While Nokia has been struggling to do battle against the likes of Apple and Android devices in developed markets, it's Symbian OS has continued a stronghold over emerging markets.
The Finnish manufacturer has released a number of stats and trends. One of which shows that its Nokia Store is now receiving 11 million app and content downloads per day.
This has enabled 177 developers to bag one million downloads apiece as the top markets in 2011 were India, China, Russia, Brazil and Turkey.
India itself favoured games and downloaded more content than the rest of the top five combined, which opted for general apps.
Of the 154 supported Nokia devices, the top five for downloads were the N8-00, the 5800 XPRESSMUSIC, the 5233, the 5230 and the C3-00.

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...per-day/016660 ...

Best Buy is currently offering a buy two, get two sale on used games. There are plenty of recent titles available, including the likes of Modern Warfare 3, Dead Island and Batman: Arkham City. If you're feeling frugal, just head over to the website.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Pre-Owne...at232900050017 ...

It was a case of the usual suspects this week as the top 20 failed to see any new entries. FIFA 12 starts the year by holding on the number one spot, followed by Battlefield 3, which swapped places with Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

In a month that traditionally sees a rise in dieting and gym memberships it was a huge week for fitness titles, with Zumba Fitness shooting back up the charts from 19 to 6. Zumba Fitness 2 saw a similar push, from 28 to 12, and EA Sports Active 2 rose from 37 to 20.

Last Week This Week Title
1 1 FIFA 12
3 2 Battlefield 3
2 3 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
4 4 Just Dance 3
8 5 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
19 6 Zumba Fitness
7 7 Need For Speed: The Run
6 8 Saints Row: The Third
12 9 Rage
5 10 Assassin's Creed: Revelations
10 11 Forza Motorsport 4
Re-entry 12 Zumba Fitness 2
9 13 Mario Kart 7
11 14 Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games
14 15 Super Mario 3D Land
Re-entry 16 Football Manager 2012
15 17 Sonic Generations
16 18 Kinect Sports: Season 2
18 19 Rayman Origins
Re-entry 20 EA Sports Active 2

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-at-number-one ...

Two new consoles, the return of Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider, plus a string of top looking new IP. 2012 is already shaping up to be a blockbuster year for games. MCV – with the help of industry execs – offer 50 reasons why this new year will be a defining one for the UK games industry.

Fergal Gara - VP and MD, SCE?UK and Ireland

Vita. It has a massive potential audience in all those who appreciate a high-end gaming experience, and whilst we face many challenges, we’re excited to bring it to market. I am also looking forward to making changes at SCE UK. Having joined just a few weeks ago, I see enormous potential for us to perform better as a team, in order to entertain a much larger group of consumers. I’m looking forward to working closely with all my Sony colleagues, third parties and retail partners.


Dawn Paine - Assistant General Manager and Marketing Director, Nintendo UK

I am looking forward to getting stuck into some of the broader industry issues as a UKIE board member. It will be great to be part of moving the UK games industry’s agenda forward, having had a challenging time of it during 2011.


Chris Lewis - Vice President, Xbox Europe

Just over a year ago, we surprised people with Kinect and the magic it brought, and continues to bring, to their living rooms. In 2012, we’ll surprise people with a revolutionary TV experience as we see entertainment partners join Xbox Live and transform the way they control, search and enjoy TV, movies and music. Aside from that, I can’t help but be excited about the return of Master Chief – it’s what I’m looking forward to, my son is looking forward to, and what our fans are looking forward to.


Ian Livingstone - Life President, Eidos

I’m looking forward to the Education Secretary Michael Gove officially announcing that computer science will be included in the National Curriculum almost as much as I’m looking forward to the release of Tomb Raider.


Mike Hayes - President and CEO, Sega West

The Olympics. It’s a proud moment for our country. It should mean continuing great sales of Mario & Sonic and success with our official game on 360, PS3 and PC out in the summer. And it’s a proud moment for me as the sailing is being held in my home town of Weymouth.


Rob Salter - Entertainment Director, Tesco

Some sustained growth in games. Conditions will remain challenging and it is up to retailers and manufacturers to deliver compelling propositions. The Olympics should provide a boost to the economy and the nation’s mood, but we’ll need to earn our share of the TV.


Kunio Neo - President,Konami Europe

I predict 2012 will be the year we will witness the transformation of the way games will be experienced. New technology and platforms have positively impacted traditional console manufactures as well as publishers by expanding the overall ecosystem.


Robert Nashak - EVP, BBC Worldwide

The Vita launch. We’re bringing Doctor Who to Vita at launch and the feature set for Vita will blow your mind. I also look forward to next-gen console announcements from Sony and Microsoft. Also, Bioshock Infinite, The Last Guardian and Syndicate.


Martin Defries - MD, Rising Star Games

Continued sales for 3DS – we have a line-up of great game titles to launch in the year. Also, if dreams could come true, a complete and boundary-less rise of the UK High Street retailers selling games profitably.


Ian Shepherd - CEO, GAME Group

Innovation. The industry is at its best when it’s creative – 2012 will bring new hardware, new games, new digital business models and more. At GAME, we want to be in the middle of that and we will continue to invest in our stores, our websites and our digital services.


Jon Rooke - Marketing Director, THQ

Seeing what new alcoholic shot the industry adds to generic energy drink X.I’ve tried Jagerbombs, Skittlebombs, Absinthebombs, Buccabombs and the 2011 winner, Glitterbombs, at various industry dos. It’s time for something new. Baileybombs for the win.


Andy Payne - MD, Mastertronic

First, AppyNation to become a leading publisher. Second, persuading the Government that the Patent Box principle that exists in pharmaceuticals can be replicated in games. And finally, to see if we could unite two trade bodies into one.


Heiko Hubertz - CEO, Bigpoint
I look forward to seeing what will happen with Google+. Facebook and Zynga were extremely beneficial to the entire industry. They helped gaming to become a mainstream culture. Let’s see if Google+ can take us another step forward.


Chris Ratcliff - Editor,Game Guide

The launch of our retail software for Vauxhall car dealers. We are looking at a shrinking market in games and while we’ll continue producing the Game Guide data for games retailers and updating their EPOS systems, we have to look at other markets.


Ed Vaizey - Minister for the Creative Industries

I am looking forward to a real step change in how kids are taught computer science in school.


Robert Hennessy - Games Buyer, John Lewis

The London Olympics. I visited Vancouver in 2010 for the Winter Olympics and the city went crazy. London 2012 will be an amazing spectacle and I can’t wait.
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A video game developer working for Kuma Reality Games has admitted that the company has been receiving money from the CIA to design and freely distribute special movies and games with the aim of manipulating public opinion in the Middle East. Amir Mizra Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, moved to work for Kuma after working for DARPA and has said the goal of the company was to convince people that whatever the U.S. does in other countries is a good measure. Kuma officials have declined to comment, while Hekmati himself is locked in Iran. The United States government has demanded the release of Hekmati, but Iran has sentenced him to death for spying, which he confessed to

http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/0...-as-propaganda ...

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Two new consoles, the return of Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider, plus a string of top looking new IP. 2012 is already shaping up to be a blockbuster year for games. MCV offer 50 reasons why this new year will be a defining one for the UK games industry.
1. PlayStation Vita
Forget gaming on the iPhone, it can’t do what this portable can – which is pretty much everything. Two touch pads, a tilt sensor, dual analogue sticks, HD visuals, two cameras – the console is crammed with functionality and technology. It arrives very early this year (February 22nd to be precise) and will be a must-buy for game fanatics thanks to a stellar launch line-up.
2. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Looking glorious even on a portable screen, this Vita launch title arrives just months after the best-selling game in the series so far – Uncharted 3.
3. Wipeout 2048
The next WipEout from Sony’s Liverpool studio is a launch title and features touch controls.
4. Killzone
SCE Cambridge is developing the second portable Killzone game.
5. LittleBigPlanet
The latest LittleBigPlanet makes use of Vita’s various control schemes.
6. Big third-party brands
It’s not all first-party games for Vita this year. Sony has secured some major third-party support for Vita, with games based on Final Fantasy, Call of Duty, Ridge Racer, Mortal Kombat, F1, FIFA and more big franchises due this year.
7. Kinect cuts to the core
So far, the majority of Kinect games have been aimed at the family gamer. In 2012 that changes with a string of core brands featuring Kinect support, including Star Wars, Steel Battalion, Fable, Ghost Recon and Mass Effect.
8. More Call of Duty
The Call of Duty juggernaut rumbles on into 2012, with the first new releases being Modern Warfare 3 DLC. Activision has also announced a Call of Duty for Vita, while the next blockbuster from studio Treyarch will likely be announced in spring.
9. The next generation is here
Nintendo’s Wii U arrives this year. The device (which was only unveiled six months ago) features a tablet controller and runs HD video games, including Batman: Arkham City, LEGO City Stories, Super Smash Bros, Killer Freaks From Out of Space, Pikmin 3 and Tekken.A second reveal is due soon.
10. Retail commits to digital
Last year, UK retailers made tentative steps into digital markets with points cards and services. That will be taken to another level in 2012: Amazon will launch its own PC download store, GAME will be pushing OnLive via its website and stores, while GameStop will better align its digital services. Expect most etailers to launch digital offerings, too.
11. PEGI becomes law (Probably)
Yep, the video games ratings system has still not been made law. But don’t worry, it will definitely happen this year. In the first half of this year. Right?
12. BioShock Infinite
There’s a number of big games from 2K this year, but the next BioShock – by series creator Ken Levine – is by far the biggest. This third title in the series takes place in the sky.
13. Mass Effect 3
The acclaimed RPG trilogy reaches its climax this March. Developer BioWare is focusing on large-scale action as giant aliens invade earth.
14. Halo 4
343 Industries is now fully in control of the Halo series, and its first major task is to develop the true sequel to Bungie’s 2007 epic blockbuster, Halo 3. No pressure.
15. Diablo III
Warcraft developer Blizzard’s big game of 2012 is an isometric PC?RPG, which arrives early this year.
16. MMORE
2011 ended with one of the most anticipated MMOs ever in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But 2012 has its own array of promising new titles, such as Trion Worlds’ MMORTS End of Nations, PS3 FPS Dust 514 (due spring) and PC RPG The Secret World by Funcom (set for April). The two biggest releases are the next World of Warcraft expansion Mists of Pandaria, and NCsoft’s Guild Wars sequel.
17. Big year for brawlers
You can’t beat a good bit of fisticuffs and fighters have never been more popular. This year, there’s one hell of a line-up of brawlers. There’s a slew of portable beat ‘em ups, from Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Reality Fighters and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend on Vita, to Tekken 3D Prime Edition on 3DS. But the biggest titles are due on consoles, namely Soul Calibur V, Street Fighter X Tekken, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Dead or Alive V. THQ has its usual array of grapplers, including two WWE games and UFC Undisputed 3.
18. Next Gen Skills Campaign rumbles on
Momentum is building behind the industry’s bid to transform the education system and inspire the next generation of game developers. Could 2012 be the year that computer science is added to the National Curriculum?
19. Three for FIFA
Forget the Olympics – the Euros take place this summer. Expect England to disappoint, and EA to help us get over it with a tie-in game that will give fans a taste of the upcoming FIFA 13. But that’s not all: there’s a new FIFA?Street, this time developed by the core FIFA team.
20. Next wave of 3DS titles
3DS is starting to gain momentum, and there’s plenty of top games to look forward to this year. There’s the sequel to GameCube launch title Luigi’s Mansion, a brand new Paper Mario, and the return of Kid Icarus. That’s on top of third party releases such as Resident Evil, Tekken and Metal Gear Solid.
21. Top networking events
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WikiLeaks cables show Spain has been called to act since 2008

The Spanish government was subjected to ambassadorial pressure from the US to introduce a tough new anti-piracy law, according to diplomatic cables and leaked correspondence.
Alan Solomont, the US ambassador in Madrid, is believed to have threatened Spain’s president with “retaliation” unless action was taken to curb illicit online file sharing in the country.

In a letter dated December 12th, Solomont (pictured) reminded Spanish officials that the nation was already placed on the so-called ‘Special 301’ – a US list of countries that are deemed ineffective in protecting copyright holders from online piracy.
Spain was under risk of having its position "degraded" further, and could have joined a blacklist of "the worst violators of global intellectual property rights" if action wasn’t taken, the correspondence suggested.
Joining the blacklist could have, in turn, resulted in "retaliation actions", Solomont was quoted as saying, including the elimination of tariff agreements and a referral to the World Trade Organisation.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/3...SOPA-style-law ...

Snaps up Norway's Smarterphone to sit alongside WinPho and Symbian.
It remains to be seen how Nokia would implement the platform given that Windows is designated for premium smartphones and Symbian is powering mid-range devices.
Smarterphone's own site says its OS makes it possible to 'deliver a user experience similar to smart phones on affordable hardware, and allows unique flexibility for tailoring handset software to different markets'.
The firm had previously received investment from Ferd Capital.
Annar Bohn, Investment manager in Ferd Capital, said: “Our belief in the team, technology and the long term market for feature phones remains firm, and we believe the company has now found a fantastic new home with Nokia."
interestingly, Smarterphone also received funding from Haavard Nord, the founder of Trolltech, which Nokia bought in 2008.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...ther-os/016615
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