One company with a belief in mobile multiplayer gaming, and which is turning it into reality, is Terraplay in Sweden. Sven Hålling, CEO of Terraplay, thinks it won't be long before all mobile games are multiplayer-enabled.

“I don’t think there is a PC game sold today that is not a multiplayer game, and an increasing number of console games have multiplayer functionalities,” Hålling says. “It’s even more natural that mobile games should have this ability, and it will not be long before all games are ‘connected’ in some way, maybe two to three years at the most.”

Terraplay is known for its Global Gaming Network, which is built on the MOVE technology platform. The platform can easily be adopted by developers, game publishers and operators. It has four main elements: a community server, where players post their scores and take part in tournaments; a multiplayer server, where gamers play head-to-head; a payment server for in-game billing, which also allows operators to post messages inside games asking players if they wish to buy additional game versions; and content download, where people go and find a game, buy it and download it to their phones.

Hålling says it is easy to become a mobile multiplayer gamer. “You go to the place where you normally buy a game, which is usually your operator’s website or a dedicated game web portal, download it, and when you are ready to play, you get the option of accessing the multiplayer section. Once you are there, you can also decide who you want to play with.”

Peter Lindström, 26, from Sweden, is part of a growing group of people who play mobile multiplayer games. He has been playing some form of multiplayer games since 2002 and is now connected to Terraplay’s Global Gaming Network through his operator. He says he uses his mobile quite a lot to play games and quickly becomes bored with single-player games. “When you play multiplayer games, you connect with other people and it is much more fun competing against a person than a computer opponent. You can also compare your scores to others and, if your score is lower than your competitors, it gives you an incentive to improve,” he says.

Lindström plays a puzzle game called Blockster and a real-time action game called No Refuge. He thinks the quality of the games is pretty good. “I normally play the games when I have nothing else to do, like sitting on the subway or waiting for someone. I prefer to play with friends because it’s more fun playing against someone you know,” he says.

Lindström and other multiplayer gamers not only get to choose who they want to play with; through the Global Gaming Network, they also get to choose how they want to play the games. Hålling explains: “Multiplayer gaming means different things. You have real-time multiplayer games, which means people play against each other simultaneously. There are also turn-based games, such as chess games. A third option is to upload the game to a server and invite people to play against you offline.”

Terraplay offers all these options but is especially strong in the real-time multiplayer area. “We have spent a lot of time and effort optimizing the use of available bandwidth,” Hålling says. “So, if you and I are racing each other, and I’m just behind you, I want to get a really good view of what you are doing. But once I’ve passed you, I naturally become more interested in the car in front of me. What the server will do is downgrade the connection on your car and upgrade the connection on the car ahead to optimize the user experience. This can be achieved by simplifying the game environment by taking away such elements as palm trees and road signs.”

Terraplay has become well known with mobile multiplayer gaming and was recently nominated as a finalist in the Best Service Provider category at the Mobile Entertainment Awards, which will be presented in September. “When organizers spoke to the industry about multiplayer gaming, Terraplay was the name most mentioned,” Hålling says.

Terraplay not only works with some of the biggest game developers in the market, such as Ifone and Glu in the UK, Blaze in Sweden, and Indiagames in India; it also has some of the biggest operators as customers, including 3UK and South Korea Telecom.  Hålling says operators have found in-game billing especially lucrative. “It is interesting to see how in-game billing has managed to attract people outside the typical gamer community. A lot of people will not pay EUR 5 for a game, but if you download it for free and pay EUR 0.50 per additional download, which you can if you use our Global Gaming Network, we see people getting hooked very easily. Quite often, they end up spending more than EUR 5 without thinking about it,” he says.

Hålling says in-game billing is one important step in helping the industry make mobile gaming more mainstream. “Only 5-8 percent of phone users buy games and we have hit a limit at this level. To expand, we need to change the payment models and make it easier for users to download games,” he says.

Multiplayer gamer Lindström agrees. “Operators should either offer a one-time fee or a 30-day subscription fee. I also think it’s important that there is a payment platform, such as pay-per-play, to encourage people who just want to test a game. This is a way to attract more people to play,” he says. “I would also like to see operators including data traffic in their game price.”

Lindström thinks that multiplayer games will become more popular in the future. “If you look at the PC game market, most games are multiplayer games, which means people think this is a fun way to play. And if it is a success on a PC, why shouldn’t it be on a mobile?”

Torunn Hansen-Tangen