Mobile phones: The next Game Boy?

NEWS

Gaming on mobile phones will not take off until the experience is on par with a 3D console, according to chip designer ARM Holdings, but this goal is not as far off as one might think. ARM business development manager Noel Hurley said that all the pieces for 3D gaming on mobile phones and other wireless devices will be in place by Christmas 2003, and handsets will sport 3D hardware acceleration by 2005 or 2006. In the meantime, he expects Java-based games to take off with the generation of handsets being introduced around this Christmas. The company dominates the market for mobile phone chip designs, and its cores also power Pocket PC handheld computers and the Game Boy Advance, as well as set-top boxes and other entertainment devices. On Tuesday ARM demonstrated a 3D software platform called Swerve, developed with software company Superscape and Imagination Technologies, which makes the PowerVR line of graphics cores. Swerve allows ARM-based products, such as the Sony Ericsson P800 and Nokia 7650 or the Pocket PC, to display sophisticated 3D graphics from a game that is pared-down enough to download over low-bandwidth networks such as GSM and GPRS. Currently the Swerve engine is available for download, but not much software runs on the platform so far. Swerve is a high-level, cross-platform technology that allows developers to simplify the way 3D objects are described, thus reducing the network bandwidth consumed by software. For example, the game could describe an object in 164 polygons, and Swerve would render about 10,000, according to ARM. It is compatible with graphics programming languages such as OpenGL and DirectX, and existing games can be quickly translated into Swerve format, according to ARM. Ultimately, ARM hopes that phone manufacturers will choose to include Swerve with their hardware, and in some cases integrate the PowerVR core alongside the ARM core for graphics acceleration. An earlier version of PowerVR technology powered the Dreamcast console from Sega. Currently, a market is developing for "retro" games -- from the Atari 2600 era -- that can be easily implemented on the current generation of colour-screen mobile phones. But the potential is much bigger, ARM's Hurley said, anticipating a time when users will pay to play cutting-edge mobile phone games, just as they do for the Game Boy Advance. "Will people spend money to play Space Invaders on their phone? Probably not," he said. "Will they spend money on a real-time strategy game, or Tomb Raider, or Civilisation, or The Sims? Once you get that level of gaming you can generate revenues in a number of ways." ARM also demonstrated a higher-end version of Swerve, which is aimed at 3G phones. It generates graphics comparable to or better than a PSone console, and can automatically change screen resolutions, a complicated task that is necessary for the heterogenous mobile phone market. For the immediate future, the challenge is to get the mainstream gaming industry interested in mobile phones. "The big developers have an eye on it, and when the business starts to show positive numbers, you'll see them jump in," Hurley said. "We need the big brands to come out there and spend millions of dollars to create the pull." He predicted that by Christmas 2003, the Swerve software, or other 3D enabling technology, will have a big enough installed base that brand-name 3D games will start to appear for mobile platforms. Users of handheld computers such as Pocket PC will be the first to adopt 3D platforms, Hurley predicted, since they are already used to downloading and installing new software. Wireless gaming devices could also be integrated with console and PC, games, allowing users to play certain "zones" of the game while they're out and about, Hurley said. This idea is already being considered by Sony, with the P800 smartphone.

If it moves, we cover it. See ZDNet UK's Mobile Technology News Section for the latest news, reviews and price checks on mobile phones, PDAs, notebook computers and anything else you can take away. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

9 minutes ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

39 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

43 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

1 hour ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

2 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

2 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

2 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

2 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

5 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

7 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

8 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

9 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

10 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

18 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

It has been shown time after time that if there is an author store that sells the songs at even 1$ per song and gives you a high-quality digital...

1 day ago by Aigars Mahinovs via Facebook on Copyright isn't working, says European Commission

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Mobile phones: The next Game Boy?

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Siemens bets on mobile gambling

Atari games built into mobile device

Sega forms mobile games division

Amstrad resurrects classic games for mobiles

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Technical MI Manager - 50-60k - Leeds

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Application Development

Mobile phones: The next Game Boy?

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features