SonyEricsson acquired UIQ

November 7th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

With Nokia holding a strong foot in S60, SonyEricsson decided it’s time for them to secure a bit of the Symbian market themselves. Being the biggest distributors of UIQ based handsets, they now announced to acquire the UIQ branch from Symbian (UIQ Technology AB). SonyEricsson will make the UIQ department a separate subsidary in the company. This probably to avoid support from companies like Motorola who also have a range of UIQ devices on the market. The current management team will also remain in place to secure proper functioning under the SonyEricsson flag.

Interview with Wicked Witch

November 7th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Analysis & Editorial | No Comments »

PAL Gaming Network has released an interview with Australian based Wicked Witch Software. Though PAL mainly shows interest for their PC/Console games, there is also plenty about mobile games in there.

PSP Phone

November 7th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Smartphones & Tablets | 3 Comments »

It’s been a while since the first rumors of Sony developing a PSP phone hit the net, however in China it seems reality. Some company released a smartphone which has the looks & feel of the PSP, combined with calling options. Knowing Sony, they will probably try to get the device of the market as soon as possible.

Scott Guthrie new SVP North American Sales & Distribution

November 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in People | No Comments »

THQ announced it’s newest hire as they appointed Scott Guthrie as Senior Vice President of North American Sales & Distribution.

“Scott has a proven track record of success in many different entertainment categories across a wide variety of distribution channels,” said Farrell. “He has already played a critical role in the chart-topping launches of THQ’s major titles this year – from the cross-platform release of Disney/Pixar Cars in June to the recent release of our brand new property Saints Row for Xbox 360. We look forward to Scott’s results-oriented leadership as THQ continues to transform itself through a new cycle of growth.”

SonyEricsson also on the iPod hype

November 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Smartphones & Tablets | No Comments »

Another terrible interface for mobile gaming seems to hit the market. This time it’s SonyEricsson who manages to combine the iPod with the good old Nokia 3650.

Samsung X830, another failure to good gameplay?

November 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Smartphones & Tablets | 2 Comments »

Samsung will release their phone/iPod mix-up in Europe soon to fire up the battle against the iPod even more. The device looks stylish and has loads of features that will make it a possible hit in the world of ladyphones. How to play a decent game on it will be a mystery to me though with the extremely thin screen and 2 column button lay-out.

EA’s Q3, up again for mobile

November 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Analysis & Editorial | No Comments »

We can almost say that nothing exciting happens at EA as they just continue growing and releasing hot IP’s to the mobile games platform. Their latest numbers show their revenue grew with 2 million to a staggering 35 million dollar.

Glu, not the biggest, but the best?

November 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Analysis & Editorial | No Comments »

Our friends at QB have put an article online to honor Glu in their quest for glory. The article shows statistics that where send out by Glu on who creates the best mobile games. Personally I wonder which sources have been used to compile the figure, as that might influence the value of their research.

MonsterMob goes on discount

November 3rd, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

MonsterMob has been starting to offer discount games at 1,50 UKP. The budget range kicks of with 15 simple non branded games.

"We’re really excited about this launch," said Matt Meads, MobGames manager. "We hope to see mobile gaming establish itself amongst the mainstream platforms during the next couple of years. There are some great games out there, and we’re confident that once consumer awareness grows, mobile gaming will really take off. Hopefully the MobGames value range will encourage gamers to experiment," he added.