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 Last month's announcement that the Open Mobile Alliance was working to create standards for mobile game development was met with optimism from some, but skepticism from others.
Thus far, the companies who have joined the initiative include Nokia, Samsung, SK Telecom, Square-Enix, Symbian, Tao Group, and Texas Instruments, all of which are now part of a Working Group created to "streamline the process of developing and delivering games for a range of mobile environments".
We spoke with OMA Games Services Working Group chairman Kevin Mowry about the specific goals of the mobile gaming initiative, how this push will effect publishers, carriers, and OEMs, and what their roadmap is, among other subjects.
GamesOnDeck: First off, can you give me a little background on the OMA itself? What is the association's broader goals? Who makes up the OMA?
Kevin Mowry: OMA is the leading industry forum for developing market driven, interoperable mobile service enablers.
OMA was formed in June 2002 by nearly 200 companies including the world’s leading mobile operators, device and network suppliers, information technology companies and content and service providers. OMA is the focal point for the development of mobile service enabler specifications, which support the creation of interoperable end-to-end mobile services. OMA drives service enabler architectures and open enabler interfaces that are independent of the underlying wireless networks and platforms. OMA creates interoperable mobile data service enablers that work across devices, service providers, operators, networks, and geographies. Toward that end, OMA will develop test specifications, encourage third party tool development, and conduct test activities that allow vendors to test their implementations.
The Goals of the OMA:
1. Deliver high quality, open technical specifications based upon market requirements that drive modularity, extensibility, and consistency amongst enablers to reduce industry implementation efforts.
2. Ensure OMA service enabler specifications provide interoperability across different devices, geographies, service providers, operators, and networks; facilitate interoperability of the resulting product implementations.
3. Be the catalyst for the consolidation of standards activity within the mobile data service industry; working in conjunction with other existing standards organizations and industry fora to improve interoperability and decrease operational costs for all involved.
4. Provide value and benefits to members in OMA from all parts of the value chain including content and service providers, information technology providers, mobile operators and wireless vendors such that they elect to actively participate in the organization.
GOD: More specifically, tell me about the background of the mobile gaming initiative formed in early '06. How did its formation come about? What are its stated goals?
KM: The mobile gaming initiative was formed in early 2006 with the aim to streamline the process of developing and delivering games for a range of mobile environments, resulting in reduced platform fragmentation, lowered development costs, and a richer gaming experience for the consumer.
Adapting games to multiple handset models and operating systems adds significant cost and development time for gaming developers, which can result in less compelling gaming content for consumers. The initiative aimed to define a common architecture to help different devices and operating systems present a common set of minimum capabilities that game developers can rely upon, making game porting easier and more efficient. With less time spent developing multiple versions of a single game, content developers would instead be able to focus on creating new gaming titles for mobile consumers with richer graphics and features.
In July 2006, the members of the mobile gaming initiative agreed to join forces with the Open Mobile Alliance to broaden industry participation among world’s leading mobile operators, device and network suppliers, information technology companies, application developers and content providers. The OMA Game Services Working Group’s efforts create an environment for reduced platform fragmentation, lowered development costs, and a richer gaming experience for the consumer.
Next: Market Fragmentation
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