Ericsson partner Connect2Media (C2M) is placing its faith in IMS-based gaming. The company, headquartered in the UK, develops, publishes and distributes games across multiple platforms, including mobile, web, PC and interactive TV.

Volker Hirsch, Executive Vice-President at C2M, explains that the company absorbed the non-US/Chinese business from Hands-On Mobile (which remains a minority shareholder), including its award-winning Manchester-based game-development studio. Next to its studio, C2M has worldwide sales operations and is an international publisher in its own right. In addition, it remains the exclusive distributor of Hands-On’s well-known World Poker Tour and Guitar Hero titles outside North America.

Hirsch says the mobile-gaming business has its peculiarities: “The specifics of the mobile phone, such as the smaller display, make the user experience different from that of gaming on other platforms such as online or console. As a developer and publisher, you must be very aware of that and work within these limitations.”

One of C2M’s specialties is multi-player, multi-platform gaming, working in a client-server environment, supporting, for instance, simultaneous mobile and PC gaming. “Most other game publishers sell stand-alone games with no interaction and community features such as buddy lists and in-game interactive features, giving no experience outside the gaming,” Hirsch says. “With the development of multi-player games for Hands-On such as World Poker Tour, we pioneered this area a couple of years ago and helped make it a worldwide success.

“To accomplish a true multi-player gaming environment without an IMS infrastructure is very hard. That’s why we were so keen to get involved with IMS, and all our future games will be considered for IMS.”

In cooperation with Ericsson, C2M aims to launch a first worldwide trial of IMS-based gaming with a big European-based operator.

Partnering with Ericsson was an obvious choice, Hirsch says. “It’s a very well-known and well-respected telecom company, and a worldwide leader in IMS infrastructure. With the convergence happening in the infrastructure market, and increasingly so on the operator side, who to partner with if not the leader in the field?  Being at the technology forefront, Ericsson helps us position ourselves at the forefront as well.”

Rolf Carlsson is head of operations for the Ericsson Developer Program and is the 3PP Application Portfolio manager for C2M at Ericsson. He says: “C2M is a leading games publisher and was a natural choice for us when we selected a games provider for our IMS gaming solution. We will start with a few IMS-enabled games, and IMS enablement will be a part of the C2M roadmap when developing games together with their partners. We are looking forward to an extensive IMS-enabled portfolio of games.”

Hirsch praises the Ericsson ecosystem approach to IMS. “This turns development into an open club, resulting in non-proprietary, standardized solutions, and a living thing with lots of creativity going on,” he says.

C2M also operates a successful third-party developer program of its own. “We want to help creative studios to develop their ideas and get them published,” Hirsch says. “Through our program, we support our partners in getting return on their investments while enhancing our offering.”

Connect2Media
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By Benny Ritzén