The worldwide market for mobile phone games will be worth $4 billion this year and will more than double by 2010. Furthermore a quarter of the mobile phone users in the United States and Western Europe play at least one game a month on their phones, but research has shown that players are often frustrated, many reporting that games they bought were disappointing. This may well be because users are playing the same screen-based games that they play on their more sophisticated games consoles and computers.
LocoMatrix takes a different approach to mobile gaming. By linking the phone to a small GPS device, we are taking gaming outdoors, and creating a new arena for the mobile phone. This will encompass both traditional computer games such as PacMan made more “real” by requiring the users to run round mazes, and new games created by us or by interested 3rd parties that will have access to our development system. Furthermore we will begin by targeting specific audiences that are already “playing” outdoors, specifically geo-caching, and skateboarding.
The use of a mobile phone as a “games console” is a key attraction of the system not only because most people have them (down to 8 year olds and below (i) but mobile phones have a readily available payment system – reverse SMS, the system by which one can buy ring tones and music for phones. Charges for 1 off playing will be in the order of £1-£2, but once the system is launched we will be introducing a subscription system based on buying a set number of hours a month.
Getting the involvement of users has been instrumental in the success of applications such as Facebook and YouTube. Apart from offering the traditional means for making game playing compulsive (achieving high scores, getting to higher levels, solving problems), we will introduce other incentives, such as offering prizes, publicising top players and teams on the website, and free games for introducing new players.
We will also encourage developers to create games by making tools available via the website. As an incentive to these designers, we will be offering a share of the profits for the most popular games.
Whilst there is already some interest in outdoor gaming and “augmented reality” systems (as they are commonly known), we believe we have a vision beyond just the idea of playing a game. This is based partly on our desire to play an important part in combating obesity and promoting good health, and social interaction through game playing (children and teenagers are spending an average of two and a half months a year staring at screens, equivalent to 20% of their day watching TV, looking at a monitor or playing on a games console. This is playing a part in the dramatic increase in obesity. (ii)
Obesity is a major contributing cause of diabetes and heart disease, and also increases the likelihood of developing cancer. According to the National Audit Office, by 2010 the cost of treating obesity and related illnesses in England will be £3.6 billion. (iii, iv) LocoMatrix can also play an important role in education, and one of the areas that we are looking at is the teaching of computing through mobile phone/game programming.
(i) Mobile phones for children: Do we want them?Eight-year-old kids with mobile phones might sound like a crazy idea, but according to a report carried out last year, that is the average age of a child owning their first mobile phone. The age is expected to drop to five years old this yearhttp://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49282815,00.htm
(ii) Young couch potatoes risk illness
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1787252,00.html
(iii) Obesity: an Action Network Briefing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A2979499
(iv) Obesity? This is a job for Supernanny
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-2330255,00.html