Mobile gaming in its truest sense!
In the world of casual gaming it’s a norm that games are playable online with the option for the user to generally purchase them to play offline. When it comes to mobile gaming the norm is that users only have the option to buy. They then need to install the game to play it on their handsets. SkillPod Media is currently breaking this mould with the launch of their new mobile games platform gazuma!
With the high penetration of mobile handsets that have internet browsers for users to surf the web, why not allow users to play their favourite games without the need to first install them? This is the motivation behind the development of the gazuma! mobile games platform, says Mark van Diggelen, CEO of SkillPod Media. The mobile phone has bridged the gap between the PC and laptop and allows users to manage their digital lives, from their mobiles, by receiving and sending email, surfing the web, managing their Facebook profiles, posting fresh Tweets on Twitter. Why then should they need to first download games to satisfy their gaming needs, adds van Diggelen.
SkillPod Media has been developing casual games solutions and games for the past 6 years, and has a thorough understanding of the market and more importantly what the gamers are looking for. The new mobile games platform allows users to play the games directly from their handsets Internet browser, with this they are able to log game scores, enter tournaments, win Pods (SkillPod’s virtual currency platform), challenge friends, build friends lists (with Facebook integration), message friends and buy the games to download and play offline.
A number of unique solutions have emerged from the SkillPod R & D team, which include the ability to play Flash games via the handset browser, whereas handsets typically attempt to download the Flash file. Other innovations include the secure high score logging systems and the ability to deliver the content dynamically through the content management system, which was built from the ground up. SkillPod ranked playability and ease of use at the top of the priority lists and much effort has been placed on these functions – the feedback from users has been incredibly positive.
SkillPod Media has been publishing its games on the Nokia Ovi Store since mid December 2009 and we are delighted with the results thus far, adds van Diggelen. These developments have resulted in SkillPod having developed a number of unique solutions for specifically the new Symbian S60 version 5 handsets, which include the ever popular Nokia 5800 and newer N97 handsets. A few of these innovations include the controlling of the orientation of the screen, by locking the screen for the game orientation, be it landscape or portrait. Again emphasis was placed on the overall user experience with full screen game play being the default mode, with the necessary game controls being populated within the game itself. Users are able to control the volume of the game, ‘play again’ features and log scores through the native high score systems developed by SkillPod.
This is the first generation of our new mobile games platform and we’ll be adding a host of new features in the coming months, emphasises van Diggelen. The strength of the platform lies in the fact that the solution can easily be customised via white labelling or XML, this gives the publisher total control over the integration of the mobile offering. More importantly, partners have an immediate income stream as all the online games have download versions that users can download and pay for through a host of payment options, including direct billing to their mobile accounts, PayPal and credit cards – all in their local currency. SkillPod Media has partnered with the international payment provider Zong, for the various payment options which are country and currency specific.
The platform currently has mobile game 20 titles, across a number of game genres. SkillPod will be adding 12 – 18 new titles a month. All the game titles can be fully customised, re-branded, translated and have the potential to include advertisers branding in them. The platform has been setup to manage promotions in the form of advertising, sponsorship and game sales. Publishers further have the option of offering the mobile games site as a free to play, subscription based and or time based access options.
All enquiries can be sent through to SkillPod Media – info@skillpodmedia.com.
In summary the gazuma! mobile games platform offers the following features:
- Mobile Games, playable via the mobile browser;
- Tournaments;
- Challenges;
- Game Ratings;
- Game Info Pages;
- Secure High Score Logging;
- Player Profiles;
- Pods System;
- Messaging;
- Friends Lists;
- Buy & Download Games;
- Facebook Connect Integration – registrations, challenge friends, etc;
- Global Payment Gateway Integration;
- Links to Nokia Ovi Store, and in the future Blackberry and Android titles will also be available.
The platform will offer publishers the following opportunities:
- White Label Solutions;
- XML Feeds;
- Revenue Share Opportunities;
- Custom Games;
- Translated Games and Site.
Advertiser Opportunities:
- Branded Games;
- Customised Games;
- Links and Banners;
- Tournament Sponsorship;
- Game Pre-roll Ads.
Casual Games, Game Development, Industry News, Mobile Games, SkillPod News
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