viernes, mayo 28, 2004

IN-FUSIO'S SECOND MOBILE GAMES REFERENCE SURVEY REVEALS SHIFT IN PLAYER TRENDS AND HABITS
"Representative Sample of 400 Mobile Gamers Quizzed On Playing Behaviour - - 60% Of Mobile Gamers Want A Community/Club As Part Of A Service - - +25 Year Olds Becoming Significant Target Market - Bordeaux, France - May 28th, 2004 - IN-FUSIO, a leading mobile games service provider and publisher in Europe, US, and China, today announced the findings of its second in-depth reference study into the behavioural habits and trends of mobile games consumers in Java and ExEn technology. The survey reveals that the mobile games market is dynamic, in constant change and that significant trends and opportunities are emerging."
Tiger Telematics Strengthens Gizmondo's Game Portfolio With Fathammer
"LONDON, May 28 -- Gizmondo, the eagerly anticipated new handheld multi-entertainment device from Tiger Telematics (OTC: TIGR.PK) and Fathammer Ltd, a leading developer of advanced mobile game technologies and high quality games for next generation mobile devices, further strengthen their partnership arrangement with additional games."
Develant Technologies releases new game development tools for Palm, Symbian and Windows Mobile
"GOTEBORG, Sweden - May 28, 2004 Develant Technologies, one of the leading providers of game development tools for mobile devices, today released a significant update to their game development platform GapiDraw 3.0. Today?s release adds Palm support to the GapiDraw platform, which now supports Palm, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices! GapiDraw 3.0 is developed in collaboration with Microsoft, PalmOne and Tapwave to deliver breakthrough graphics performance on all major mobile devices, including new game machines such as the Nokia N-Gage."

jueves, mayo 27, 2004

New content provider enters wireless game
"SK USA Inc., a division of South Korea?s technology conglomerate SK Group, announced the introduction of a new company that will focus specifically on the wireless content and entertainment marketplace. SK USA?s new SkyZone Entertainment will offer various applications, including wireless games, wallpapers and images. "
Web to star at Games and Euro 2004
"AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Internet and mobile phones will debut as a major part of this year's two big sporting events: the Olympic Games in Athens and the European soccer championship in Portugal.
Four years after the Sydney Olympics -- which coincided with the bursting of the technology stock bubble -- the Internet has quietly turned into a mainstream medium that will offer live audio coverage for soccer fans anywhere in the world, video highlights on mobile phones, instant scoring updates, routefinders to stadiums and tickets."

miércoles, mayo 26, 2004

N-Gage QD game deck starts shipping in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific
"Nokia started shipping the new member of the N-Gage platform, the N-Gage QD game deck, announced last April. The new mobile gaming device is being launched in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. The company says that some users will be able to buy the N-Gage QD for as low as ?49.99 in some markets, with a contract. "

martes, mayo 25, 2004

Hot Players in Online Gaming

"We would not be surprised if RealNetworks next sets its sights on a developer of wireless games, given its focus on wireless opportunities around the world. U.S. wireless game revenues are expected to rocket from $160 million in 2003 to $1.7 billion in 2008, according to IDC. "
Lunagames introduces its new BREW and Java lineup featuring Election 2004
"Haarlem, May 24 2004 ? Lunagames the mobile games content provider based in the Netherlands introduces its new BREW? and Java? lineup for the second quarter featuring 'Election 2004', an innovating strategy game based on the US Elections."

jueves, mayo 20, 2004

Samsung habilita juegos 3D en celulares
"(20/05/2004 08:24): El dispositivo m?vil con memoria DDR x 32 rompe la barrera de transferencia de datos a 1 Gbyte por segundo.
MADRID: Samsung Electronics, anunci? la entrada al mercado del dispositivo monol?tico de 256 Mbit, 32-bit de ancho y Double Data Rate (DDR) - velocidad doble de datos- que ofrece el ancho de banda necesario para juegos en 3D, con realismo fotogr?fico en los aparatos de mano. "

miércoles, mayo 19, 2004

Symbian Signed drives mobile applications market
"London, UK. ? 18 May 2004 ? Symbian Limited announced today the formal launch of Symbian Signed, the industry-endorsed application signing program that promotes best practise in Symbian OS content and application development. The program tests applications against industry-agreed criteria in support of network operator and mobile manufacturer requirements. Symbian Signed is designed to satisfy mobile developers? needs and ensures a thriving, open market for trusted mobile applications by providing a single, low-cost and unified certification program. The program also delivers developer authentication and anti-tamper security for Symbian OS applications. More than 300 Symbian native C++ and Visual Basic application and their associated content have reached Symbian Signed status."
MACROSPACE AND LINKTONE TO OFFER MOBILE GAMES TO MILLIONS OF CHINA MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS
"London, UK? 19 May, 2004 ? Macrospace, the global provider of mobile games and mobile gaming services, and Linktone (NASDAQ: LTON), a provider of entertainment-oriented wireless value-added services to China's fast-growing mobile market today announced a partnership agreement to target the growing Chinese market for mobile games. Under the agreement, Linktone will aggregate, market and distribute Macrospace?s diverse portfolio of interactive mobile games via MonternetTM, the mobile content channel operated by China Mobile Communication Corporation (China Mobile), China?s largest mobile network operator."

martes, mayo 18, 2004

E3 2004: Marble Madness
"May 15, 2004 - The classic quarter-swallowing arcade game is back in action: Marble Madness. THQ Wireless has managed to nab a great deal of classic arcade titles from Midway and other manufacturers, and is prepping them to roll out on handsets later this year. One of the games THQ Wireless was proudly showing off at E3 was Marble Madness, and it looks like a near replica of the original. Now, how the touchpad will compare to a trackball remains to be seen -- but at least there won't be any more painful pinches of getting your funger caught between the ball and the machine. (You know what we're talking about.)"
Game specialists make moves for handheld niches
"LOS ANGELES--While Sony and Nintendo gear up for a battle over the mobile-gaming market, other companies are preparing for smaller skirmishes. "

viernes, mayo 14, 2004

QUALCOMM Welcomes Yahoo!(R) Mobile as New BREW(TM) Publisher
"SAN DIEGO, May 13 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that Yahoo! Mobile has joined the growing global community of BREW publishers. As a BREW Publisher, Yahoo! Mobile plans to create and offer wireless versions of its products, such as Yahoo! Messenger for Mobile, to millions of subscribers. Created specifically for the mobile environment, Yahoo! Messenger for Mobile provides a PC-like experience that gives BREW-enabled handset users the ability to instant message anyone on their friends list."
Sorrent to Bring Deer Hunter to Mobile Phones
"LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2004--At a press luncheon today at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3), Sorrent, Inc., a leading creator and global publisher of mobile entertainment, announced that it has signed a multi-year, worldwide licensing agreement with Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATAR), a leader in interactive entertainment, to develop and publish wireless games based on Atari's Deer Hunter(TM) franchise. Sorrent will launch its first mobile game based on the Deer Hunter franchise this fall, simultaneous with Atari's worldwide launch of Deer Hunter 2005 for PC. "

jueves, mayo 13, 2004

Classic gamer join N-Gage platform
"Nokia has announced that the classic games company, Atari is develop and license games for the N-Gage platform. The first Atari titles for the N-Gage are expected to be released in 2005 and will include Civilization, one of the most celebrated strategy games ever created and DRIV3R, the latest installment of Atari's hugely successful driving adventure franchise. Civilization and DRIV3R for the N-Gage platform will combine familiar storylines and action with N-Gage multiplayer features to create a new spin for these brands."
3D Gaming on Wireless Handsets
"ASIA : SAMSUNG announced the latest addition to its Mobile DRAM portfolio, a monolithic 256Mbit, 32-bit wide Double Data Rate (DDR) device that offers the bandwidth needed for photo-realistic 3D gaming in handsets. Samples are available today with mass production scheduled in the second half of 2004. "

miércoles, mayo 12, 2004

15 Games Already Developed with Fathammer's X-Forge
"X-Forge(R) continues to be the leading solution for game publishers and developers to bring games to the Advanced Mobile Games market.
Fathammer, a leading developer of advanced mobile game technologies and high quality games for next generation mobile devices, announced today that already 15 games have been developed with the X-Forge(R) game development system and released into the market. "
Digital Bridges Announces Four-Title Deal with MGM Interactive
"MGM’s Robocop™, Platoon™, Rollerball™, and Pink Panther™ to join dbigames’ portfolio of premium branded mobile games. London ? May 11, 2004 ? dbigames, a publishing unit of Digital Bridges, a world leader in mobile entertainment solutions, announced today a four-title deal with MGM Interactive, a unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (NYSE: MGM). These properties will add iconic film and animation licenses to dbigames? portfolio of premium branded mobile games. "
New Star Trek Mobile(TM) Games to Be Released by Jumbuck Entertainment & Viacom Consumer Products
"MELBOURNE, Australia and LOS ANGELES, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --Jumbuck Entertainment announced today it has acquired the rights from Viacom Consumer Products to develop and distribute wireless games based on Paramount Pictures' popular Star Trek, the original series."
Square Enix and Sprint Partner to Offer Mobile Games to Vision Subscribers
"LOS ANGELES, E3 Expo, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Square Enix(TM) (Square Enix Co., Ltd. and Square Enix U.S.A., Inc.), an industry leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content including the world's popular franchises FINAL FANTASY? and DRAGON QUEST, and Sprint (NYSE: FON - News, PCS - News), which operates the largest all-digital, all-PCS nationwide wireless network, today announced a partnership to offer Square Enix's mobile games content to Sprint PCS Vision subscribers."

martes, mayo 11, 2004

QUALCOMM to Host Fourth Annual BREW(TM) Developers Conference
"SAN DIEGO, May 11 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced its line-up of keynote speakers and business and technical track presenters from around the globe for its BREW 2004 Developers Conference, to be held on June 7-9 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina in San Diego. Expecting an estimated 1,400 attendees, the conference offers attendees valuable insight on the current and future state of the wireless data industry and provides attendees the opportunity to collaborate and form strategic relationships with leading players in the mobile marketplace. Conference attendees will also benefit from valuable technical and business tracks and workshops presented by leading experts and analysts from throughout the wireless industry."
Sony Ericsson Features Popular Sorrent Games on New Handsets
"LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2004--Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications announced today its collaboration with Sorrent, a leading creator and publisher of mobile entertainment, to deliver eleven of Sorrent's best-selling mobile games on Sony Ericsson's most popular handsets. "
More mobile game downloads
"SprintPCS says that more than 3.5 million mobile games have been purchased in 2004, bringing its total since launching Sprint PCS Vision to 9.5 million. 'The availability of gaming-capable handsets and compelling content has increased interest in mobile gaming among wireless subscribers,' said Schelley Olhava, IDC. 'We estimate that more than 24 million individuals in the U.S. will download at least one wireless game this year.'"

lunes, mayo 10, 2004

RENDERWARE MOVES TO SUPPORT N-Gage(tm) PLATFORM
"Helsinki, Finland -- May 10, 2004 - Nokia, the world's leading mobile device manufacturer, today announces the start of a long-term collaboration with Criterion Software?, the world's leading provider of middleware tools and technologies for game development, which will see RenderWare? providing support for developers producing games for the N-Gage(tm) platform."
MFORMA Acquires MobileGame Korea
"Officials from wireless publisher and distributor MFORMA have announced that the company has acquired MobileGame Korea (MoGame). MoGame, now MFORMA Korea, will be used to aggregate content from hundreds of developers in Korea for MFORMA to distribute to wireless carriers in China, Europe, and the U.S."
Easier publishing for mobile games programmers
"Player X, a new company offering a brokerage service to mobile content creators was launched in London last week by two veterans of the mobile entertainment industry. Player X works directly with developers of games and other mobile services to introduce their content to the leading mobile network operators and portals throughout Europe."
More games for Chinese handsets
"Synergenix Interactive, providers of the mophun gaming accelerator and mobile games publisher, has announced that they have joined forces with Beijing Etone Infotech, a leading mobile gaming publisher in Beijing, China."

viernes, mayo 07, 2004

Large revenues forecast for Java handsets
"Despite the proliferation of Java handsets worldwide and the increasing number of vendor models containing the platform, the number of actual Java users is significantly lower. There are some very stark regional differences in this analysis, since in Japan and Korea it is believed that around 80% of all Java handsets sold in 2003 led to active Java users. In Europe on the other hand, the opposite is understood to be the case with a very low conversion rate of handsets sold to active users of only around 10%."

jueves, mayo 06, 2004

THQ Wireless purchases Minick
"US-based software developer THQ announced today that its mobile games division, THQ Wireless, has purchased a controlling interest in European mobile applications and billing provider Minick. Minick produces wireless services, such as SMS and MMS messaging, information, multimedia and voting applications. "
Baldur's Gate Coming to Mobile Phones
"SAN MATEO, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- May 6, 2004 -- Atari, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATAR), a leader in interactive entertainment, and Sorrent, Inc., a leading creator and global publisher of mobile entertainment, today announced the signing of a multi-year licensing agreement. Atari, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATAR), under license from Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), allows Sorrent to develop and publish wireless games based on Baldur's Gate, the popular franchise owned by Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS). "
Indiagames licenses “The Day After Tomorrow” for your Mobile Phone
"Mumbai, India & Hollywood, CA May 6, 2004 -- Indiagames, the leading Mobile entertainment developer, has entered into an agreement with FOX L&M's Wireless Entertainment Group to bring wireless content based on the eagerly anticipated event motion picture ?The Day After Tomorrow.? The wireless content includes mobile games, wallpapers, screensavers, ring tones, voice ringers, and alerts."

miércoles, mayo 05, 2004

ELSPA launches mobile game chart; Tetris tops March ranking
"New official chart covers Java downloads across key operator services.
Publisher representative body ELSPA has announced the creation of a new monthly chart providing sales data for the most popular mobile games in the UK, using data compiled from the country's four largest network operators."
Nokia releases mobile content study
"Pitching its content delivery solution, Nokia releases a study conducted by NOP World which finds 'out and about' consumers will pay more for mobile content.
According to an announcement released by Nokia today, a global market study conducted for Nokia shows that mobile content services hold promising revenue potential, with study respondents willing to pay for such services 28% more than they pay for their current services today. "
Superscape and Vir2L Secure Exclusive Worldwide Rights to Co-Publish New 3D Amf Xtreme Bowling Game for Mobile Phones
"Superscape Group plc (LSE: SPS) and Vir2L Studios, a ZeniMax Media company, have announced an exclusive worldwide co-publishing deal to create and market a 3D bowling game for mobile phones based on the world-renowned AMF Bowling brand. The new wireless game, which will be available in June, will be designed to run on Superscape Swerve-enabled Java and BREW-based mobile phones and will be marketed to mobile phone manufacturers and network operators."
Bill Gardner founds O-3 Entertainment; seeks to bring indie games to market with unique publishing, distribution play
"The former president of Capcom North America, Bill Gardner, today made it known that he has founded a new company. O-3 Entertainment will be based in Santa Clara, CA, and will operate as both a publishing and distribution company specializing in PC, console, and mobile games from small- to mid-sized developers. "
Synergenix Interactive releases Colin McRae Rally™ 04 for mobile phones
"Synergenix Interactive today confirmed a mobile edition of the highly acclaimed rally title Colin McRae Rally? 04. The game, licensed by Codemasters and developed by 8bit Games, will be available in April on both the Java and mophun? platforms and deliver gear-grinding rally action on mobile devices ranging from low-end mass market phones, to high-end smartphones."
New mobile content features Snoop Dog, Barry Bonds
"NEW YORK?What do rapper Snoop Dogg and homerun hitter Barry Bonds have in common? Both are going mobile. "
Wireless from start to Finnish
"The Finnish city of Oulu, situated about 400 miles north of Helsinki, has always found ways to reinvent itself. "