I-play has announced a deal with FIA World Rally Championship to create a game based on the sport, which is one of the largest spectator sports in the world.
The game features rally racing in 16 different countries, in all terrains and all weathers, and at any time of the day or night. I-play plans to incorporate one-thumb gameplay, but hopes to make the game difficult to master, while easy to pick up and play.
“The World Rally Championship is one of the most dynamic and challenging motorsports imaginable,” said Leighton Webb, SVP of content strategy and licensing at I-play. “Mobile gamers will be able to experience the dangerous and gruelling nature of the racing sport under every weather condition possible as they aim to master the rally circuits to become the ultimate champion in this authentic mobile iteration of the World Rally Championship.â€
Both 2D and 3D versions of the game are being developed.
I-play has announced that they are working on a new medical sim called ER Rush.
Taking on the role of a new Junior Emergency Room Doctor, players must diagnose, treat, and discharge enough patients to be promoted to the next hospital. If you don’t treat the patients in time, complications will arise requiring additional treatments. The game takes a light-hearted approach to medicine, with patients including werewolves, dogs, and vampires.
“ER Rush brings a truly unique twist on plate spinning games, by setting the gameplay in a busy Emergency Room, with an added pinch of wacky humor,” said Leighton Webb, SVP of content strategy and licensing at I-play. “ER Rush is casual gameplay at its best.â€
The game is scheduled to launch throughout North America in Q3 of this year.
I-play has announced a deal with Blade Interactive to bring the World Pool Championship to mobile phones.
World Pool Championship 2007 will feature real pool players playing in the actual tournament structure, and will come in both a 2D and 3D version. I-play hopes to re-create the success they achieved with World Snooker Championship 2007.
“We’re hugely excited to be working with the masters of pool game development and to be bringing the IPA World Pool Championship license, a property that has the most resonance amongst pool fans around the world, to mobile for the first time,” said Leighton Webb, I-play’s SVP of content strategy and licensing. “Will you play as pool demon Phil Harrison, the legendary Neil Raybone, or all time favourite Chris Melling? - players who are among the eight players taking part in the tournament. With these Pool playing gods, the ‘World Pool Championship 2007’ on your mobile will be as compelling as the real thing.”
There’s no information yet on a release date for the game.
I-play has announced that they have secured a license to work on a mobile version of the board game Jenga.
Jenga is a board game for any number of players. A tower made of stacked wooden blocks in constructed in such a way that any piece can be removed. Players pick and remove one piece and place it on top of the tower, making the tower less stable as well as taller. Play continues until the tower falls. I-play promises a number of game modes to deepen the experience.
“Jenga’s universal appeal and accessibility makes this game a perfect fit for mobile gamers who represent a broad age demographic and even split across both genders,” said Leighton Webb, Senior Vice President for Content Strategy and Publishing at I-play. “We hope that gamers of all ages will be able to enjoy this game as a family, with their kids.”
The game is scheduled for global release in time for this year’s holiday season.
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.
I-play has announced that they have signed a deal with 3-time World Series of Poker champion Daniel Negreanu.
I-play plans to ride on the explosive growth of the sport. Negreanu is testing the artificial intelligence of I-play next poker game, as well as providing a recognizable face and name for the title.
“Poker is a game that everyone should be able to enjoy whenever and wherever they are, so launching a mobile game is a dream come true,” said Negreanu. “I hope that poker players everywhere will be able to share my passion, get more from their experience of poker from my hot tips on the poker mobile video, as well as improve their game on the poker mobile game.â€
“I-play’s streaming mobile video application and mobile game will be the ultimate poker products available on the market. The mobile video signals a ground-breaking new product and an industry first, offering bite sized chunks of entertainment to develop the Texas Hold’em aficionado in us all. I-play lays a royal flush with this next generation suite of poker entertainment products,†said Leighton Webb, SVP of Content Strategy and Licensing at I-play.
I-play has announced that they have signed a deal to distribute games from developer Polarbit.
Polarbit’s games embrace I-play’s gaming philosophy that ‘casual’ is a mind-set, not a genre. “Polarbit are the masters of high-end mobile game development and we are very excited to bring their stunning games to market, ” said Leighton Webb, SVP of Strategy and Licensing at I-play. “These games showcase the advanced performance achievable on today’s mobile platforms while embracing I-play’s mantra that regardless of the power of the technology behind a game, the gameplay itself is always king.”
I-play will start distributing Polarbit’s line-up of games–including 3D Wave Blazer, 3D Armageddon Squadron, and 3D Nitro GT–in the second half of this year.
Moderator: Shalom Mann
Panelists: Lou Fasulo, Scott Rubin, Leighton Webb
Anybody who has ever been to a conference or convention, regardless of the industry, has known the purgatory-like experience that is the Bad Panel. Bad Panels come in many shapes and sizes, and can be caused by a variety of reasons: sometimes the panelists are really nervous or are there solely to shill their respective companies; sometimes the panel is centered upon a dry topic or has a muddled focus. With CTIA taking place right now, I thought it would be a good time to discuss one of the more lackluster panels that occurred recently at GDC mobile, and use it as case-study for the type of panels conference-goers are hoping not to attend this week in Orlando.
Continue reading ‘GDC Hangover: the Bad Panel effect’
Pages: 1 2 3
I-play has announced a deal with Slingo, Inc. to bring their hugely popular online game to the mobile platform, reports Mobile Game Faqs.
Slingo is a combination of slots and bingo, and is played on one of the most popular sites on the Internet with over 1.25 million visitors per month.
I-play will be bringing the Slingo experience to mobile phones in the form of Slingo Quest, which takes the original game and tops it with an island hopping storyline. Continue reading ‘iPlay and Slingo ink deal’
I-Play has weighed in on the notion of casual gaming and mobile phones, and their word on the matter is that -despite some public opinion to the contrary- mobile gaming is not over-focused on casual games. According to Mobileindustry.biz, I-Play’s Leighton Webb shrugs off the notion that the casual gaming market doesn’t earn its attention.
Continue reading ‘I-Play weighs in on casual gaming’