GamesBeat weekly roundup: Ubisoft delays Watch Dogs, times are still uneasy at Zynga, and mobile games soar in value

This week, Ubisoft delays two of its next-gen launch games (Watch Dogs and The Crew) perilously close to the new console launch dates, mobile games are on the rise as developer Supercell gets a $3.5 billion valuation, and Zynga might still be in trouble after a cofounder splits.

You’ll also find reviews for Skylanders: Swap Force and Sonic Lost World.

News:

• The DeanBeat: Welcome to the Battle Royal
• GamesBeat panel spotlight: Creating mobile ads that don’t suck
• Check out the full agenda (so far) for GamesBeat 2013
• DICE Summit to celebrate the ‘new golden age of gaming’
• Payment platform Rixty teams with Microsoft to give gamers more ways to get Xbox Live gift cards
• Treasure shooter Ikaruga among 37 newly approved Steam Greenlight titles
• Jonathan Blow’s The Witness is ‘very big;’ development team polishing the world
• Xbox One’s exclusive Machinima experience knows what you want to watch
• Peter Relan’s Studio 9+ reaches beyond games with its first incubator class
• Grand Theft Auto Online glitch turns players into billionaires (updated)
• After Playfish, social-game veterans return with Samurai Siege, earning $50K a day
• CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher is getting its own comic book series from Dark Horse

Announcements and reveals:

• PlayStation 4 getting four PlayStation 3/Vita gems: Flower, Flow, Sound Shapes, and Escape Plan
• Crytek’s free-to-play Warface shooter goes live in North America next week
• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix heading to PlayStation 3 next year

Above: Star Wars: Tiny Death Star for iOS and Android.

Image Credit: Disney

Mobile news:

• The first iOS 7-only game built exclusively on Apple’s new SpriteKit game engine
• Dungeons & Dragons: Arena of War role-playing game goes live for iOS devices
• Random House expands into mobile games with Catch the Berry (exclusive)
• Star Wars: Tiny Death Star lets you manage the Empire’s technological terror
• Peak Games dominates mobile social games in the Middle East and Turkey
• Kabam to create another Fast & Furious mobile game
• Warner Bros. to create mobile version of Batman: Arkham Origins

Tech:

• AMD CEO says firm is shipping millions of chips for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 consoles
• After 6 years, Anki launches slot car game with artificial intelligence
• PlayStation 4′s so-called ‘Red Line of Death’ is ‘not true,’ says Sony boss

Ruh-roh:

• Analyst: Zynga’s new-CEO honeymoon could end soon as it continues to bleed users
• Zynga cofounder leaves the social-game developer
• The Crew delayed as Ubisoft works to make the racer a ‘perennial pillar’ on Xbox One, PlayStation 4
• Some Pokémon X and Y players reporting game-breaking save bug

GamesBeat 2013:

• GamesBeat panel spotlight: Creating mobile ads that don’t suck
• GamesBeat panel spotlight: How e-sports has become a hot sports ticket
• GamesBeat panel spotlight: How to monetize with alternatives to big spending on user acquisition
• GamesBeat speaker spotlight: Hope for Windows 8 gaming?
• Spike TV’s Geoff Keighley to interview Sony Online’s boss John Smedley at GamesBeat 2013
• GamesBeat speaker spotlight: DeNA West’s Clive Downie wants consequential player engagement on mobile

Trailer hoedown:

• Jersey physics and Phil Collins: Check out the NBA 2K14 PlayStation 4, Xbox One trailer
• Check out the first advertisement for the world’s most realistic gaming gun (video)
• This is what the Xbox One friends list looks like (video)

All this funding:

• Chinese mobile-gaming company Chukong raises $50 million in latest funding round
• AppLift raises another $7M for mobile-game marketing
• Puzzle & Dragons developer and SoftBank invest $1.5 billion in Clash of Clans studio
• Oculus VR competitor from former Valve employees now on Kickstarter

Earnings:

• Sept. 2013 NPD: Grand Theft Auto V lifts software sales a staggering 52%, Wii U up
• Ubisoft’s stock price plummets 25 percent on major delays and missed earnings
• What Supercell’s $3B valuation means for the mobile game business (hint: Party time!)
• Caesar’s Interactive rules social casino games again in Q3 — but its revenue doesn’t grow

Above: The calorie-rich Des(s)ert Ruins level.

Image Credit: Sega

Reviews:

• Sonic Lost World is fun and pretty — but it’s also cruel and merciless (review)
• Skylanders Swap Force leaps over its predecessors with jumping and platforming elements (review)

Interviews:

• What Xbox Live Compute (Microsoft’s cloud) means for you (interview)

Pieces of flair:

• 10 current-gen innovations that changed the way we play games
• Who needs triple-A? These 10 next-gen indie games look amazing
• How to turn a developer into a founder: Advice from those who’ve done it
• ESPN’s ‘E:60′ covers the history of sports games from Pong to Madden NFL 25
• 5 best new Pokémon in X and Y
• Getting Mewtwo and other tips and tricks for Pokémon X and Y