Nokia has made a move for vertical integration in the gaming market by buying Sega.com, SEGA’s online gaming subsidiary. This agreement will mean Sega’s multi-player technology will be integrated with Nokia’s N-Gage game deck (pictured right).
The SEGA Network Application Package (SNAP), that enables networked multi-player games, will form the core part of Nokia Mobile Phones’ Entertainment and Media Business Unit’s online games activity.
“This acquisition is a logical step in bringing online elements to mobile games,” said Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Entertainment and Media Business Unit. “Sega.com has developed a technology platform which, combined with the Nokia N-Gage game deck, opens up totally new dimensions for gamers.”
Raiskinen said that SNAP is scheduled to be integrated into the game deck and be available to consumers worldwide by October 7, 2003, when N-Gage is launched.
Nokia stressed that the acquisition could also be good news for operators, generating additional revenues by integrating games industry technology with mobile networks.
l Two games platform suppliers, TTPCom and Synergenix Interactive have announced that they will converge their wireless gaming activities to develop a single platform.
TTPCom licenses technology to handset manufacturers including Siemens, Sharp, LG and Toshiba and has developed a wireless graphics engine (WGE) which features in the Innostream I-1000 phone which is distributed in China and other Asian markets.
Synergenix has developed mophun, a wireless gaming platform, which is used in handsets including the Sony Ericsson T300, T310 andT610. mophun features a download facility, and has been adopted by more than a dozen network operators in Europe and North America.
The companies say joining forces will create a “a single standard for state-of-the-art wireless gaming in mass market mobile phones.” This “standard” will be complementary to Java, which the companies claim is increasingly used in high-end mobile phones.
Gordon Aspin, Operations Director at TTPCom said, “The wireless gaming market is extremely competitive and we believe that there is room for only one high performance gaming standard. TTPCom and Synergenix, by working together, have the skills and connections to establish this standard”.
Per Österberg, CEO of Synergenix said, “TTPCom works with over 40 handset manufacturers worldwide and have a particularly strong position in Asia. Our tie-up will make a superior gaming experience available to this wide range of manufacturers.”
As part of the agreement TTPCom will take a minority stake in Synergenix.