4th and Battery isn't the only new casual gaming off-shoot brand that's bursting onto the App Store. Today, Capcom announced that they are forming a new brand to publish their freemium social games like Smurfs' Village [iTunes Link] and Zombie Cafe [iTunes Link]. The label will be called Beeline, and is part of Capcom's realignment intended to help the company focus more on rapidly expanding smartphone markets.
The press release says that Beeline will be responsible for publishing a whopping eight more social games before the end of 2011, though it gives no indication as to what those games might be. They also note that Capcom-proper will continue to publish games on the iOS platform based on its classic franchises that are intended for core gamers.
This move comes just two months after Capcom's infamous "Smurfberry Scandal" in which parents began alleging that their kids were tricked into buying $100 barrels of in-game smurfberries paid for with real money. Since then, Capcom has added numerous disclaimers in an attempt to alert players that smurfberries cost real money. Though that hasn't exactly calmed the ire of some parents. It will be interesting to see if Capcom continues offering in-game materials for exorbitant prices in their upcoming Beeline-branded social games.
