Here’s the full list:

iOS

Sonic CD – $2.99/£1.92 was $4.99/£3.20

Discounts can make a huge difference in app downloads, and there’s just something about the 99 cent price tag that is much more appealing than even $1.99.

It seems that most new-comers are attracted to free-to-play games on social media sites like Facebook. The report says this is one reason the gaming population has spiked so much since 2008. Games like Farmville and online slot machines on Facebook keep players engaged for long periods of time.

Games are becoming quite popular on mobile devices such as smartphones as well. With games like Angry Birds and Temple Run, mobile gaming is just as addictive as any other platform and the results don’t lie; there’s money to be made.

The mediums which gamers use to fulfill their playing desires varies from PC/laptop to actual gaming consoles such as Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The graph below illustrates the variances in preferences among gamers.

Since the introduction of tablets a few years ago, the mobility potential exploded. Tablets, being much like smartphones-minus the phone-are now a great and popular mobile device. With the ability to support apps, tools and games, this device is a real asset to mobile device users. With that being covered, the tablet mobile gaming platform has substantially gained momentum in past months as mobile/tablet games have become increasingly popular.

EA Sports has decided to reduce the price of Madden 12 for Android ahead of the Super Bowl. It’s usually $4.99, but if you go the Android Market right now, you can grab it for 99 cents. That’s a pretty good deal for the Android version of one of the most popular gaming franchises in all of gaming, though some have reported bugs with it.

The game has more 5 star ratings than other ratings on the Android Market, though its average is 3.3. Of course a $4 dollar discount can be more persuasive than negative reviews.

The app is now optimized for Android tablets.

If you’re watching the Super Bowl alone and you don’t care about Madonna, perhaps this will give you something to do during half time.

The game in question is called, “MegaUP: Upload if you can!” and was released January 25 on the Xbox Live Indie Games service. It comes from developer Bionic-Thumbs.

For those wondering how somebody can take the closure of MegaUpload and turn it into a game, let the game’s description fill you in:

In 2012 four men owners of a known uploader web were sent to prison by the government of freedom for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from prison.Today, still wanted by the government of freedom, they survive as uploaders of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire them.

In what may be the greatest set-up for a game ever, you would expect an equally amazing game experience. Unfortunately, the game reeks of a one-week development cycle. It’s an obvious cash-in on recent events.

That being said, I’m sure there is still some fun to be had in MegaUP if you can forgive its simplistic game design and use of the “run forward and jump over things” game mechanic popularized by Canabalt.

The game is an oddity that should be appreciated more for being topical and poking fun at current events instead of a serious take on the matter. If you want to try out MegaUP, it’s available now on the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace for 80 Microsoft Points ($1).

Digital Pal, launching in beta today, allows users to discuss specific subjects without it getting lost amidst all the photos and status updates. It also allows users to discuss their experiences and recommend movies, music, books and games to one another. It also offers powerful tools that recommend new products to users based upon what they already like.

Tatiana Utornik, DigitalPal project manager, explained the main role of the network: “Imagine this situation: “The Hangover” is on tonight. Should you watch it? It may be fun, but is it your kind of fun? Should you risk wasting your time – again? If only you could quickly find out what your friends thought about it. This is where DigitalPal steps in. It allows you to immediately see what your friends had to say about movies you want to see – but also music you want to hear, books you want to read, and games you want to play.”

DigitalPal is attempting to differentiate themselves from the other Web sites that focus on only one type of media like films and music by gathering them all into one place. With the service, users can receive recommendations from their friends and their own ratings.

The most important thing to remember is that DigitalPal is not trying to supplant Facebook. It only seeks to supplement the service for those who wish to share movie recommendations without the clutter of Facebook.

I’ve jumped on board to try the service out and can provide a few more details than what the company offered. First and foremost, users can sign in with their Facebook account which makes using the site much easier.

From there, the site takes you to MoviePal. It asks you to rate 10 movies on a scale of one to 10. You can either rate movies that are already there which are among the most popular films or you can search for the film you want to rate. After rating 10 of them, you are taken to a page with more films and are asked to refine the selection process so it can recommend more movies to you.

This same process is repeated for music, books and games. I’ve already rated my first 10 movies and games so here’s a screengrab of the book selection process to give you an idea of what it looks like at first.

The recommendation refining process lists a series of genres that allow the user to pick and choose which genres they like and then the service will pick out movies or games that belong in those genres. It’s a little wonky as the recommendation service is not always spot on nor does it feature every title out there.

Nonetheless, the service is off to a good start and most recommendations are spot-on. I rated Requiem for a Dream highly and every Darren Aronofsky film was at the top of my list of potential new movies to rate and recommend to friends.

The service features a board for users to display all of their recently rated media alongside their friend’s ratings. You can comment on your friend’s ratings as well as your own.

The rated tab allows you to organize your rated products alongside changing the rating. It’s a useful feature in the case of somebody not liking a movie that much anymore after repeated viewings.

There’s a wishlist so users can list what they want to watch or listen to. The final tab is the catalog which allows users to list every movie, book, album and game that they own. It’s a great way to brag about your collection and let your friends know what you have.

Finally, there’s a bar on the side called, “My Pals” that lists all your Facebook friends and lets you invite them to use DigitalPal. Below that is a bar called, “My Pals Favorites” which lists all of their favorite games, movies, music and books in real time as their lists are updated.

The site is a little rough around the edges now. It’s pretty simplistic aesthetically, but it gets the job done. The site is also in open beta so it’s not fully completed yet. The site’s team want users to try out DigitalPal and let them know what you think.

I for one love the idea of having all of my friend’s recommendations in one place. I don’t usually agree with the critics at large publications, but I can usually trust my friends’ recommendations. This site allows me to easily view those. The only problem is that it’s new and other much older and respected sites allow people to recommend stuff to their friends. It’s only a matter of time though to see how successful DigitalPal is especially after they exit beta and go into full commercial release.

What do you think? Are you interested in a social networking site that focuses more on media than statuses?

There’s not a whole lot of info about the game that I can see, beyond its YouTube description, which says:

Coming soon, play your world like never before with a game from the Google Maps team on Google+ Games powered by WebGL.

At the end of the video, it says the game will come to Google+ in February.

It links to what appears to be essentially a help center, albeit an interactive one, for Google Maps itself.

Although fantasy role-playing might owe it all to Dungeons & Dragons, the game itself is struggling to stay relevant in a world full of RPG options. Gaming analysts say that D&D sales have been on the decline for years, and D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast’s ex-VP told the NY Times that the market peaked a decade ago and has been steadily falling since 2005.

Controversial rule changes, highlighted by the latest revision of the game in 2008′s 4th edition, have broken up the fan base. When you couple this with all of the modern RPG competition out there, you can see why the people at Wizards of the Coast feel like it’s time to try something new.

So today, manager of D&D’s R&D Mike Mearls announced that they are in the process of developing the next version of the game – and they are turning to D&D players to help them shape it.

From a post on the Wizards site:

[W]e are excited to share with you that starting in Spring 2012, we will be taking this process one step further and conducting ongoing open playtests with the gaming community to gather feedback on the new iteration of the game as we develop it. With your feedback and involvement, we can make D&D better than ever. We seek to build a foundation for the long-term health and growth of D&D, one rooted in the vital traits that make D&D unique and special.

We want a game that rises above differences of play styles, campaign settings, and editions, one that takes the fundamental essence of D&D and brings it to the forefront of the game. In short, we want a game that is as simple or complex as you please, its action focused on combat, intrigue, and exploration as you desire. We want a game that is unmistakably D&D, but one that can easily become your D&D, the game that you want to run and play.

So Wizards of the Coast is looking for fan participation. They have already started a small playtest for Friends & Family, which basically amounts to internal employees and friends. The next step is a special playtest at the D&D Experience convention later this month. The final step is the open playtesting that will involve the release of rules and other materials through the website. This will all begin sometime this Spring.

“We seek to reach as many people as possible, from the gamer who just started with D&D last week to the gaming group that has been together since the early-1970s,” said Merals. “For this process to work, we want to give a voice to all D&D fans and players of all previous editions of the game.”

Players that want to participate in the playtest can sign up for email notifications.

Even the icon for the game looks like Words With Friends, as to present a familiar experience for users of the popular Scrabble-esque game.

“Scramble With Friends takes one of Zynga’s earliest games and sprinkles the magic of ‘With Friends’ games to enhance play and bring players a raucously fun mobile social experience,” said David Ko, chief mobile officer for Zynga. “Our ‘With Friends’ franchise brings new twists to classic favorites and Scramble With Friends is no different. We’re dedicated to innovating in mobile social games and bringing more play into everyone’s day wherever and whenever they want.”

Scramble With friends is initially available for iPhone and iPod Touch. Zynga says it’s a made for mobile game, but I would not be surprised to see it make its way to Facebook as Words With Friends did last year. I’d also expect Android and iPad versions to be released in time, though the company made no mention of them.

The game features multi-round play, including the standard round one, double scores in round two and triple scores in round three.

This isn’t the only new game Zynga has. The company also announced the launch of Hidden Chronicles.

The game opens with a letter from your uncle, who says that he is in danger and asks you to come quickly. When you arrive at his mansion, his assistant informs you that he has had a tragic and mysterious accident, and that there are clues to what he was involved in hidden about the mansion. After solving an easy scene in your uncle’s library, you are informed that you, like him, possess a mystical ability to see the history of objects you touch. From there, you set about finding objects in your uncle’s mansion and seeing scenes from their past. Your task is to find an array of items hidden in the scenes.

Never fear that Zynga has forgotten their FarmVille/CitiVille/FrontierVille roots, though. It seems that with your uncle’s passing you have inherited his manor, and it’s now your job to help the caretaker keep the place up. To that end, there’s a market where you can acquire various decorations to go on the property. Beautifying your uncle’s property is another way to unlock new scenes to play.

The game also includes a variety of social features, which should surprise no one. Players can share their achievements by posting them to their timeline, or visit their friends’ mansions and leave gifts for them to find and challenges for them to play.

All in all, this is another solid entry from the king of addictive Facebook games. Gameplay is engaging. The scenes are challenging without being too hard, and are beautifully rendered. Head over to Facebook and check it out, then come back and let us know what you think in the comments.

[Source: Zynga Blog]

Microsoft Flight Simulator, whether you call it a game or a tutorial program, is one of the most recognizable programs from the last few decades of PCs. It has been through numerous alterations and been updated a dozen or so times, but Microsoft Flight is apparently going to revamp the franchise more than any previous version.

According to Microsoft, here’s the mindset with which they built the new game:

With “Microsoft Flight” we’re approaching the virtual flight genre from the ground up, with the focus on the universal appeal of the experience of Flight. We believe the simplicity of “Microsoft Flight” perfectly captures that vision while welcoming the millions of existing Flight Simulator fans. The new “Microsoft Flight” retains the full fidelity simulation longtime fans have come to expect while offering all players a whole new look and feel, a wide range of new game play and challenges, persistent experiences and social connectivity.

They announced Microsoft Flight back in 2010, and today Microsoft says that the game will be available as a free download this Spring. Players will fly over Hawaii in an ICON A5, completing challenges and finding hidden “aerocaches.” The ICON A5 is designed by the engineers behind the Voyager and is referred to as the “jet ski for the skies.” Virtual pilots will have the chance to fly it before it even enters real-world production (slated for the end of 2012).

The game will fit the free-to-play model, charging players for things like additional challenges, planes and “maps” to fly over.

Flight will also feature Games for Windows – LIVE capabilities that allow for global multiplayer, automatic content updates, and achievements

“Many people dream of flying, but few have the chance to experience the fun of exploring the world from above. Microsoft Flight provides players the opportunity to explore that curiosity and interest,” said Joshua Howard, executive producer of Microsoft Flight. “Aviation can be incredibly technical, but we’ve taken great care to build an experience that makes taking to the skies thrilling and accessible for everyone.”

It looks like Microsoft wants to keep the basic feel and difficulty level for seasoned veterans of the series but also make it more accessible to folks that simply want to fly around.

Good, because all I can remember about Flight Simulator is crashing.