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Helping ordinary people create extraordinary websites! |
Challenges and Opportunities in Mobile GamesBy Michael Juntao Yuan2005-04-13 
Appeasing the Operators
Different from the traditional console/PC game market, the mobile game market is essentially controlled by the wireless service provider (the operator). The operator decides what devices it supports and what data services are offered to its subscribers. It also provides integrated authentication and billing services for mobile content providers, including game developers and publishers. Most importantly, the operator provides crucial marketing support for mobile games. Consumers have a strong tendency to purchase services for their phones directly from their wireless operator. Although Java programming-based mobile games can be downloaded from many third-party portal sites, such as java.net, more than 90 percent of the actual purchases come from the wireless operator's online catalogs. As Ms. Braff pointed out, the current prices and revenues of mobile games do not yet justify large scale TV advertisement campaigns. So, to get your game in the operator's catalog is critical for its commercial success. The operator likely has quality requirements for the games in their catalog and needs those games to run on most of the handsets their customers currently use. It is important for developers to understand those requirements, and it is a good idea to get in touch with operators early in the development life cycle. Now let's discuss how operators' needs can affect the developer's choice of development platforms and strategies. Tutorial Pages: » Thoughts from the 2004 Austin Game Conference » The Big Picture » Appeasing the Operators » Choosing the Right Platform » Porting, Porting, Porting ... » In Conclusion » Resources First published by IBM DeveloperWorks
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