Gameloft signs up to develop Zeemote games

Most of us are watching the first steps of the Zeemote JS1 Bluetooth controller with a mixture of admiration and concern. It's a neat gadget, sure, but it's also an unproven concept pitched at an untested market, and the thing's survival is by no means assured.

This should help: according to a press release distributed today, Gameloft has signed up to develop games for the controller. The publisher seems to be putting itself right behind the move, too, with senior Vice President adding a few of his own hefty words to the announcement.

"The Zeemote JS1 controller brings an intuitive and innovative experience to players" he says. "We believe the Zeemote controller, combined with high quality Gameloft games is a perfect match for customers who will have a strong motivation to download and enjoy more and more mobile games."

Zeemote CEO Beth Marcus is justly pleased. "The industry support has been overwhelming," she says, "and we are very proud of the fact that nearly every one of the top 15 mobile games publishers has committed to creating games compatible with the Zeemote JS1 controller."

Update: Amongst those top publishers, incidentally, are Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Digital Chocolate, Eidos, Finblade, FISHLABS, I-play, Gamelion, HandyGames, Player One, Player X, SEGA of America and Tag Games, and games like Ferrari WorldChampionship , Gangstar, Brick Breaker Revolution, Heli Strike 3D and Sonic The Hedgehog are all set to be Zeemote ready.

Whatever reservations you or I might have about the device's tenability, the publishers are getting right behind it (although the colossal EA Mobile is curiously silent.)

The Zeemote JS1 controller will be available in a few weeks.