I-play's Mike Breslin
"The gravity, the size of it, is something that I don't think has been done before."
Gaming competitions have started to become more commonplace over the last few years, with professional leagues springing up and nationwide contests being organised and supported by well-known companies.
Until now, however, mobile contests have largely been absent from the scene. But that's about to change. Mike Breslin, vice president of marketing for I-play, is involved with the first National Mobile Gaming Championship concluding this weekend in Dallas, Texas. MobileIndustry.biz spoke with him recently to learn more about the contest and how it came about.
MobileIndustry.biz: Why a national championship for mobile?
Mike Breslin: One of our priorities in the mobile industry is educating people that there are high-quality, fun games on their mobile phones. Education is our number one priority. We embark in campaigns and promotions to try and do that.
This opportunity came up with McDonald's and the Midnight Gaming Championship, and we're very excited about it. We worked last year on a pilot program that went extremely well...so much so that it rolled out nationally this year. And that's what we're at the tail end of right now.
When did this year's competition begin?
The promotion started at the end of May, went through the entire summer, and is now culminating with the national finals event this Saturday. We're really excited to be a part of it, because this is really the first national mobile gaming tournament that is managed and sanctioned by a gaming group [the Video Gamers League].
People are being flown in from all over North America to Dallas to compete in this mobile gaming tournament, amongst other tournaments. The first price is $3,000. There are phones and prizes and all sorts of cool stuff to win.
How many people have been involved? How many regional events took place before this weekend's finals?
This was a huge endeavor that spanned the entire United States. It wasn't just a couple one-offs. There were over 50 events throughout the entire summer, held at McDonald's locations supported by marketing and advertising. Thousands of people have participated in the mobile gaming tournament.
Which game is being featured in the tournament, and how are players competing?
The game we are using is The Fast and the Furious: Fugitive. That franchise is the number one selling mobile racing franchise in the world--we are at well over 8 million purchased downloads and counting. We had phones with our game in front of thousands of people during the tournament.
The contest is to see who has the best time and score after their three laps are up. Everyone is on an equal and level playing field, and an unbiased party (the Video Gamers League) is there to register the participants, make sure people aren't trying to cheat...that sort of thing.
How many people have made it through to the final event?
We're flying 48 people in there [to Dallas]. The gravity, the size of it, is something that I don't think has been done before. The 48 tournament winners will be whittled down to a final two this weekend.
Do you anticipate more contests such as this in the future?
Definitely. Mobile gaming is definitely on the upswing, and we want to prove to people that there are cool games available on their phone. So, we're excited to be leading the way for hopefully more national mobile gaming tournaments in the future.
Mike Breslin is vice president of marketing for I-play. Interview by Mark Androvich.