Da-da, da-da, dadadadada …. It’s JAWS!

Did you know…

• JAWS broke box office records on its release in 1975, grossing more than $470 million worldwide!
• The film received universal acclaim and even holds a rare 100% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes
• Tiny actors were used in a miniature shark cage to give the illusion of massive sharks
• Spielberg got scared that his crew were going to chuck him in the water at the end of the final scene, so simply didn’t turn up! It has since become a tradition for Spielberg to be absent when the final scene of a film he directs is being filmed

 

 

 

 

Jaws on mobile

Stay out of the water this summer, as Connect2media is bringing the terrifying blockbuster JAWS to a smartphone, feature phone or tablet near you! Roger Davies, Chief Commercial Officer, Connect2Media said about the partnership with Universal:

“JAWS is one of the greatest film franchises ever, not only smashing box office records but making significant waves in the film industry. It is much more than a movie; it is a truly iconic part of popular culture. We expect this game to take a huge bite out of the market when it’s launched.”

 

 

 

 

Get JAWS on your phone’s game store, or buy from the Android market:

Tags: android, competition, JAWS, JAWS facts, JAWS film, JAWS movie, mobile game

Working in Mobile Gaming

Sophie

Michael

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here at Connect2Media we are sad to say goodbye to two of our newest placement students, Sophie and Michael, who have joined us for a 3 month masters placement and a week’s work experience respectively. Before they left they shared their thoughts on their time with us, and gave advice on how to get into the industry:

So… tell us a bit about yourself:

Michael: I’m 17, fromLiverpool, currently studying maths, further maths, physics and computing at A-level. I want to study Engineering or Computer Science at University, but my aim is to get a job working in the games industry as a designer or producer. I mainly play RPGs and FPSs on the PlayStation 3.

Sophie: I’m 21, from the Valleys of South Wales, and I’ve nearly finished my masters in Business and Marketing. I’m a casual gamer at heart and can spend hours at a time playing games on my mobile!

What have you been doing on your placement?

Michael: With the marketing team I took screenshots for promotional material, as well as helping update the Facebook and Wikipedia pages. With production I helped make minor changes to an Android game called “Color Stars”, and also designed the user interface and thought of some new game mechanics for the 365 Board Games sequel.

Sophie: I’ve been working with the marketing team to implement a new social media strategy, running competitions and engaging gamers on forums. One of my bigger projects was to undertake some consumer research into casual gamers and analyse the results.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve learnt?

Michael: The most interesting thing I have learnt is how the game creation process works- who and what is involved at each step. This has helped my understanding of the creation process and has made me want to join the industry even more.

Sophie: I was a bit of a mobile gaming novice before I started, so everything I’ve learnt has been new and interesting!! I think the most fascinating thing though has been watching titles transform from simple ideas to fully formed games that people are discussing on our social sites and forums.  

Any advice to others trying to get work experience with a mobile gaming company?

Michael: Just keep asking at as many places as you possibly can, and eventually somewhere will let you in.

Sophie: I agree with Michael. Don’t be shy, just ask. The worst that can happen is they say no! And once you get some experience remember to write down everything – it can be a lot to take in on your first day!

If you want to ask Sophie or Michael any questions about their time with us, follow them on Twitter at @sophierussler and @mikeh1194

Tags: development, job, marketing, mobile gaming, placement, publishing, work experience

World Series of Poker – Connect2Media Competition!

So the event that poker fans across the world have been waiting for is finally here!

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, with a massive $10,000 buy-in, begins at 12pm today. And guess who is playing? None other than our favourite poker star, Phil Hellmuth, who is battling to get his all important 12^th gold bracelet.

Phil Hellmuth is the star of our mobile game, Hellmuth’s High Stake Hold’em, where you play along with, and learn from, the great man himself. He coaches you hand-by-hand in game so that hopefully one day you can battle in the main event yourself!

Competition 

To celebrate, we are launching #WSOPcountdown, where you can win amazing Hellmuth merchandise every single day!!

Today (7^th July) – follow us on Twitter and retweet our competition message later today. You can win one of these worth $29.99!

Friday (8^th July) – missed out on winning the hat yesterday? Don’t worry, simply head over to our Facebook page and answer the question there to be in with the chance of winning a second one

Saturday (9^th July) – Want one of these bad boys? Simply follow us on Twitter and retweet the competition message that we send out. Good luck!

Sunday (10^th July) – missed out on the t-shirt yesterday? Don’t worry, we’ve got another three up for grabs. Simply answer the poker related question that we send out on Twitter today

Monday (11^th July) – Today we’ve got an even bigger and better prize! This time win a hat and t-shirt combo. Simply answer the question that will appear in the comments section below!

Tuesday (12^th July) – We’ve saved the biggest and best prize till last! Win 1 of 5 Hellmuth t-shirts!! Simply head over to Facebook and answer the question that will appear. Clue: it’s going to involve this rap!

Good luck everyone! And don’t forget to read our competition terms and conditions.

Tags: competition, phil hellmuth, world series of poker, wsop

Win NBA merchandise!

Our newest competition goes out to all of our US fans!

To celebrate the launch of Top Trumps NBA on iPhone we want to give away some NBA merchandise of your choice (see the range here).

To enter simply come and see us on Facebook and tell us the name of one of your NBA loving mates who you think deserves to win a $25 NBA voucher.

The best thing is- if they win $25 to spend in the NBA store, so do you! So between you that’s $50 of merchandise from the team of your choice. Aren’t we nice to you!

Competition ends Thursday 7th July, at 12pm GMT (and is only open to US residents). Further competition terms and conditions can be found here.  Good luck!!

Tags: competition, game, iphone, merchandise, mobile game, NBA

Mobile Gaming Weekly Round-Up 4

Now that everything has cooled down a bit after the hectic week that was E3 we thought it was high time to bring you all the fourth mobile gaming round-up. This week we’re bringing you three juicy nuggets of information from the unveiling of the Nokia N9 to the growing addiction to apps. Enjoy!

Nokia N9 unveiled

This beautiful piece of hardware will be hitting the shelves later this year armed with the much anticipated MeeGo operating system, a polycarbonate shell that’s coloured all the way through (great news for those prone to scratches), and a screen that covers pretty much all of one side.

We’re thinking the latter is great news for gamers who want to see their Ovi Store games as large as possible! So, do you think you’ll take the plunge with the first (and last) MeeGo Nokia mobile?

More N9 hardware details here.

Addicted to apps!

The Guardian this week brought us the exciting news that people are spending more time per day on their apps (including games) than on either desktop or mobile web.

This has come from staggering growth in just the past year: in June 2010 the average user spent 43 minutes a day on apps, but fast forward to June 2011 and we’re spending 81 minutes a day on them. Yes that’s nearly an hour and a half every single day!

No wonder when we’re hearing news like the fact 1 in 3 iPad users can’t bear to be separated from their games to the point where they use it in the toilet! Here at Connect2Media we’re not so sure tech and water should mix :S

Mobile Gaming Research

We’re currently doing a bit of research into everyone and anyone who plays games on their phone. Some interesting trends are already starting to emerge like the fact that more people hear about games they want to buy for the first time on social networks rather than on deck.

But we still want more respondents!!

By filling out a quick survey (taking no longer than 5 minutes… promise) you will be entered into a draw to win £50 Amazon vouchers. Good luck!

ENTER HERE!!!

Please Help!!!

We want to know what influences people like you to buy mobile games, and the sort of games that you like. This will help us to make even more exciting and fun games in the future!

Our short survey should take you less than five minutes to complete, and as thanks you will be entered into a prize draw to win £50 Amazon vouchers (or equivalent for those in other countries). The winner will be announced on the 20th July.

Thank you and good luck!

Tags: competition, Gaming, mobile gaming, prize draw, research, survey, win

Spotlight on… Call of Atlantis

Atlantis is the legendary lost civilisation first mentioned by the famous philosopher Plato as far back at 360BC. Nobody knows the supposed location for sure, with theories ranging from Antarctica toIreland, and Sweden to the Bermuda Triangle! Even today, historians can’t decide whether it was ever real at all, or simply myth.

One thing that we do know for definite about Atlantis however, is that it makes a pretty addictive mobile video game!

Call of Atlantis is a casual puzzle game with a combination of match-three, hidden object and adventure, with of course that fascinating twist of Ancient history.

Originally on PC, the title has clocked up a staggering 10,000,000 downloads, and more than 35,000,000 people play the browser version. To put this into perspective, if you laid that many mobile phones end to end, you’d get halfway round the world!

Now on Mobile!

When the game was brought to iPhone it proved just as popular, hitting the app charts in numerous countries. And this month, the blockbuster title comes to JAVA, BREW and Android, so that you too can play the game on the move!

“An exceptionally polished and professional match-3 port” AppSafari.com

Igor Bukhman, Co-Founder and President of Playrix, who developed the game, said:

“We are very excited to see Call of Atlantis launch on different platforms including Android. From new exciting mini-games designed for touch screen to advanced quality standards as far as game graphics are concerned, Call of Atlantis promises to be a rewarding gaming experience for anyone who decides to give it a try.”

So remember to look out for the game on your phone, and tell us over on Facebook what you think of it!

Tags: Atlantis, Call of Atlantis, casual mobile game, location of atlantis, mobile game, mobile games, playrix