Nokia (NYSE:NOK), a pioneer in the development of mobile Internet technology, today announced initial licensing agreements for the Nokia Mobile Entertainment Service with game developers and publishers including Activision, Inc., h2g2, Oxford Softworks, and Net Entertainment AB. More than 300 developers have registered for the Nokia Mobile Entertainment Developers program which was launched at the E3 Expo 2000 in Los Angeles just a few weeks ago.
The Nokia Mobile Entertainment Service allows game application developers and publishers and online content publishers to create interactive entertainment for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) enabled mobile devices. Ultimately the services will be offered by mobile network operators to their customer base.
"Nokia believes there is tremendous potential for mobile entertainment as wireless phones and other wireless devices are fast becoming much more than a communications tool and they can soon be used as electronic wallets, calendars, and in the near future, a way to play games with other people across the mobile network," said Graham Stafford, head of publishing/mobile entertainment at Nokia Internet Communications. "Our purpose as a global wireless leader is to bring the necessary tools, technology, and industry expertise to help effectively drive this rapidly emerging market forward."
"It is exciting that companies including Activision, h2g2, Oxford Softworks and Net Entertainment are already on board. Based on the very positive reception to the Nokia Mobile Entertainment Developer Program, we anticipate that this market will quickly evolve."
Santa Monica, California based Activision, Inc., a leading international publisher, developer and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products, is one of the first game companies to work with Nokia to encode text-adventure games for WAP enabled devices. Activision will enable twelve Infocom text-adventure games, including such well-known classics as Zork and Planetfall. Since the mid 1980's, these text-adventures have been played on home computers by hundreds of thousands of consumers and are widely considered to have pioneered PC gaming.
Additionally, through a licensing agreement with h2g2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an Activision text-adventure game, which is based on the book by Douglas Adams, will be available globally via WAP enabled mobile devices. h2g2 is one of the UK's most innovative digital media companies and produces a range of entertainment brands.
Oxford Softworks, a development and publishing software house based in Oxfordshire, England, known for its innovative board games, is working with Nokia to enable ten board games for Mobile Entertainment Service for WAP handsets. The company is known in the gaming industry for producing software with state of the art graphics and strong Artificial Intelligence response engines.
Net Entertainment AB, based in Stockholm, provides state-of-the-art software for Internet-based lotteries, competitions and gaming. Since June 1999, Net Entertainment has developed various games for WAP enabled mobile phones. Nokia and Net Entertainment are working to enable seven games for the Mobile Entertainment Service to be played on WAP enabled phones.
The Nokia Mobile Entertainment Service is another step in Nokia's global vision of a mobile information society where the combination of mobility and the Internet is anticipated to create an explosion of new services. By the end of 2003, Nokia has estimated that more people will access the Internet via a WAP enabled mobile device versus a PC.
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