner that the creeps’ romantic advances are not welcome. It’s tough being beautiful.

Dodge Talent! on iOS (free)

A tilt-based game that is all action and fun and which includes multiple modes for different game experiences (from hapless princess to space invader!). Try your hand at avoiding fast-moving objects and demonstrate your peerless ability as the king of dodge.

Updated Apps

Pretty Pet Farm 1.3 (iOS)

Pretty Pet Salon Seasons 1.4 (iOS)

Pretty Pet Pony 1.1  (iOS)

Drop The Duck! 1.1.1 (iOS)

Pretty Pet Salon 1.9.3 (iOS)

Animoca recent mobile app releases (2011.09.30)

Continuing our “recent app releases” series, here are the latest digital goods brought to you by Outblaze and Animoca.

New Apps

Pretty Pet Pony on iOS (free)

Mixing strategic time management with pony races and customization, the newest installment in the Pretty Pet series  is highly addictive and very, very cute. The classic pet grooming that made the series a blockbuster hit is still there, but it’s now all about caring for horses and raising a racetrack winner.

My Car Salon on Android (free)

My Car Salon reached the number one rank in the racing games category on a dozen iTunes stores world-wide. It’s just launched on Android, so get some engine oil on you and get those fingers tapping – those mechanics aren’t going to work by themselves!

My Car Salon Korea on iOS (free)

The Korean version of My Car Salon is now available on iOS devices. See description above.

Updated Apps

Car City Pro 1.0.1 on iOS ($1.99) – bug fixes

My Pet Cuby 1.2 on Android (free) – bug fixes, added seasonal themes

Drop the Duck! 1.1 on iOS (free) – bug fixes

Animoca recent mobile app releases (2011.09.20)

Animoca and Outblaze are releasing game apps at a rapid pace, so we have decided to start posting a weekly round-up of new releases and noteworthy updates. Click on the app names below to view the game’s page on iTunes or Android Marketplace.

New Apps

Drop the Duck 1.0 for iOS (free)

Lost ducklings need your help! In this addictive puzzle game you must guide a bunch of lost little ducklings back to Mama Duck by “drawing” a path for them and interacting with various obstacles. You can connect to the Game Center to track your high scores and achievements and compare them to other players’.

Car City Pro 1.0 for iOS ($1.99)

This is the premium follow-up to the original Car City, the action-management hybrid game in which you design and market your own car – and even take it out for a drive! Included in the price of the app are 6,000 coins and 350 Car Points to bring out your inner motor mogul.

Updated Apps

Pretty Pet Farm 1.2 for iOS (free)

The farming game of the smash-hit Pretty Pet series has been updated to version 1.2, which adds a new quest system, new ways to earn experience and coins, and even instant growth spurts for all your crops. Bug fixes included.

Pretty Pet Salon Seasons 1.3.1  for iOS (free)

The highly addictive “seasonal” edition of Pretty Pet Salon has received an update to improve performance on all devices and fix a number of bugs. Not familiar with the Pretty Pet phenomenon yet? It’s time to download one of the games in the series or learn more at www.prettypetsalon.com!

Coverage of Outblaze business on Inside Mobile Apps

Inside Mobile Apps revisits Outblaze to catch up with the booming app business. Especially worthy of note is the 30 million install milestone, and the observations on iOS and Android environments. Extract:

Outblaze, a Hong Kong developer with an unusual strategy of launching as many as two to three games per week, says it has reached about 30 million installs across its titles. When we talked to the company in July, it had one larger hit, Pretty Pet Salon, which was doing well on both Android and iOS.

Now its 60-person mobile games unit is doing about 5 million downloads a month, with 1.5 million of those installs coming from Android and 3.5 million from iOS. Both are growing at roughly 20 to 30 percent month-over-month. Right now, the company’s titles are 80 percent on iOS and 20 percent on Android, but the goal is to get them to 50-50.

Android however is producing an average revenue per user that’s 30 percent higher than on iOS.

Click to read the full article on Inside Mobile Apps.

Earth Eternal invites players for open beta test

Earth Eternal is a MMORPG that Outblaze and TurnOut Ventures purchased a while back. We’ve been working on it for months and it’s now ready for open beta testing. What’s especially interesting about this title (apart from the extensive and detailed lore that will be made available soon) is that we worked hard to make a lightweight game client that could be streamed to the player’s PC. This is not a web browser game – it does not run in your browser – but we attempted to deliver the convenience and portability of one.

Have a stroll through a fantasy world long after the fall of humanity by going to the Earth Eternal web site. Or read the Earth Eternal beta launch press release.

Inside Mobile Apps feature on Outblaze

The always insightful Inside Mobile Apps took a close look at the Outblaze app business, focusing on the blockbuster hit Pretty Pet Salon. 6 months after setting up Animoca (the app publishing business of Outblaze), the company has over 100 titles under its belt, 22 million downloads, and a profitable business that continues to produce exciting and innovative smartphone game titles. Read the feature by Inside Mobile Apps to learn more