An independent panel of industry experts from across the globe has spent the past few weeks deliberating through over a hundred entries to come up with a shortlist of the most innovative mobile games concepts. Entries were judged on game innovation, fun, feasibility of execution, and market potential. The top three developers who best meet these requirements will be invited to present their concepts at the upcoming Nokia Games Summit in Rome, Italy on October 29, 2008.

Top 10 developers and their concepts are:

• Active Tecnologia e Consultoria Ltda. (Brazil) – Cinemarena – set in a movie theatre, controlling avatars on the big screen
• CreatePlayShare (India) – Ball – play any ball game on your mobile device or even create your own new game
• A Different Game (Sweden) – Ghost Wire – use your mobile device to communicate with ghosts
• Eclipse Interactive (UK) – Watchers – conspiracy adventure game that uses Nokia Maps and other real world tools to find locations
• Int13 (France) – Kweekies – augmented reality virtual pet game that allows players to interact with their pet by utilizing the embedded camera of their mobile device
• Jadestone (Sweden) and C4M (France) – Melokey – a music game for mobile devices where you learn to master songs and play them against other in-game characters to win the hearts of your fans
• LemonQuest (Spain) – Wave Pirates – a fun action game where players turn into a pirate navigating the seven seas, looking for gold and glory
• Onur Yazilim (Turkey) – Comet Hunter – a 2-D shooting game which combines the excitement of shooting with natural sound effects made by players themselves
• Simlife (China) – XDancery – a music game where players can touch the screen, draw patterns on the screen, shake the device or sing into it to hit the music tempo notes
• TechnoBubble (Spain) – Fun Cam – a mixed reality game that connects your camera on your mobile device to the TV

The Mobile Games Innovation Challenge, launched in April 2008, is designed to encourage the development of innovative game concepts with the power to positively disrupt the global mobile gaming industry and to help propel mobile gaming with handheld devices into a new and exciting future.

The Mobile Games Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Nokia Games Publishing, called for mobile game developers to submit concepts that will help drive mobile gaming to the next level, relying on the advanced features and functionalities of N-Gage-compatible devices, and Java- or Symbian-based Series 40 or S60 devices from Nokia.

Other bug fixes and improvement includes:

• An issue where Snakes Subsonic on certain devices would exit unexpectedly when hosting a Bluetooth multiplayer match has been addressed
• An issue where Blockbreaker Deluxe would exit with an error when a user activated Bluetooth has been addressed
• There was an issue where the WiFi connection changed to a GPRS connection during Operator Billing. This issue has been addressed.
• There was an issue where certain games would exit unexpectedly if a user selected ‘Cancel’ during the Get License.
• There was an issue where a user would launch a game, and during the ‘Attemtping Login’ screen, could not select the ‘Cancel’ button. This issue has been addressed.
• There was an error where the N-Gage Arena Rankings could not be accessed using WLAN when the device is in Offline Mode. This error has been addressed.
• Some localization issues with Spanish and French have been addressed.
• An issue where the application would freeze unexpectedly when the device is left idle on the N-Gage Arena terms and conditions page has been addressed.
• A problem with password retrieval has been addressed.

Announcement from Games Convention Asia 2008

Action on the small screen isn’t letting up either. EA Mobile, also announced today that Spore Origins will be coming soon on Nokia’s N-Gage platform. The game takes full advantage of the NGage functionality whilst allowing players to manouvere their way through a world made of primordial ooze. Spore Origins will sit alongside other EA titles already launched on N-Gage, such as Tetris, The Sims 2 Pets and EA SPORTS FIFA 08.

via [nineoverten]

“We’re thrilled to bring another major franchise to our N-Gage platform,” said Gregg Sauter, Director of Third Party Publishing, Nokia. “For many years, Capcom has been entertaining people around the world with exceptional gaming experiences and we’re delighted that they have decided to release one of their most popular franchises for N-Gage. Resident Evil Degeneration will serve as an exciting new chapter for fans of the series and deliver a unique gaming experience that they will not be able to achieve anywhere else. ”

“The release of Resident Evil Degeneration illustrates our dedication to N-Gage,” said Takeshi Tezuka, general manager of Capcom’s mobile Division. “We believe that the platform is an excellent home for some of our most famous franchises and our dedication to quality and creative thinking has seen us create a unique game with stunning visuals and in-depth game play, never before seen on the mobile.”

During the course of the game, players guide Dirk through a set of mini-games. For example, the player can use the camera on the device to snap a photo of a character. The photo can then be used as incriminating evidence on behalf of a client. To play the first chapter and get more information, visit http://www.dirkdagger.com

Users from different countries have reported getting the free license successfully, but sad that US N-Gage users will not be able to enjoy this offer. Check out the instruction in the blog post below.

instruction [symbianwebblog]

The three most innovative game concepts will be offered Nokia Publishing pre-production contracts, targeting publication of their winning concept on the corresponding Nokia device platform. In addition, the first winner will be awarded 40,000 euro, the second 20,000 euro, and the third 10,000 euro to enable the participant to further develop the concept.

Beginning immediately, developers wishing to compete for the Mobile Games Innovation Challenge can submit their game concepts online at http://developer.n-gage.com/innovation. Gaming concept submissions will continue through August 20, 2008. The winners will be chosen by the external panel of judges and announced during a special award ceremony at the Nokia Games Summit in Rome, Italy, October 29-30, 2008.

The first set of available games include: EA SPORTS FIFA 08 by EA Mobile; Brain Challenge and Asphalt 3: Street Rules by Gameloft; World Series of Poker Pro Challenge by Glu Mobile; and Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep and System Rush: Evolution by Nokia Publishing. These games will be followed closely by Tetris and The Sims 2 Pets by EA Mobile; Block Breaker Deluxe and Dogz by Gameloft; and Snakes Subsonic, Space Impact: Kappa Base and Mile High Pinball by Nokia Publishing.

With the N-Gage application on their device, people can create a Friends List, send and receive private messages, and take part in instant messaging style chat. N-Gage Points can be earned for playing games and participating in community activities. Today’s N-Gage compatible devices include: Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N82, Nokia N95, and Nokia N95 8GB.

To download the N-Gage application, visit http://www.n-gage.com on your mobile device or PC. New games, features and compatible devices will be added regularly. Games are expected to cost between six and ten euros – all of which are free to try before buying.