krug3r
03-07-2003, 13:29
SOURCE [Zero]
Mobile gaming is to get a significant boost from an agreement by operators to share information on use of games over their networks.
All five mobile operators have been in discussions with industry body the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) to develop standards for sharing and releasing data.
This in turn will be used to promote mobile gaming to consumers and games developers.
Michael Rawlinson, deputy general director of ELSPA, said there were two targets for the information. 'The focus from the consumer's point of view is to make them aware that games can be downloaded. From the industry side, we need to build up the profile of this sector to games publishers that may not have entered the market.'
There have been two meetings between ELSPA and operators so far and a third is expected soon. 'It's quite a delicate process because everyone is cautious about what details to provide,' said Rawlinson.
The next meeting will gather information on activity in June, with ELSPA acting as honest broker between all the operators. The information will be circulated back to the them to ensure that everyone is happy with the results.
'We should be in a position to publish some of the July figures in August,' said Rawlinson.
The final details of what information will be collected hasn't yet been decided, although Rawlinson said the likely areas included the number of paid downloads and level updates for Java games, page impressions for WAP games, and the volumes of SMS games transferred.
Mobile gaming is to get a significant boost from an agreement by operators to share information on use of games over their networks.
All five mobile operators have been in discussions with industry body the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) to develop standards for sharing and releasing data.
This in turn will be used to promote mobile gaming to consumers and games developers.
Michael Rawlinson, deputy general director of ELSPA, said there were two targets for the information. 'The focus from the consumer's point of view is to make them aware that games can be downloaded. From the industry side, we need to build up the profile of this sector to games publishers that may not have entered the market.'
There have been two meetings between ELSPA and operators so far and a third is expected soon. 'It's quite a delicate process because everyone is cautious about what details to provide,' said Rawlinson.
The next meeting will gather information on activity in June, with ELSPA acting as honest broker between all the operators. The information will be circulated back to the them to ensure that everyone is happy with the results.
'We should be in a position to publish some of the July figures in August,' said Rawlinson.
The final details of what information will be collected hasn't yet been decided, although Rawlinson said the likely areas included the number of paid downloads and level updates for Java games, page impressions for WAP games, and the volumes of SMS games transferred.