Submitted by Alexandra Peters on behalf of IMGA
Triangler, an outdoor location based multiplayer game, developed by TNO of the Netherlands takes the Grand Prix and the Most Innovative Game Award in Barcelona. 400 Developers from 42 countries compete for $40,000 in prizes.
IKS Mobile of Poland, Firemint of Australia, SuperHappyFunFun of the US, and Anino Mobile of the Philippines win category awards at the International Mobile Gaming Awards 2007 Grande Finale.
INTERNATIONAL MOBILE GAMING AWARDS ? BARCELONA ? THURSDAY 15TH FEBRUARY 2007 ? The Jury of the International Mobile Gaming Awards picked 6 winners out of the 26 nominees from the US, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, India, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Australia. The 2006 edition presented a new breed of games never presented before: outdoor, location based gaming, high-end 3D, Massive Multiplayer Mobile Games, Mobile-to-PC and Mobile-to-TV games and games using all the features of the new generation of mobile devices: including connectivity, camera and microphone. These avant-garde games that are paving the way for tomorrow?s mobile entertainment were brought to the spotlight last night in a crowded Fira Palace Hotel, in front of the press and hundreds of representatives of the industry.
TNO, the largest research institute in the Netherlands, with 4000 professionals in many disciplines, received the US $15,000 Grand Prix Award and the US$ 5,000 Most Innovative Game Award for its game Triangler, an Outdoor, Mobile Multiplayer game using GPS . IKS Mobile from Poland walked away with the $ 5,000 Best Use of Flash Award with Crazy Matches, while the Australia based studio Firemint was awarded the $ 5,000 Excellence in 3D Award with Mega Monster. The $ 5,000 Best Interactive Experience Award was collected by SuperHappyFunFun from the USA with 3DTiltAWorld and Anino Mobile received the $ 5,000 Best Use of Connectivity Award with the multiplayer game Anima Wars.
In addition to the prizes, Each of the winners will be supported by the coalition of IMGA sponsors Adobe, Movida, Nokia, Nvidia, Orange, Texas Instruments and co-sponsors Auchan T?l?com, Belle-de-Mai Media Park Marseille and Vivendi Games Mobile to bring their games to market.
?Receiving the Grand Prix of the prestigious IMG Awards is a great honor for us and being recognized for most innovative game is important for TNO, whose core business is innovation.? Said Victor Klos of TNO ? The prize will help us to further develop Triangler and Triangler technology and is a stimulus for our mobile gaming ongoing research?.
Robert Murray CEO of Firemint in Australia commented: "We are absolutely delighted that Mega Monster has been recognised with the IMG Award for Excellence in 3D. Our aim was always to create a game that is immense fun, simple to play but very rewarding, and we think the fully destructible 3D environment will bring something fresh and new to mobile gaming. We'd like to thank the IMG Awards for this honor, and for the fantastic work they are doing in promoting mobile gaming."
?We are very proud to be recognized by the IMGA for ?3D Tilt-A-World??. Says Mark Stephen Pierce CEO of SuperHappyFunFun ?The 25 finalist selected by the IMGA was a brilliant collection of great titles. To be selected from this magnificent field of teams dedicated to quality and innovation in mobile is truly an honor. We are thankful for the IMGA for calling attention and putting the spotlight on quality and innovation in mobile games?
IMGA judging panelist and mobile game developer Matthew Bellows commented; "The International Mobile Game Awards supports and encourages the highest potential of our emerging creative medium. By acknowledging and celebrating the designers, programmers and artists who build groundbreaking mobile games, the IMGA does our industry, and our society, a tremendous service. I have had the pleasure of being involved in mobile games since 2001, and I'm inspired by the level of quality and imagination on display at this year's awards."
Sponsors, Adobe, Movida, Nokia, NVIDIA, Orange, Texas Instruments, Auchan T?l?com, Vivendi Games Mobile and Belle de Mai Media Park all see the Awards as a valuable platform for fostering and pioneering advances in mobile gaming:
?With over 200 Million Flash enabled devices shipped worldwide, the opportunity for developers to create richer and more engaging mobile entertainment content has grown dramatically,? said Francisco Kattan, director of product marketing and developer relations, Mobile and Devices at Adobe. ?We are very excited about the level of innovation and creativity we?ve seen in the submissions for the International Mobile Gaming Awards this year.?
?15 out of the 25 finalists demonstrated a growing trend of developing social connected gaming experiences and entirely new genres; proving that the future of mobile gaming will be about connecting gamers to other gamers for a multi-dimensional mobile gaming experience,? says Kamar Shah, Global Head of Industry Marketing, Multimedia Experiences, Nokia. ?Congratulations to TNO who has created a new bench-mark for the next twelve months in terms of innovation and gameplay?.
Neil Trevett, Vice President of Embedded Content at NVIDIA and President of the Khronos Group, who handed out the Excellence in 3D Award commented: ?The level of innovation from this years entrants in using 3D graphics to create compelling experiences on handheld devices shows how quickly the developer community is adapting to use the unique properties of mobile phones such as personalization, mobility and connectivity. Handhelds are evolving unique 3D gaming genres that are so much more than just downsized PC and console games,?
?Historically Orange has strongly invested in stimulating connected gaming in Europe and we are delighted to be involved in any project that nurtures innovation in this exciting category?, says Steve Glagow, Director of Partners and Operations, Orange, who handed out the Best Use of Connectivity Award to Anino Mobile of the Philippines..]
?Texas Instruments are excited to see the level of innovation, graphics and creative concepts that this year?s IMGA entrants. We believe that the IMGA Awards is a key driver for the improvement of the mobile gaming experience going forward.? said Avner Goren, Director of Strategic Marketing, Texas Instruments, ?We look forward to see more mobile games delivering a console-quality experience to the handset, which is key to the growth of the mobile gaming market,?
?Mobile Gaming revolutionizes the existing gaming industry and it will bring the ultimate on-line gaming experiences where multiple players enjoy the game simultaneously. Says Taizo Son, Director of MOVIDA. ?I was deeply impressed and thrilled to find a lot of attractive games with quality and creativity. Triangler, the Grand Prix winner, has unique concept and spearheads the new era of mobile gaming.?
For more information and full details of the Award prizes, please visit the International Mobile Gaming Awards website at: www.imgawards.com.