Online gaming giants set sights on mobile space : Oberon, PopCap hope to capitalize on casual gaming success

A couple of online casual gaming heavyweights lumbered into the mobile sphere.
Oberon Media bought a big chunk of the wireless gaming playground last week, picking up London-based publisher I-play for an undisclosed sum. The New York-based firm-which powers storefronts for customers such as MSN Games Network, Electronic Arts Inc., Verizon Broadband and Orange/France Telecom-is looking to become a cross-platform game distributor, offering both licensed and original titles on the Internet, television and mobile phones.
The combined company, which will count roughly 500 employees once the deal closes, is expected to leverage distribution relationships with more than 350 partners around the world. The move was possible thanks to an additional round of funding for Oberon from new and existing investors including Goldman Sachs, Oak Investment Partners and Lehman Brothers.
“From our perspective, being acquired by Oberon really gives both companies a chance to change the rules of the game in terms of casual gaming,” said current I-play CEO David Gosen, who will direct Oberon’s mobile business under the I-play brand. “Casual gaming is where the growth is going to come from. With this combination we will drive huge awareness of mobile gaming, which has been one of the huge issues of the past.”
I-play has gained substantial traction with licensed titles including “The Fast and the Furious” and “24” as well as original games like My Dog and Pillowfight. One report indicated the deal was worth more than $100 million.
Oberon had previously waded into the wireless waters with the acquisitions of Blaze and Cmate, two smaller players in mobile gaming.
Popping into wireless
Oberon’s move comes on the heels of PopCap Games Inc.’s first aggressive mobile effort. The Seattle-based firm recently hired former AT&T Mobility executive Andrew Stein as its first director of mobile business development, and last week launched its first internally developed wireless title with a mobile version of its popular Chuzzle title.
PopCap claims to have delivered more than 200 million downloads on computers and mobile phones, and the company owns the blockbuster cross-platform hit Bejeweled. Chuzzle, which combines elements of Tetris and the classic Connect Four, is available “from all major mobile carriers” in the United States and Europe.
“Chuzzle is a great game for mobile devices, and we’ve spent a lot of time optimizing it for that platform,” said Jason Kapalka, chief creative officer of PopCap. “We’ve simplified the already-straightforward game mechanics to take advantage of the input controls across hundreds of models of cellphones and other devices, and the game plays faster and more intuitively than ever.”
PopCap’s previous efforts in wireless were conducted through licensing deals, but the company appears well positioned to pose a threat to established players such as EA Mobile and Glu. Not only does PopCap have a vast library of casual games that may be perfect for wireless play, it claims to draw 7 million unique visitors to its Web site every month.
Dynamic duo
Both Oberon and PopCap have attracted legions of casual gamers by offering easy-to-play titles with community features such as scoreboards and chat. And both companies will have a distinct advantage over most-but not all-competitors in inking licensing deals with intellectual property owners looking to cash in on wireless and online gaming.
I-play rebranded from Digital Bridges three years ago in an effort to become more consumer-facing, and the company said it will continue to pursue both on- and off-deck channels. The company plans to continue to work with Universal Studios to offer mobile clips of classic movies, and Gosen said I-play eventually plans to include video snippets in mobile games.
Meanwhile, Oberon said it plans to tweak games for each of the three platforms in an effort to target gamers on the go, at the computer or on the couch at home.
“When you’re talking about a consumer perspective, (gaming) can become completely screen agnostic,” said Oberon CEO Tomer Ben-KiKi. “It’s not unlike the fact that you can watch a show on TV, then you can see it on a mobile device or on a plane. . It would mean that a consumer could play the same type of game and continue the experience, carry it on to experience it on different screens, and the underlying system recognizes that person wherever they go and be platform-agnostic.”