Wireless entertainment companies have dreamed up all manner of enticements to encourage mobile-phone users to drop a few dollars on wireless games. There are games for kids, games for hard-core gamers, games for sports fans, games running on crystal-clear color screens, games based on movies, games for more than one player and even games based on other popular video games.
And now, Atlas Mobile Inc. is looking to add one more dimension to the market-games for prizes.
The company this month plans to launch its first series of skill games, including 21 and Solitaire, through Verizon Wireless’ Get It Now service. Every day, Atlas Mobile will give a $10 prize to the person who wins the most games. Every week, Atlas Mobile will award a $40 prize to the gamer who has the highest score.
“We are the first company to take this to mobile in the U.S.,” said Isaac Babbs, founder, president and chief executive officer of Atlas Mobile. “Nobody has really done anything like this.”
Babbs hails from wireless gaming company Sorrent Inc., where he served as president. He left the company to join with Andy Riedel, who previously founded multiplayer gaming technology company XadrA. Together, the two are looking to combine wireless gaming and multiplayer technology with the one thing that excites everyone-prizes.
“We’re going after the broad market,” Babbs said. “The casual gamer.”
Atlas Mobile plans to launch a handful of games on Verizon’s BREW application download service this month, with more games to follow. Each game will cost about $3 per month to play. Early next year the company plans to expand to other U.S. carriers using the Java platform. The games will include several well-known card games as well as a handful of puzzle games developed by Atlas. The company also this week plans to announce a deal with Blue Lava Wireless to offer a Tetris game for prizes.
Atlas Mobile’s games are designed to test players’ skill and quickness. Most games measure the time it takes to complete a puzzle, be it solving a Solitaire deck or adding up cards to 21. The shorter the time, the higher the score.
“If I beat you by a millisecond, I’ve won the game,” Babbs said, explaining that the timing is measured on the device rather than the network-and that the time is indeed measured in milliseconds.
Atlas Mobile plans to conduct two types of prize contests, head-to-head tournaments and progressive tournaments. Under the head-to-head scenario, players will be paired with each other and will compete using the same card deck or puzzle. The player to complete the deck or solve the puzzle in the shortest amount of time wins. Babbs said the system will pair players when they register, so that a user who plays a game at 3 a.m. will be paired with the next user to register. Atlas Mobile will give out a prize every day to the user who posts the best win-loss record, and the $10 prizes will include DVD movies, Target gift certificates and other items. A text message will notify winning players, who then will be directed to a Web site to claim their prizes.
Progressive tournaments will be conducted on a weekly basis, Babbs said. Players who elect to participate in the tournament will compete for the highest score. Whoever manages to post the highest score during the week will win the $40 prize, which will include movie tickets, CDs and other items.
“Ideally, (the prizes) are sponsored, but right now we’re providing it,” Babbs said. He said the company expects to introduce prizes sponsored by a “major consumer company” by January.
Atlas Mobile plans to roll out around a dozen such skill games by the end of next year. Babbs said the company likely will introduce several skill levels so that beginners will also have a shot at winning the prizes. He said 10 to 20 percent of the company’s revenues will be put back into the prize pot to keep it funded.
One key aspect of Atlas Mobile’s games is that luck has been stripped from the equation. Babbs said the company only offers card decks or puzzles that can be solved, thus ensuring that players have a fair chance of winning. Such precautions are necessary due to state laws, which in most cases prohibit gambling. However, Babbs said Atlas Mobile won’t be able to offer prizes to residents of Colorado and Vermont due to stricter state gaming laws. Also, Babbs said prizes will be offered only to users 13 and older, and users under 18 will need their parents’ permission.
Babbs wouldn’t discuss Atlas Mobile’s finances, except to say the company is privately funded. Atlas Mobile will be joining an already crowded gaming market, which includes Mforma, Jamdat Mobile Inc. and others. Interestingly, several Internet sites, including PrizeGames.com and GameColony.com, already offer prizes for high-scoring gamers, and several Asian wireless carriers have awarded prizes during wireless gaming tournaments.
