Boonty reveals plans to open new mobile games store
Downloadable games publisher Boonty has announced plans to roll out a new mobile games service which will offer consumers a catalogue of more than 1000 games.
The service is supported by major mobile handset manufacturers and mobile network operators, and is compatible with Java, I-mode, brew, Pocket PC and Symbian platforms.
Boonty says its aim is to provide a web-based solution to mobile content delivery with the same user-friendly functionality as the publisher's downloadable PC games.
Consumers can search for a game by title, genre, developer or publisher, and there will be a daily chart displaying the top-selling titles. To buy a game, the user enters their phone number and carrier information online.
A download link is then sent to their handset via WAP push. Payment can be made with credit, debit or pre-pay cards, or a charge can be added to the user's monthly bill.
The project is being developed by Boonty's Singapore office, led by Cyrille Even, CEO of Boonty Asia. The Web-2-Mobile Games Store will be available via the BoontyGames.com website and through the company's network of international partners which includes ISPs, portals and computer manufacturers.
Boonty is predicting strong demand in markets where 3G mobile technology has already been established, namely Europe, Asia and the US.
"Mobile games are poised for significant growth according to all forecasts and our Boonty Web-2-Mobile Games Store solution is ready to meet consumers growing appetite for this exciting new entertainment medium," said Boonty CEO Romain Nouzareth.
"By serving as content aggregator and offering an extensive catalogue of titles under a simplified web interface, Boonty is doing the same thing for games-on-the-go as we have done for the downloadable PC games market."
Boonty says it plans to support subscription-only games in future iterations, and offer a try-before-you-buy demo capability. Games for PDAs that operate with PalmOS, Symbian and Windows CE will also be available.