Prolific mobile games publisher Gameloft (Modern Combat, Asphalt) [with offices in Montreal] announced its financial results for the first half of 2010, revealing an 11 percent increase in global sales and iTunes App Store revenue growth of 82 percent.

Gameloft’s financial statements report that 2010’s first-half sales revenue, ending June 30th, totals 66.6 million euros ($84.34 million) up from 60.1 million euros ($76.25 million) earned in the first half of 2009. […]

Gameloft attributes its growth to the continuing popularity of its games for Apple’s iPhone, where it has consistently placed in the Top 10 for revenue alongside Electronic Arts thanks to its high-budget 3D games. […]

The publisher, which continues to have licensing links with publisher Ubisoft and released titles like Avatar and Prince Of Persia games on mobile systems, also highlights increased market share for Java and Brew phones.

Read the full article on Gamasutra…

Cool video showing the evolution of mobile games. Enjoy!

Paris-headquartered mobile game publisher Gameloft says it saw first calendar quarter revenue rise 7 percent year-over-year, citing iPhone and other smartphones among the reasons for the growth.

In the quarter that ended March 31, 2010, Gameloft saw total sales of 33 million euros ($44 million), 37 percent of which came from Europe, 34 percent from North America, and 29 percent from other territories.

In addition to the growth of the smartphone market, Gameloft says it increased its market share in the Java and BREW segments of more traditional mobile phones.

Gameloft now has 63 games available for Apple’s iPhone App Store, and Apple-based games comprise 21 percent of first quarter revenue, or 6.9 million euros ($9.2 million). In its previous calendar quarter, Gameloft said iPhone sales had risen 115 percent to reach 7 million euros ($9.8 million), a sum that was about the same as this quarter.

For the full 2009 calendar year, iPhone games represented 17.6 million euros ($24.6 million) of revenue for the company.

As we enter the final hours of the iPad pre-launch fiesta, more and more videos of iPad games are coming online. We likely won’t have video of games on actual devices until tomorrow, but for the time being, watching these games being played in the simulator with a set of hands gives an idea of how much different they will likely feel on the iPad:

Name: Sébastien Lévesque

Role: 3D Animator

E-mail: seb.levesque@gamesmontreal.com

Resume: http://www.gamesmontreal.com/seb-levesque/

Web: http://www.critical-web.com/seblevesque/

Goal

I wish to work within a dynamic, imaginative video game production studio.

Experience

Currently Gameloft Montreal Montreal, QC

Unannounced project – Lead Animator

• Character animation.
• Rigging and skinning.
• Communication and planning in conjunction with design team and progamming team.
• Planning and management of the animation team’s tasks.

2008 – 2009 Gameloft Montreal Montreal, QC

Dungeon Hunter (iPhone) – Animator

Reviews at: www.pocketgamer.co.uk (9/10); www.toucharcade.com (4.5/5)

www.slidetoplay.com ‘s September Game of the Month

• Character and props animations.
• Basic rigging and skinning.
• Creation of in-game visual effects, such as spell effects
• Planning of animation tasks and coordination with design and programming teams.

TV Show King (PSN) – Animator

• Character animations.
• Basic skinning.

Education

2006-2007 Centre NAD Montreal, QC

• Studied their Design and arts program for video games.
• Specialised in animation.

2002-2004 Cégep Saint-Laurent Saint-Laurent, QC

• Graduated in cinema.
• Received the Outstanding Student-Athlete award for the

2002-2003 school year.
 

Miscellaneous

I am perfectly bilingual in French and English, both written and spoken. I am proficient with 3dsmax, Biped and Photoshop. Although I’ve been animating with the Biped, I am also able to work with custom rigs and F Curves. I’m a very professional person with a good sense of priorities, who works well as part of a team and for whom maintaining a positive and motivating atmosphere at work is important.

(check out Games Montreal’s Resume Database  or submit your resume, and check our Job Board)

Following the unexpected release and somewhat confusing removal of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery, we managed to get producer Ben Mattes on the phone to discuss the game, but more importantly, the future of Ubisoft’s involvement in the App Store.

We were able to clarify what most people have been wondering about, and found out that an updated version of the game will be re-released on February 1st for $9.99, a price that Mattes described as "more than a good value". If you were lucky enough to purchase the game when it was available for a few hours, it appears the updated version shares the same iTunes app ID, and you should be able to download the update following the re-release without issue.

Prior to Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft utilized their partnership with sister company Gameloft, allowing them to take Ubisoft properties and run with them on the App Store. H.A.W.X. was the most recent product of this partnership, and Discovery represents Ubisoft’s first foray in to serious iPhone development. […]

Read the full story at Touch Arcade…

With Apple dominating the portable games space thanks to its App Store and thousands of videogames, Palm used CES 2010 to go virtual. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Palm showed off 3D games for its Palm webOS platform. Palm has partnered with leading mobile game developers like EA Mobile, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, and Laminar Research to bring the first batch of games to its Palm Pre customers. Demonstrated at Palm’s CES event, the games are now available in the Palm App Catalog for Palm Pre customers.

"We are very excited about the potential of webOS as a platform for mobile 3D gaming," said Katie Mitic, senior vice president, product marketing, Palm. "This is a key application category, and we’ve worked closely with some of the leading game developers to deliver a great game experience for our customers."

The first seven games available for Palm Pre are EA Mobile’s Need for Speed Undercover, The Sims 3 and Monopoly, Gameloft’s Asphalt 5: Elite Racing and Let’s Golf, Glu Mobile’s Glyder 2 and Laminar Research’s X-Plane. […]

Read the rest on at GamerLive.tv…

Have any of you used a Pre, or even developed on one?

When Assassin’s Creed II was announced for iPhone by Ubisoft rather than Gameloft, eyebrows were raised.

Now it’s become clear that the French console and PC publisher is taking precedence over its mobile-focused sister company more generally when it comes to key iPhone releases that use its licenses.

Interestingly though, while it’s Assassin’s Creed II – due out in January – that will formally mark Ubisoft’s new strategy on the App Store, its debut release was Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., which sneaked out at the start of December.

//update: we’ve been asked to point out that while Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. is a Ubisoft licence, the iPhone version was published by Gameloft.

Considering the number of Ubisoft licences that Gameloft has published on iPhone – everything from Brothers in Arms and Driver, to Avatar, CSI, Shrek and The Settlers – it will be fascinating to see how many games Ubisoft wants to take inhouse, and the impact this has on Gameloft.
//update: we’ve been asked to point out that Avatar, CSI and Shrek were licensed directly by Gameloft, not through Ubisoft.

[…]

Read the rest at PocketGamer.biz…

Have you bought some Gameloft or Ubisoft games on the App Store? Les us know in the comments section.