Woohoo! The Simpsons are going to cellphones!

The extended family of “The Simpsons” is making a big bet on mobile. The creative minds that introduced us to Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and dozens more back in 1989 are now bringing fresh content to the third screen from Simpsons characters, new and old.
The gamble isn’t so much about success (with millions of dedicated fans that’s almost a foregone conclusion), but rather the distribution plan that will be used for the mobile extension of The Simpsons brand.
“We are doing something very unique with the Simpsons,” Jamba COO Lee Fenton said, “trying to create a unique mobile identity for the Simpsons.”
The Simpsons mobile content package, launched on its home turf here in the United States, is the first brand extended to wireless on a subscription-based plan, according to Fenton. The release coincides with the launch later this month of “The Simpsons Movie.”
The United States is a “very large market to try something new,” he said. “I think the market is looking for new things and new ways to play.”
The direct-to-consumer market is much more developed in Europe, where off-deck purchases account for 70% of overall mobile content revenues, Fenton said. His team believes the appetite for The Simpsons coupled with a “ripe” opportunity to unlock the off-deck market in the United States is reason enough to take the product directly to the American masses.
The Simpsons Yellow Plan will come at a hefty monthly fee of $10, but its backers promise to deliver enough fresh content each month to justify the recurring billing. Marge and Homer are already available in the form of ringtones, voicetones, wallpapers and animated screensavers, but the other characters will come to cellphones soon through the release.
“There’s so much to do with the Simpsons, the opportunities are limitless,” Fenton said. “Our challenge is not to just get people to sign up for the plan but to keep them with it.”
The monthly plan, which will be available directly from Jamba and thesimpsonsmobile.com, includes six credits for downloads, and each item, including the new mobile game “The Simpsons: Minutes to Meltdown,” will cost one credit. None of the content will be locked with digital rights management.
Thanks to Jamba’s partnership with EA for development and distribution of the game, the offering will also be available on all major U.S. carrier decks for $6. The game comes in both Java and BREW flavors, so it is available to most wireless subscribers living in the 35 countries Jamba/Jamster has a foothold in. “We want to go as far as we can and reach as widely as we can,” Fenton said. “I don’t think there’s any other company with the distribution we have . that could turn on 35 markets in one day.”
The mobile game will be officially available worldwide Tuesday, but it’s already available on numerous carriers’ decks and through Jamba and EA’s direct-to-consumer channels.
“I think it’ll put a smile on your face like no other mobile game has,” Fenton said.
Bryant Bustamante, senior producer at EA Mobile, said the storyline for the game was a team effort involving the show’s writers, console-game developers and other talent working on the project.
“We can make the game, but only the Simpsons guys could make it Simpsons-esque,” he said. “They’re the masters at The Simpsons.”
Interest around The Simpsons brand is so great it took EA no time to bring all the major wireless carriers on board. “As soon as they heard ‘The Simpsons,’ they said yes,” he said.
“We’re just very excited about jumping at the opportunity to do this. All of us here have been Simpsons fans forever,” Bustamante said. “The game looks fantastic, it plays fantastic.”
The Simpsons’ fan base is expected to help drive much of the marketing around the mobile launch, however plenty of other things are playing in its favor.
“There’s going to be a lot of noise around ‘The Simpsons’ over the next month,” Fenton said. “It’s quite helpful that they were launching a little film around the same time.”