14 DAY TRIAL // Nokia and SingTel announced the launch of the Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest 2006. Up to 20 privileged finalists will have the opportunity to develop and offer their games for commercial distribution through SingTel Mobile, and potentially with Bridge Mobile Alliance to more than 80 million subscribers in Asia Pacific under the alliance's regional content sharing initiative.
The challenge invites developers to send in their proposals for the following categories: cross platform gaming (simultaneous gameplay between mobile devices and fixed devices), multiplayer gaming for the male segment, and also for the female segment. The games should run on Nokia's Java(TM)-enabled mobile devices.
Developers are required to submit their proposals for the Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest by 14 July 2006. After the first round of judging, companies that had submitted the top 20 proposals will be invited to develop their games by mid-October 2006. Winners and runners-up in each category stand to walk away with the opportunity to launch their winning games with up to 9 operators in the region, cash prizes and Nokia devices.
Shankar Meembat, Regional Director, Forum Nokia, Asia Pacific, said, "Forum Nokia's PRO community comprises members who are dedicated to creating effective applications for mobile devices. The Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest invites them to pit their creativity and game development skills against one another, but more importantly, to develop cross-platform and multi-player games that will not only provide revenue opportunities for SingTel and the Bridge Mobile Alliance consortium, but also hours of fun gaming for consumers."
Nokia currently has more than 400 members in its Forum Nokia PRO community, including leading games developers in the Asia Pacific region like Indiagames (India), Paradox Studios (India), Activate Interactive (Singapore), Noumena Innovations (Hong Kong) and KongZhong Mobile (China). Popular applications for mobile devices, such as Hinter Wars (Activate Interactive) and MGS 3.0 (Noumena Innovations) are examples of games created by Forum Nokia PRO members.
Mr Low Ka Hoe, SingTel's Director, Content, said, "The Nokia and SingTel Multiplayer Game Quest is a platform for us to offer new and innovative cross platform multiplayer games for our loyal customers in Singapore and subscribers with our affiliates across the region. This is made possible through the expertise of the Forum Nokia PRO community. This initiative comes at a time when there is a growing demand for cross platform and multiplayer games from mobile phone users. This can be observed from our GamesXtreme League portal (www.gxleague.com), where competitive gaming goes beyond traditional PC and console devices. Connected gaming on-the-move is now a fast emerging trend. By embracing and delivering services built on converged technology, SingTel leads the industry both locally and in the region by providing customers with exciting and new content and user experiences."