T-Mobile UK launches connected mobile games
Not just multiplayer, but tournaments, loyalty schemes, new pricing
It's only a couple of months since we were banging on about how the UK sucked as far as mobile game connectivity went.
We bemoaned the fact that us Brits were falling behind the rest of the world when it came to online high score tables, buddy-leagues and over-the-air multiplayer.
Thankfully, 2007 could change all that. T-Mobile UK has just signed a deal with Terraplay to launch a community gaming service, which'll include multiplayer gaming, competitions, tournaments and loyalty schemes.
It will also run new pricing models for mobile games, for example letting you subscribe to play games, rent them for a few days at a time, or pay per play from as little as 50p. These features are already available on some other operators – notably 3 UK – but they're good news for T-Mobile subscribers nonetheless.
The service will launch with games from more than ten 'leading' publishers, including 'several large branded titles', which bodes well.
T-Mobile says the community will tie into those of other operators too, meaning that theoretically you'd be able to play against, say, people on 3 or O2 – although this does depend on them also using Terraplay's technology.
