I’m not sure why it takes a separate release to announce the smartphone support, when we know all Java ME based games work perfectly on all major smartphone platforms. In addition, there are already a number of EA’s smartphone-dedicated games available on the market.
EA Mobile obviously doesn’t think so, hence their CTIA release is there to confirm their commitment to BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms. On the other hand, they may not have any news to announce and logic may be that any news is better than no news at all. We’re writing about it, so they’ve made it. 😉
Anyway, if you’re at CTIA and want to see some of the EA Mobile’s titles in action, they are demonstrating games at the Symbian booth located in hall N4, number 4855… And now the mentioned press release.
PRESS RELEASE – EA Mobile, a division of EA’s Casual Entertainment Label, today announced that many of its most popular games are now available for smartphones, including BlackBerry smartphones, Symbian and Windows Mobile phones. EA Mobile will distribute a growing slate of smartphone games, including hit titles like Tetris and Bejeweled. EA Mobile will be demonstrating games at the Symbian booth during CTIA, located in Hall N4, Number 4855.
“With smartphones becoming everyday devices, we are excited to offer the fun, and high quality of EA Mobile games to a growing and important worldwide market,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “Offering top titles for the most popular smartphones, and our recent announcement that we will develop for the iPhone, reflect our focus and commitment to emerging platforms and markets.”
“More people are consuming mobile games than ever before,” comments Seamus McAteer, Senior Analyst for M:Metrics. “Last month, 7.5 million people downloaded and played a game on their phone, outnumbering other mobile activities – like listening to music and participating in social networks. Smartphone users in particular are avid consumers of games, with 7.3 percent downloading a game in the month–more than double the market average.”
EA Mobile has already offered a number of blockbuster franchises for Symbian OS, the world’s market-leading open operating system for smartphones, including: Doom, FIFA, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and The Sims. Currently, EA SPORTS FIFA 08 is now available for a number of Symbian smartphones in Europe with more titles on the way.
“Mobile convergence has arrived and EA Mobile is taking it by storm by bringing its top-selling branded games to Symbian OS,” said Jerry Panagrossi, Vice President and General Manager of North American Operations, Symbian. “With shipments of Symbian smartphones reaching over 200 million to date and consistent year-over-year growth, the commercial opportunity for providing compelling content is clear. We look forward to collaborating further with EA Mobile on bringing many more leading game titles to Symbian smartphones around the globe.”
Working with Research in Motion (RIM), EA Mobile has released several titles for BlackBerry smartphones. Games that are currently available for the BlackBerry platform include Tetris, Bejeweled, SCRABBLE (in North America only), EA SPORTS Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07, SimCity Societies, and most recently, MONOPOLY HERE & NOW. In addition, EA Mobile continues to distribute its games on Windows Mobile phones. To date, titles on the Windows Mobile platform include Downtown Texas Hold ‘Em, JAMDAT Mahjong, The Sims Bowling, and JAMDAT Mini Golf with more titles on the way.
For more information on carrier availability and pricing, please visit http://www.eamobile.com.