BlackBerry Gets Game

CTIA, Orlando, March 27, 2007 – The BlackBerry has been the stereotypical all-work no-play mobile device, but yesterday’s announcement of compatible games launches phones like the BlackBerry Pearl to a new level of coolness. Six games were released for the BlackBerry and more are in the works.

 
Block Breaker Deluxe, Asphalt Urban GT 2, New York Nights, Lost, Midnight Pool and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones are among the first wave of games released. A New York Times story from yesterday stated that Pro Golf 2007 and Desperate Housewives games would be available along with poker and battle simulation games.

 
The games are available for download through Gameloft and cost about $7. The announcement of games for BlackBerry smartphones helps Research In Motion (R.I.M.), the company that created Blackberry, market its products to a wider audience – not just business professionals.

 
“More and more people are embracing BlackBerry smartphones for both work and play,” said Jeff McDowell, RIM’s vice president of global alliances, in a press release issued yesterday by Gameloft.

 
According to the release, “Blackberry smartphones now sport features that are attractive to a broader audience, giving users new entertainment features for play, as well as unmatched business capabilities for work.” The new BlackBerry Pearl is evidence of this: it has a sleeker design, better graphics, a camera, an MP3 player, and improved multimedia functionality. Apparently, Gameloft likes the new BlackBerry style.

 
“Given the technology advancements embedded in smartphones such as the BlackBerry Pearl and BlackBerry 8800 and RIM’s rapidly growing customer base, we believe now is the ideal time to bring our quality games to this award-winning platform,” said Michel Guillemot, president of Gameloft, in the press release. “With worldwide brand recognition and millions of loyal users the BlackBerry platform represents a tremendous opportunity for Gameloft.”