Nokia, as well as many other companies, have this habit of releasing a ton of press releases during an event. With 3GSM we had 20 in 3 days, CES and Nokia World 2006 also presented some fairly high numbers.
I know why it has to be done, news wire agencies, but can’t the communications people just be a little bit different?
Example: When 3GSM 2008 kicks off, just make a PDF available on your site with all your announcements; pictures included. People can read it at their leisure, print it out, share it with their friends, etc.
I’m glad Nokia recently began adopting RSS (partial, not full!) feeds for their press releases, but these cluster bombs of separate articles should really cease to exist.
Now that my rant is over, let us get to Nokia’s GDC news:
Nokia reveals new games, publishers and tools for its mobile gaming platforms:
Nokia introduced a range of games for the new mobile gaming platform including Gameloft’s Asphalt 3, Street Rules, Brothers In Arms, Hell’s Highway, Brain Challenge, Midnight Pool and EA Mobile’s FIFA 2008.Games publishers Glu Mobile, Indiagames and THQ Wireless will be
publishing a selection of mobile games and content for the N-Gage games
platform. The first Glu title for the platform will be World Series of
Poker® Texas Hold’em (WSOP), which allows players to compete at tables
with up to eight mobile gamers against WSOP champions such as Chris
"Jesus" Ferguson and Scott Fischman.Nokia also launched its next generation software development kit (SDK 1.0) for the new N-Gage games platform, which enables developers to focus on one code-base to create social connected games across a range of Nokia S60 3rd edition devices. The new N-Gage Zone provides all the tools, documentation, support and updates required to successfully develop games for the N-Gage games platform.
Nokia today announced the SNAP Mobile Compliance Testing Program, a groundbreaking initiative that will help to ensure that all SNAP Mobile connected games offer people a consistent game-playing experience. The two-part program includes free initial testing tools for developers to establish a higher standard for connected mobile Java(TM) games coming to market."This program benefits both industry stakeholders and end users alike," explains Markus Huttunen, SNAP Mobile Manager, Nokia. "It ensures the uniform quality and functionality of the connected features in the mobile games that play on our platform. If poor quality games are released to the consumer, there is a risk of spoiling a market that is still in its infancy."
According to Huttunen, the program limits costs by combining a self-testing process with a traditional certification program. "We want to make sure that cost factors do not inhibit the developer’s ability to ensure that their game meets our standards. Once the game has passed the online-related requirements and functions correctly, it is then validated as suitable for running on the SNAP Mobile platform."
Indiagames and Nokia to bring games to N-Gage platform:
Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications and Indiagames, India’s leading mobile game publisher, announced today that Indiagames will be bringing a selection of their mobile game brands to the N-Gage platform."Indiagames is a leading force for driving mobile gaming in Asia and the rest of the world, and it’s great to work with a team that has such a global perspective," said Gregg Sauter, Director of Games Publishing, Nokia. "Indiagames has a great range of content and more importantly, a fantastic understanding of what Asian consumers want out of their mobile gaming experiences."
Winners of the Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest 2006 unveiled:
Nokia today announced the winners of the Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest 2006, the multiplayer Java(TM) game development contest organized by Forum Nokia, the world’s leading mobile developer program, and SingTel, Asia’s leading communications group, for all Forum Nokia PRO members around the world. Launched in June 2006, the competition gives the winners and runners-up opportunities to offer their games for commercial distribution with SingTel and its regional partners, to more than 112 million subscribers in the Asia Pacific region.
Taking the top prize in the cross platform gaming, multiplayer gaming for the male segment and multiplayer gaming for the female segment categories were G-mode from Japan, Mauj from India, and Taito from Japan respectively, winning more than US$5,000 each in cash and prizes. Runners-up in the categories were Hungama Mobile from India, Activate from Singapore and 01 bit-side from Germany, winning more than US$2,500 each in cash and prizes.
All of the games developed in the Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest 2006 are running on Nokia Series 40 and S60 devices.
I hope one of the major gaming news publications has some video or at least pictures of Nokia’s booth. Demos are always nice.