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WAP – The future of portable videogaming, or a flash in the technology pan?
The (understandable) buzz about the so-called console ‘war’, especially in the wake of the awe-inspiring E3 show, has meant that one oft proposed form of gaming has been somewhat neglected – handheld gaming. Of course, I’m not talking about the massively successful Game Boy franchise; you’d have to be living under a rock the past 15 years to not know about that particular gaming phenomenon. No, I’m talking about another form of gaming on the move – Wireless Application Protocol, more commonly referred to under the acronym WAP.
As I alluded to earlier, the concept of playing games on the move is nothing new – the technology behind the Game Boy and the earlier Game and Watch series is well over a decade old, and that was before the days of microchips etc. Since the introduction of the Game Boy, and it’s various reincarnations in Pocket, Color and Advance forms, the industry has also borne witness to the failed Sega Game Gear, Bandai’s Wonderswan, and the Neo Geo. Common sense dictates that with such a plethora of handheld devices on the market, gamers ‘on the move’ would use one of the aforementioned consoles, right? Wrong. Sit on a bus or a train these days and the game you would be most likely see would not be Mario Advance 2 or Golden Sun – it would be Snake on Nokia mobile phones.
The overwhelming popularity of Snake is initially a little difficult to comprehend – Snake has in many ways transcended beyond the stereotypical ‘gamer’, as all sorts of people play it and are indeed addicted to it, regardless of whether they’ve picked up a console pad in anger in their life. But the beauty of the game is its simplicity – like all the greats, its concept is devilishly simple. There’s no point me explaining the idea – you’ve probably played it already. But the very notion of such an uncomplicated game becoming popular en masse is an indication of the effect WAP could have on the market – if a game where, essentially, you have to dodge your own tail becomes massively successful, then imagine the possibilities if more advanced games became available?
But while these games, even if more advanced, would certainly seem popular, there is a counter-argument. The popularity of games like Snake, and potential WAP games such as the mooted ‘Sonic J’ (developed in conjunction with Motorola), is derived from the fact that, well…they’re free. They cost nothing to play. People will always want to play videogames when they come as a free extra, and if easily playable and highly enjoyable games come as a bonus, it will always arouse genuine interest. But as more and more technologically advanced WAP games become developed, production costs will inevitably rise, and subsequently, these games could have a price attached. Would that high demand remain if they actually had to pay for extra mobile phone games? I would assert it wouldn’t, though it certainly is a contentious issue for both the developers and phone companies alike.
Another benefit of WAP is the ability to surf the internet – but in that lies another complex pro and con scenario. The pro is obvious - a massive online network. Yet the con (no pun intended) is also palpable. Whereas ‘traditional’ web pages are written in HTML, WAP phones display web pages in WML (Wireless Markup Language). Consequently, WAP phones can’t access any old page – they have to access specially designated pages. To exacerbate that predicament, WAP phones have an obvious disadvantage in terms of screen size and quality, and paltry connection speeds in comparison to the traditional way of using the internet. Both these factors could hinder the popularity of such gaming networks.
As I’m currently writing this, WAP games haven’t progressed past the likes of Hangman and text based casino games. But like all forms of technology, advancement is inevitable and as progress as made this could be rectified. It is also worthwhile remembering that they have a huge advantage – commerciality. The mobile phone network is huge in a global and sales sense, and as WAP becomes more advanced, the games could too, and then…anything could happen.
I await your opinions – thanks for reading
Russ
The (understandable) buzz about the so-called console ‘war’, especially in the wake of the awe-inspiring E3 show, has meant that one oft proposed form of gaming has been somewhat neglected – handheld gaming. Of course, I’m not talking about the massively successful Game Boy franchise; you’d have to be living under a rock the past 15 years to not know about that particular gaming phenomenon. No, I’m talking about another form of gaming on the move – Wireless Application Protocol, more commonly referred to under the acronym WAP.
As I alluded to earlier, the concept of playing games on the move is nothing new – the technology behind the Game Boy and the earlier Game and Watch series is well over a decade old, and that was before the days of microchips etc. Since the introduction of the Game Boy, and it’s various reincarnations in Pocket, Color and Advance forms, the industry has also borne witness to the failed Sega Game Gear, Bandai’s Wonderswan, and the Neo Geo. Common sense dictates that with such a plethora of handheld devices on the market, gamers ‘on the move’ would use one of the aforementioned consoles, right? Wrong. Sit on a bus or a train these days and the game you would be most likely see would not be Mario Advance 2 or Golden Sun – it would be Snake on Nokia mobile phones.
The overwhelming popularity of Snake is initially a little difficult to comprehend – Snake has in many ways transcended beyond the stereotypical ‘gamer’, as all sorts of people play it and are indeed addicted to it, regardless of whether they’ve picked up a console pad in anger in their life. But the beauty of the game is its simplicity – like all the greats, its concept is devilishly simple. There’s no point me explaining the idea – you’ve probably played it already. But the very notion of such an uncomplicated game becoming popular en masse is an indication of the effect WAP could have on the market – if a game where, essentially, you have to dodge your own tail becomes massively successful, then imagine the possibilities if more advanced games became available?
But while these games, even if more advanced, would certainly seem popular, there is a counter-argument. The popularity of games like Snake, and potential WAP games such as the mooted ‘Sonic J’ (developed in conjunction with Motorola), is derived from the fact that, well…they’re free. They cost nothing to play. People will always want to play videogames when they come as a free extra, and if easily playable and highly enjoyable games come as a bonus, it will always arouse genuine interest. But as more and more technologically advanced WAP games become developed, production costs will inevitably rise, and subsequently, these games could have a price attached. Would that high demand remain if they actually had to pay for extra mobile phone games? I would assert it wouldn’t, though it certainly is a contentious issue for both the developers and phone companies alike.
Another benefit of WAP is the ability to surf the internet – but in that lies another complex pro and con scenario. The pro is obvious - a massive online network. Yet the con (no pun intended) is also palpable. Whereas ‘traditional’ web pages are written in HTML, WAP phones display web pages in WML (Wireless Markup Language). Consequently, WAP phones can’t access any old page – they have to access specially designated pages. To exacerbate that predicament, WAP phones have an obvious disadvantage in terms of screen size and quality, and paltry connection speeds in comparison to the traditional way of using the internet. Both these factors could hinder the popularity of such gaming networks.
As I’m currently writing this, WAP games haven’t progressed past the likes of Hangman and text based casino games. But like all forms of technology, advancement is inevitable and as progress as made this could be rectified. It is also worthwhile remembering that they have a huge advantage – commerciality. The mobile phone network is huge in a global and sales sense, and as WAP becomes more advanced, the games could too, and then…anything could happen.
I await your opinions – thanks for reading
Russ
Tyla wrote:
> I was going to get a T68i, but decided to wait for the Nokia 7650
> instead.
>
> The "i" means it's java enabled, meaning that yes... if
> things go as they have been, you should be able to play decent
> quality, colour games on your phone in the future.
Do you know how much the 7650 is likely to cost?
> I was going to get a T68i, but decided to wait for the Nokia 7650
> instead.
>
> The "i" means it's java enabled, meaning that yes... if
> things go as they have been, you should be able to play decent
> quality, colour games on your phone in the future.
Do you know how much the 7650 is likely to cost?
I wrote a topic on this point a while back. With developers like Sega and Namco working on iMODE games ranging from Sonic to Bomberman, it's easy to see mobile phones games catching up with GBA games in the future. Not only will you be able to download new games for a small charge (or perhaps nothing Mr. T-Mobile?) AND the potential for online gaming, it may become a real alternative to GBA gaming.
Suppose that, in a few years, the graphics on mobile phones are as good as those on a GBA and the controls are more game friendly. Then it wouldn't suprise me if phone companies pump money into developing quality games for them. Not only that, but you could have online games of bomberman with competitions every so often- pay a few pence to enter, and win some credit if you win for example.
Then there's the potential of turn based games with friends- each turn sent very much like a text message (perfect for board games like chess). Oh, and don't forget you'll be able to listen to music and actually phone people and brouse the web. The future of the mobile could be very interesting indeed...
Suppose that, in a few years, the graphics on mobile phones are as good as those on a GBA and the controls are more game friendly. Then it wouldn't suprise me if phone companies pump money into developing quality games for them. Not only that, but you could have online games of bomberman with competitions every so often- pay a few pence to enter, and win some credit if you win for example.
Then there's the potential of turn based games with friends- each turn sent very much like a text message (perfect for board games like chess). Oh, and don't forget you'll be able to listen to music and actually phone people and brouse the web. The future of the mobile could be very interesting indeed...
Good post by the way RM!
Mr.Snuggly wrote:
> Did someone say cWAP?
No Snuggly, they weren't talking about your toothpaste!
:-D
> Did someone say cWAP?
No Snuggly, they weren't talking about your toothpaste!
:-D
Mr.Snuggly wrote:
> Did someone say cWAP?
Woohoo! Mr. Snuggly replied to one of my posts!
I just hope he was talking about the future of WAP gaming rather than an indictment on the actual post...
:D
> Did someone say cWAP?
Woohoo! Mr. Snuggly replied to one of my posts!
I just hope he was talking about the future of WAP gaming rather than an indictment on the actual post...
:D
cookie monster wrote:
> If i bought a Sony Ericsson T68i would i be able to play these games
> in the future?
I was going to get a T68i, but decided to wait for the Nokia 7650 instead.
The "i" means it's java enabled, meaning that yes... if things go as they have been, you should be able to play decent quality, colour games on your phone in the future.
> If i bought a Sony Ericsson T68i would i be able to play these games
> in the future?
I was going to get a T68i, but decided to wait for the Nokia 7650 instead.
The "i" means it's java enabled, meaning that yes... if things go as they have been, you should be able to play decent quality, colour games on your phone in the future.
Did someone say cWAP?
If i bought a Sony Ericsson T68i would i be able to play these games in the future?
WAP died ages ago, trust me, I used to develop for it...
It was limited, slow and only capable of basic operations. If you look towards Japan, iMode (soon to be unleashed in Europe) has taken off with a huge bang allowing a huge number of games devlopers to produce near-gameboy quality games for mobile devices.
On top of this, with the advent of GRPS and 3G mobile dvices, developers have realised the potential of Java as a platform for delivering multimedia content to mobile devices.
ATI have developed the first graphics card for mobile phones, soon to be introduced during 2003...
Ever heard of "Pogo"?
Macromedia have also relaesed a Flash plug-in for mobile phones, currently on the Nokia Communicator, but soon it will be as standard in all of the MMS phones (also including Sony Ericsson, Motorolla, Samsung and Siemens)
Mobile gaming is becoming more of a reality in the UK at last, though you can be sure, not with WAP!
It was limited, slow and only capable of basic operations. If you look towards Japan, iMode (soon to be unleashed in Europe) has taken off with a huge bang allowing a huge number of games devlopers to produce near-gameboy quality games for mobile devices.
On top of this, with the advent of GRPS and 3G mobile dvices, developers have realised the potential of Java as a platform for delivering multimedia content to mobile devices.
ATI have developed the first graphics card for mobile phones, soon to be introduced during 2003...
Ever heard of "Pogo"?
Macromedia have also relaesed a Flash plug-in for mobile phones, currently on the Nokia Communicator, but soon it will be as standard in all of the MMS phones (also including Sony Ericsson, Motorolla, Samsung and Siemens)
Mobile gaming is becoming more of a reality in the UK at last, though you can be sure, not with WAP!
WAP – The future of portable videogaming, or a flash in the technology pan?
The (understandable) buzz about the so-called console ‘war’, especially in the wake of the awe-inspiring E3 show, has meant that one oft proposed form of gaming has been somewhat neglected – handheld gaming. Of course, I’m not talking about the massively successful Game Boy franchise; you’d have to be living under a rock the past 15 years to not know about that particular gaming phenomenon. No, I’m talking about another form of gaming on the move – Wireless Application Protocol, more commonly referred to under the acronym WAP.
As I alluded to earlier, the concept of playing games on the move is nothing new – the technology behind the Game Boy and the earlier Game and Watch series is well over a decade old, and that was before the days of microchips etc. Since the introduction of the Game Boy, and it’s various reincarnations in Pocket, Color and Advance forms, the industry has also borne witness to the failed Sega Game Gear, Bandai’s Wonderswan, and the Neo Geo. Common sense dictates that with such a plethora of handheld devices on the market, gamers ‘on the move’ would use one of the aforementioned consoles, right? Wrong. Sit on a bus or a train these days and the game you would be most likely see would not be Mario Advance 2 or Golden Sun – it would be Snake on Nokia mobile phones.
The overwhelming popularity of Snake is initially a little difficult to comprehend – Snake has in many ways transcended beyond the stereotypical ‘gamer’, as all sorts of people play it and are indeed addicted to it, regardless of whether they’ve picked up a console pad in anger in their life. But the beauty of the game is its simplicity – like all the greats, its concept is devilishly simple. There’s no point me explaining the idea – you’ve probably played it already. But the very notion of such an uncomplicated game becoming popular en masse is an indication of the effect WAP could have on the market – if a game where, essentially, you have to dodge your own tail becomes massively successful, then imagine the possibilities if more advanced games became available?
But while these games, even if more advanced, would certainly seem popular, there is a counter-argument. The popularity of games like Snake, and potential WAP games such as the mooted ‘Sonic J’ (developed in conjunction with Motorola), is derived from the fact that, well…they’re free. They cost nothing to play. People will always want to play videogames when they come as a free extra, and if easily playable and highly enjoyable games come as a bonus, it will always arouse genuine interest. But as more and more technologically advanced WAP games become developed, production costs will inevitably rise, and subsequently, these games could have a price attached. Would that high demand remain if they actually had to pay for extra mobile phone games? I would assert it wouldn’t, though it certainly is a contentious issue for both the developers and phone companies alike.
Another benefit of WAP is the ability to surf the internet – but in that lies another complex pro and con scenario. The pro is obvious - a massive online network. Yet the con (no pun intended) is also palpable. Whereas ‘traditional’ web pages are written in HTML, WAP phones display web pages in WML (Wireless Markup Language). Consequently, WAP phones can’t access any old page – they have to access specially designated pages. To exacerbate that predicament, WAP phones have an obvious disadvantage in terms of screen size and quality, and paltry connection speeds in comparison to the traditional way of using the internet. Both these factors could hinder the popularity of such gaming networks.
As I’m currently writing this, WAP games haven’t progressed past the likes of Hangman and text based casino games. But like all forms of technology, advancement is inevitable and as progress as made this could be rectified. It is also worthwhile remembering that they have a huge advantage – commerciality. The mobile phone network is huge in a global and sales sense, and as WAP becomes more advanced, the games could too, and then…anything could happen.
I await your opinions – thanks for reading
Russ
The (understandable) buzz about the so-called console ‘war’, especially in the wake of the awe-inspiring E3 show, has meant that one oft proposed form of gaming has been somewhat neglected – handheld gaming. Of course, I’m not talking about the massively successful Game Boy franchise; you’d have to be living under a rock the past 15 years to not know about that particular gaming phenomenon. No, I’m talking about another form of gaming on the move – Wireless Application Protocol, more commonly referred to under the acronym WAP.
As I alluded to earlier, the concept of playing games on the move is nothing new – the technology behind the Game Boy and the earlier Game and Watch series is well over a decade old, and that was before the days of microchips etc. Since the introduction of the Game Boy, and it’s various reincarnations in Pocket, Color and Advance forms, the industry has also borne witness to the failed Sega Game Gear, Bandai’s Wonderswan, and the Neo Geo. Common sense dictates that with such a plethora of handheld devices on the market, gamers ‘on the move’ would use one of the aforementioned consoles, right? Wrong. Sit on a bus or a train these days and the game you would be most likely see would not be Mario Advance 2 or Golden Sun – it would be Snake on Nokia mobile phones.
The overwhelming popularity of Snake is initially a little difficult to comprehend – Snake has in many ways transcended beyond the stereotypical ‘gamer’, as all sorts of people play it and are indeed addicted to it, regardless of whether they’ve picked up a console pad in anger in their life. But the beauty of the game is its simplicity – like all the greats, its concept is devilishly simple. There’s no point me explaining the idea – you’ve probably played it already. But the very notion of such an uncomplicated game becoming popular en masse is an indication of the effect WAP could have on the market – if a game where, essentially, you have to dodge your own tail becomes massively successful, then imagine the possibilities if more advanced games became available?
But while these games, even if more advanced, would certainly seem popular, there is a counter-argument. The popularity of games like Snake, and potential WAP games such as the mooted ‘Sonic J’ (developed in conjunction with Motorola), is derived from the fact that, well…they’re free. They cost nothing to play. People will always want to play videogames when they come as a free extra, and if easily playable and highly enjoyable games come as a bonus, it will always arouse genuine interest. But as more and more technologically advanced WAP games become developed, production costs will inevitably rise, and subsequently, these games could have a price attached. Would that high demand remain if they actually had to pay for extra mobile phone games? I would assert it wouldn’t, though it certainly is a contentious issue for both the developers and phone companies alike.
Another benefit of WAP is the ability to surf the internet – but in that lies another complex pro and con scenario. The pro is obvious - a massive online network. Yet the con (no pun intended) is also palpable. Whereas ‘traditional’ web pages are written in HTML, WAP phones display web pages in WML (Wireless Markup Language). Consequently, WAP phones can’t access any old page – they have to access specially designated pages. To exacerbate that predicament, WAP phones have an obvious disadvantage in terms of screen size and quality, and paltry connection speeds in comparison to the traditional way of using the internet. Both these factors could hinder the popularity of such gaming networks.
As I’m currently writing this, WAP games haven’t progressed past the likes of Hangman and text based casino games. But like all forms of technology, advancement is inevitable and as progress as made this could be rectified. It is also worthwhile remembering that they have a huge advantage – commerciality. The mobile phone network is huge in a global and sales sense, and as WAP becomes more advanced, the games could too, and then…anything could happen.
I await your opinions – thanks for reading
Russ