Gameloft has walked away with one of Korea’s Global Mobile Content Awards, reports Arjan at the Mobile Games Blog.
The GMCA is a yearly event that recognizes outstanding achievements in the mobile games space. Gameloft walked away with the top mobile game for their entry 2006 Real Football 3D. Congratulations to Gameloft!
Sega has announced that they have hired former Electronic Arts exec Linda Chaplin as vice president of their mobile division, reports MobileIndustry.biz.
Chaplin, who for more than a decade headed sales and marketing for EA’s mobile division, will be responsible for overseeing Sega’s operations in America. This will include development, sales, and marketing, as well as the overall expansion of Sega’s presence in the mobile space.
“Linda’s industry knowledge will accelerate Sega’s efforts to become a serious player in mobile markets,” said Sega COO Simon Jeffery. “We’re certain she will bring a fresh perspective to this division which holds enormous growth opportunities for the company.”
Sega said in a statement that the move was part of an overall strategy to increase focus in the Western markets.
Electronic Arts has announced that they have released sports game The Sims Bowling.
Players can create a Sim and then take it to the lanes to to bowl away. As you increase your bowling skills your sim will become more popular, but as popularity increases the game becomes more difficult. There are three game modes: Classic, Spare-O-Thon and Strike-O-Thon, each with boasting impressive physics and a simple, one-handed control scheme.
â€With The Sims Bowling, mobile gamers and existing fans of the franchise can now enjoy the fun of taking their Sims to the bowling alley to show off their skills as they climb up or slide down the popularity ladder,†said Javier Ferreira, VP of European Publishing at EA Mobile. â€The game is accessible and great fun for everyone and available exclusively for mobile phones.â€
The game is available now on major networks in Europe and will roll out soon for North American gamers.
Oberon Media has announced that they have acquired all the assets of I-play, developer and publisher of a great many casual and more hardcore games.
Oberon has also announced a new round of funding from Goldman Sachs, Oak Investment Partners and Lehman Brothers, amongst others. This move expands Oberon’s already-impressive list of partnerships with companies such as Microsoft, Comcast, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and more.
“Oberon Media and I-play are a perfect strategic fit, sharing the same casual philosophy and consumer-centric approach to the games market,†said David Gosen, I-play’s CEO. “I-play brings some of the most successful game franchises on mobile, deep global distribution and powerful proprietary technology. Oberon Media’s online distribution will propel the growth of mobile games by driving awareness and accessibility, while complementing and working in partnership with traditional on-deck distribution.â€
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, and both companies expect it to be complete by the end of June.
MobileIndustry.biz has posted an interview with I-play’s head of content strategy and licensing, Leighton Webb.
In the interview they discuss I-play strategy as well as the general state of casual gaming in the industry. Here they talk about producing good games:
MobileIndustry.biz: What do you think the secret is behind producing good original IP for mobile consumers?Leighton Webb: Essentially, it’s the same for the mobile market as it is for the PC or console, it’s really understanding your consumer - who is your target market and who are you creating the game for? Then it’s about creating the game with mobile in mind. Really thinking about the device and the functionality of the device. One of the phrases which we use a lot within the company is ‘one thumb gaming’ so that’s part of the design approach. I want to be able to play this game with my thumb as opposed to creating a game where you have to use a lot of the keypad.
Check the link above to read the full interview.
ELSPA, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, has announced that Electronic Arts, Glu Mobile, Gameloft and I-play have teamed up with each other and with 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone to release games in the UK.
Each of the four publishers will release one game on all five of the largest UK networks. Glu Mobile’s Transformers, Gameloft’s Guitar Legends, EA Sports’ FIFA 08, and an unnamed fourth title, presumably from I-play, will be released on all five networks simultaneously in June, July, August, and September.
“We have been working with the network operators on a number of initiatives to grow the market of mobile gaming, and this is work that builds on the official charts we publish,” said Michael Rawlinson, Managing Director of ELSPA. “We want mobile games publishers to become more involved with ELSPA so that we can assist them further in this growing and exciting area of gaming.”
ELSPA hopes that this collaboration will set a precedent for the industry.
Vivendi Games Mobile has announced that they will be releasing the classic Leisure Suit Larry series for mobile phones, starting with Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail.
The series is based on the trials of Larry Laffer, a leisure-suit-wearing geek who looks for love in all the wrong places. In Love for Sail, Larry is aboard a romantic cruise ship, and will confuse and drive away women in the casino and on the beach.
“Larry fans worldwide have a strong allegiance to the classic Leisure Suit Larry adventure game format, and we are delighted to be doing just that with the mobile version,†said Paul Maglione, president of Vivendi Games Mobile. “We have kept the iconic Larry humor and attitude intact while adapting the graphics, language and controls for a mass-market, global audience. We’re excited to bring back the franchise as a regular feature of Vivendi Games Mobile’s annual title line-up.â€
The game will debut this month in Europe and sets sail for North America in September.
PopCap Games has announced that they have released a mobile version of Chuzzle, a puzzle game originally released on the web and PCs.
In the game, players slide rows of cute little fuzzballs called chuzzles to create matching rows or columns of three or more of the same color. The chuzzles then “explode with happiness” and more fall into place from above. There are four different game modes and numerous special chuzzle types to keep the game fresh.
“Chuzzle is a great game for mobile devices, and we’ve spent a lot of time optimizing it for that platform,†said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and chief creative officer at PopCap Games. “We’ve simplified the already straightforward game mechanics to take advantage of the input controls across hundreds of models of cell phones and other mobile devices, and the game plays faster and more intuitively than ever. That said, we’ve also retained the endless ‘Zen’ mode in the mobile version, because we know that Chuzzle is a great on-the-go source of relaxation for many players.â€
The game is available now throughout North American and Europe.
WorldWinner, an online game competition site, has released the results of a survey that suggests that casual gaming at work may actually increase overall productivity.
Of those polled, more than 80% said they feel more focused after gaming, 76% said their productivity improved, and 72% said they rely on game playing to reduce stress.
“When I need a break during the workday, I often turn to online skill games to recharge my brain,†said WorldWinner player Jeff R. “I’ve found that taking a few minutes and challenging myself with a word game, puzzle, sports or card game can really boost my productivity; I return to work with a fresh perspective and improved creativity. Playing games can also get me revved up before starting a big project – especially when I win!â€
And to put your employer’s mind at ease, only 14% of those surveyed said then spend more than 30 minutes throughout the day playing games, and only 52% of those who play at work play during non-official break times.
Jamos Games, makers of Jamtris, have won a contest run by game download site MobileRated.
The winner of the contest was determined by number of downloads, and Jamos Games has walked away with $500 Canadian for their open source game.
“Compared to regular open source computer software, writing an open source mobile phone game has [been] proved to generate very little feedback,” said game creator Tomas Larsson. “Users tend to download the software and use it, but not to get involved and interact with the community in the way that happens with computer-based open source software. Therefore, getting feedback from MobileRated.com users and receiving recognition for my creation - in the form of this award - is highly valuable to me and has really motivated me to continue development of the new versions of the Jamtris game.”
Other notables in the contest included Bomber, Doom 3D, and Underground Racer.