Gameloft announced the launch of games designed especially for touch screen mobile handsets.

Using the company's expertise from developing stylus-based games for the Nintendo DS, Gameloft sought out ways to best utilize the touch screens, which transform gameplay into a more intuitive experience and remove the limitation of small keyboards.

"The hype for 2008 will focus on the emergence of these new handsets and Gameloft has already gotten a head start," said Michel Guillemot, President and CEO of Gameloft. "This is a new step in terms of development, one that leads us to rethink how we approach our game controls so that players can interact directly with the screen and get a greater gaming experience. Touch screen games are perfect examples of how modern technology can advance the gaming industry."

Gameloft already has more than 15 touch screen games in its catalogue, including Block Breaker Deluxe, Brain Challenge and Brain Challenge 2, Bubble Bash, Platinum Solitaire, Chessmaster, Miami Nights: Single in the City, Paris Hilton's Diamond Quest, Sexy Poker Manga, Catchphrase, Deal or No Deal, Shrek the Third, Real Football: Manager Edition, and CSI Miami. These games were developed for the first touch screen mobile phones available on the market, including the LG Viewty, LG KS20, the HTC touch screen line, and the Samsung SGH-F700. Gameloft's touch screen games were initially developed in Java, though some will also be developed on the Windows Mobile platform.