UK mobile operators set for simultaneous game launches
ELSPA negotiates deal between the five operators
Good news, people. A new deal brokered by games trade body ELSPA means that we'll soon see simultaneous release dates for mobile games on all five UK operators: 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
However, at first sight it seems that the deal will only benefit the biggest games publishers. According to Mobile Entertainment, it concerns four firms: EA Mobile, Glu Mobile, Gameloft and I-play.
FIFA 08, Transformers, Guitar Legends and an unidentified I-play game will get simultaneous releases on all five operator portals in the months ahead.
It's good news for gamers – you can recommend that title you love to a friend safe in the knowledge that they should be able to buy it whatever operator they're on. And it's good news for the publishers, who can now put more money into marketing their games, because they'll have a single unified release date.
The deal came out of ELSPA's Mobile Games Operator working group, which as T-Mobile's Neil Holroyd told us earlier this year is also working on making sure the different operators' connected gaming services work well together.
