As mobile gaming grows from niche market to mass market, developers and publishers are scrambling to market the next big thing. And nearly everyone in the space is putting money on 3-D.
“We’re spending a lot of time, a lot of energy and a lot of resources in rolling out a lot of 3-D games,” said Justin Siegel, vice president of publishing for SkyZone Entertainment. “We’re clearly starting to place some early bets on 3-D.”
While there’s no hard-and-fast definition for “3-D gaming,” trademarks of the technology include on-screen characters who are generally composed of polygons that can add a sense of light, shadow and depth. Perspectives often can rotate in 3-D games, allowing players to view landscapes from any number of angles.
The results can be striking compared to two-dimensional games from 20 years ago. Three-dimensional graphics helped fuel the uptake of PC and console gaming in the 1990s, when titles like “Tekken,” “Tomb Raider” and “Quake” wowed gamers with 360-degree views that seemed to bring players inside the game.
Whether that kind of experience can be created on a handset is unclear. While advancing technologies soon may give gamers console-quality graphics on their phones, a compelling visual experience is only one ingredient for a great game.
“People are still learning how to create a good mobile game,” warned Brian Bruning, director of handheld content for Nvidia Inc., which makes processors for mobile phones and videogame consoles. “If I’m a gameplayer, I want to play a good game, and 3-D does not make a good game. It’s a tool that developers can use to realize their vision of a good game.”
Bruning suggested truly compelling 3-D games will take advantage of everything newer phones have to offer: higher network speeds, location-based technology and Bluetooth to facilitate real-time head-to-head play.
Nearly every publisher is beginning to offer 3-D titles and developing many more. From small, mobile-exclusive studio developers to multi-platform giants like Electronic Arts, 3-D is largely seen as the future of wireless gaming. And given how newer technologies can enhance the overall gaming experience, 3-D is a no-brainer, according to William Erickson, director and co-founder of M7 Networks, which powers the Game Lobby for Sprint PCS.
“It’s a great user experience, and I think that’s what we have to focus on every day,” Erickson said of 3-D graphics. “It’s just cool. That’s the only word for it-cool.”
But delivering 3-D graphics offers challenges of its own. To run 3-D applications smoothly, handsets often include an extra processor created exclusively to handle the graphics. And because content can be so data-heavy, download speeds can drag, requiring customers to wait several minutes instead of seconds to receive games.
As technology makes for more advanced titles, then developers address download issues by creating 3-D titles that are delivered in stages. After conquering one level, a player could download the next, creating a multi-stage, console-type experience.
Determining what types of games might best combine 3-D graphics with a mobile platform may be the biggest challenge. Successful console and PC examples are often fast-paced sports games and first-person shooters, which often lose their appeal in the transition from console to handset.
Some publishers are beginning to find success by coupling high-tech 3-D graphics with simple, casual offerings that have gained substantial traction among mobile gamers. California-based publisher Digital Chocolate uses 3-D graphics for snowboarding and miniature golf titles, Jamdat’s lineup includes a 3-D version of its popular bowling game, and Sorrent is marketing a pingpong game in 3-D.
“We are not trying to build (the Xbox-based) Halo 2 on a phone,” said Mark Jacobstein, president and chief operations officer of Digital Chocolate. “(Our 3-D games) are very technically advanced; they showcase features of some of the newest handsets, but they also manage to be casual and community-based.”
Even the most optimistic publishers concede any mass market for mobile 3-D gaming is years away.
“This is not going to happen overnight,” said Bruning. “You’re going to see the power of an Xbox on a handheld device within three or four years, but the consumer expectation is quite high for 3-D. If you give them a crappy 3-D experience on a phone, consumers are going to get soured, and that will stall the whole market.”
Count SkyZone’s Siegel among the publishers wagering that doesn’t happen. The subsidiary of Korea’s S.K. Telecom will be well positioned once mobile 3-D gaming becomes lucrative, he said.
“We’re fully aware of the fact that as far as return on investment goes, it’s fairly far down the road,” said Siegel. “But we want to be one of the leaders in the space.”
