In a move that looks to be an early test for the appeal of casual games on TV among people who don’t buy consoles, a platform that enables just that has launched in France. GameTree TVis the product of Canadian company TransGaming, and its first client is a French set-top box manufacturer. The platform brings casual games such as PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled 2 to the biggest screen in the house....
While hanging out in Boulder a couple of years ago, 28-year oldMichael Tsengwas playing withGowallawith his friends. “We thought, what a beautiful app. But we kept talking about what itcouldbe,” he says. They wanted a coveted prize to appear to represent their achievements. They thought about having rivalries in other towns. They wanted Capture the Flag. In short, they wantedmoar game. Eventually Tseng moved to New York City and jumped aboard theFoursquaretrend....
The gamification of our daily lives is something that we’re seeing more and more of in apps and websites. Checking in onFoursquaregives you badges and lofty titles.Empire Avenuerewards you for your social network interaction. The latest online game, Paris-basedOnefeat, takes a slightly different approach, by taking the focus of the game off the screen and into the real world. Playing Onefeat involves a series of missions which you can choose to complete, by taking a photograph that fits a certain description or criteria....
GammaRebelsis a new startup accelerator programme based in Warsaw, Poland, which aims to be a ‘YCombinator for central Europe’. Its first run kicked off on 11 August, involving six startups over a three-month programme. Participating startups get 20,000 PLN ($7,000) for 10% equity and help from a range of mentors from across Europe. While the stake to investment ratio is far from the most competitive on a global scale, it reflects the lower operating costs of being based in Warsaw compared to more well-known startup cities like London and Berlin....
GaoPeng.com, the localized group-buying portal funded by Groupon and Tencent, has begun accepting email registrations from local consumers, with daily deals promoting local merchants. Beijing-based GaoPeng, “powered by Groupon”, plans to offer consumers unbeatable prices while delivering local merchants significant exposure and a steady stream of new customers. GaoPeng subscribers will get free daily emails alerting them to the deals. Initially, the service will cover Beijing and Shanghai, but will eventually be available in other major cities as well....
