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Rumours mount about World Of Warcraft Mobile

If they're true, what form will it take?

Product: Vivendi Games Mobile news | Publisher: Vivendi Games Mobile

by Stuart Dredge

Let it be said that Pocket Gamer doesn't deal in idle gossip. Well, not unless it's so juicy that we can't resist, of course. And that's the case with the growing buzz around a mobile version of World of Warcraft.

Now, before going on, we'll make it clear: Vivendi Games Mobile hasn't announced anything of the sort. And nor has its console parent, or WoW developer Blizzard Entertainment for that matter.

But... at the networking drinks of the Mobile Games Forum show this week, several people from other mobile publishers and developers told Pocket Gamer they'd heard Vivendi is definitely working on World of Warcraft Mobile.

Now that is idle gossip. But also yesterday, we had a chance to get the official line, when Vivendi Games Mobile boss Paul Maglione was sitting in the audience for one of the panel sessions at MGF, and was asked directly about mobile World of Warcraft.

"Mobile aspects will become part of all MMOs," he replied, with a distinct smile on his face.

Now, we're not excitable enough to regard that as a public confirmation. But putting two and two together, it seems clear Vivendi and/or Blizzard are doing something mobile with WoW, even if it's just experiments to see how it could work.

After all, we know Blizzard has put a mobile development team together. Indeed, we also know one of the people it hired came from Qualcomm's gaming/BREW department.

Anyhow, with this in mind, here are the four options we think Vivendi/Blizzard could use to approach the issue.

The first is to try and create a fully-fledged MMO for mobile phones - an independent WoW online game, since you couldn't really be battling alongside PC users.

Things that make this unlikely: the technical complexity and expense of getting it working on phones; the lack of widespread subscription billing on mobile to ensure it pays its way; the uncertainty over whether PC-based WoW gamers would even want to play a cut-down mobile version.

Option two: spin-off WoW games that are standalone, one-player experiences, but set in the 'world' of the original game. A brand extension thing, in other words - something that'd keep WoW players entertained when away from their PCs, and maybe introduce new players to the franchise. It's possible.

Option three: forget mobile games, and make a mobile application instead. Something that gives you access to guild chat, or other admin aspects of the PC version of WoW. Instead of selling it through mobile operators, Blizzard might tack this onto the regular WoW subscription - pay a quid/dollar extra a month, and get the mobile app.

This would make a shedload of money, and would be truly appealing for a decent base of WoW players. And we've also seen similar, if less functional, applications such as Halo 3 Stats on iPhone.

So that's the main three, anyway. The fourth option? World of Warcraft Bowling. We'd like to discount that one straight away...

What do you think: does World of Warcraft have a bright future on mobile, and if so, in what form?

What's this?

	Stuart Dredge 25/1/2008

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Mandark | 25 January 2008

How about all the options might come about!!!

1. Mobile multiplayer games may not be big in the West at the moment but they are in Korea and Japan and as we know Blizzard is the number one fave in Korea.

2. A single player mobile game would sell by the bucket load even if it was pretty rubbish because the Warcraft brand is so strong. Look at Deal or no deal!!!

3. Accessing in game features on mobile devices has already been announced by Sony Online Entertainment for their new MMO The Agency. I'm sure all the big MMO developers are looking at this.

4. Even the bowling game's got a shot at success. See point 2!

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Fraser | 26 January 2008

I pretty much agree here Mandark but I won't have a word said against Deal or No Deal.

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ConraDargo | 21 February 2008

While I certainly am keeping my fingers crossed for some sort of a MMORPG, be it a mobile version of WoW or not, I'd have to say that options no. 2 or 3 are more realistic expectations of what to come. I could totally see them releasing WoW single player RPGs much like SOE did with EverQuest, or come up with some sort of an application for accessing your in-game mailbox or auctions perhaps.

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veggiedude | 22 June 2008

It is more likely to be the Apple iPhone. Watch the Steve Jobs WWD keynote from a couple weeks ago and you'll see a game demo'd that look a whole lot like WoW running on the iPhone 3G. The developer only started it 2 weeks before and already had a great demo to show off. Other games were direct ports from the Mac, which only took 2-3 days to port. Since Blizzard already has a Mac version of WoW, the work is already done - it just needs tweaking to port it to the iPhone.

Coi3ra | 3 April 2009

If I can play wow on a 900mhz netbook, iPhone wow is possible. The iphone (from what I've read) can vary in clock speed up to 700mhz. Dumb down some graphics a bit add a mod for controls and bam. Don't think this is impossible. They could easily do this.

Mynameiswhat!? | 9 July 2009

it would be great, if Blizzard releases a single player RPG game for mobile phones, and not only on Iphone....I would definetly buy a WoW mobile RPG
And, cmon, its blizzard, I think that they would make a good game, and its just a mobile phone, how hard can it be?

P.S sorry for bad english

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