Local game developer Halfbrick Studios is beating the world. With fruit. And ninjas. And zombies...
An Australian game development company is breaking gaming chart records on both the Playstation Network and iPhone platforms.
Halfbrick Studio's 'Age of Zombies' game was named the number one downloaded Playstation Minis game while Fruit Ninja, also developed by Halfbrick, has become an international best seller.
Fruit Ninja rocketed past one million in sales after just 74 days on sale, solidifying its position as one of the biggest selling and most popular iPhone games of all time.
The continued support of Fruit Ninja has been modeled on regular free updates. Five updates have been released so far to add additional content and the team has promised more updates in the future to ensure the game remains fresh for some time to come.
The Brisbane-based development company is hoping to replicate the same success on the iPad with the large screen followup, Fruit Ninja HD, which was released on the iPad last month. Aside from graphical improvements, the iPad version includes two new multiplayer split screen modes. Gamers can also expect to receive free new content through regular updates in the coming months.
What's next for the studio? Halfbrick is working on a variety of games including Raskulls for XBLA starring popular videogame mascot Mr. Destructoid but don't expect to see Halfbrick titles appearing on the PC anytime soon. The small Aussie studio, with less then 40 employees, is focused on continuing its success in the handheld space and expanding its presence in the console digital platform market.
Atomic's going to try to dedicate more coverage to local gaming news. They may not be pumping out hardcore titles or about to knock EA off its game, but we still think our home-grown industry has some great success stories. So watch this space.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012