News

3GSM visitors... a long list! Gaming, for example...

One story to watch out for in Cannes will be the gaming explosion, and one visitor to hunt down will be William Erickson, CEO of M7 Networks.

The sermon Erickson will be preaching is that mobile gaming is no longer a mere trend -- it is a solid source of ARPU with global subscriber numbers growing.

India alone, says Erickson, will see gaming revenues grow from $26 million in 2004 to $336 million by 2009 - he's quoting analysts at In-Stat/MDR.

"We are transforming the mobile gaming market by creating the industry's first-ever cross-carrier gaming community -- the Game Lobby from Sprint," he says. M7 is also partnering with the world's leading game designers like Sega and Namco "to enhance subscribers' gaming experience and respond to the growing demand for head-to-head user play."

M7's technology is not limited to mobile gaming. The range of other stories to tell at 3GSM will include the Wake-Up messaging service. "We have brought exciting new applications to market through our multi-platform Wake-Up solution - it is used by numerous global carriers, delivering such services as tailored news alerts and instant messaging immediately to subscribers' mobile phones," he said before the show.

Earlier this week, M7  announced today that it launched international mobile game publisher IN-FUSIO’s Shado Fighter title into The Game Lobby from Sprint. The Game Lobby from Sprint, powered by M7 Networks, is a nationwide virtual mobile community for gamers to meet, recommend games and challenge each other.

“We intend to launch additional IN-FUSIO titles in the near future,” said William Erickson, president and CEO of M7 Networks. “Sprint’s and M7 Networks’ ongoing effort to offer subscribers the most comprehensive selection of games in a single virtual community reflects our commitment to innovation in mobile gaming. IN-FUSIO’s joining the Game Lobby continues the delivery of world class games to Sprint’s mobile game community.”

Shado Fighter is a mobile fighting game that allows players to choose from nine characters, each with their own unique fighting style, and battle their way through a tournament of warriors. Reminiscent of popular, classic fighting games, the title offers four different ways to play including training, story and survival modes as well as a timed attack. Gamers can also select between four different difficulty and game speed levels to find a setting that best fits their skills.

The Game Lobby from Sprint has been called the industry’s first carrier-wide gaming community since the announcement that it is interconnected with other carriers. "This has created an inter-carrier gaming community allowing gamers to share common leaderboards, maintain cross-carrier buddy lists, share member profiles, and have player-to-player messaging regardless of the player’s carrier affiliation,"said the company.

M7 Networks says that it "powers the global mobile community," through its technology and through its determination to ensure the highest quality subscriber service for both carriers and publishers.  "The bridge from publishers/wireless developers to carriers to subscribers is M7 Networks," is the slogan. See the web site at http://www.m7networks.com/