[MGIF releases v1.0 spec along with intent to integrate into the Open Mobile Alliance.]

Barcelona, Spain -- Using the Mobile Games 2002 Conference as its backdrop, the Mobile Games Interoperability Forum (MGIF) today publicly released its v1.0 specification, while announcing its intent to integrate into the Open Mobile Alliance by year-end.

The forum also announced an upcoming requirements workshop that will be used to launch efforts toward future specification releases.

Today's MGIF v1.0 specification release represents the first concrete step toward addressing the issues of portability and interoperability in the mobile gaming space. MGIF v1.0 provides specifications for a basic set of common, reusable functionality in the form of programming APIs that are among the core functionalities for server-based mobile games. The specifications are publicly available at http://www.mgif.org.

"Since its inception, mobile gaming has been fragmented because of a lack of standards and a plethora of portability and interoperability issues," says Paul Goode of Motorola, chairman of the MGIF. "This specification is about lowering the technical barriers so that the entertainment industry can exploit the great potential of mobile phones as a channel to market. We're excited about today's specification release as it represents not only an important step forward for the Forum, but also for the mobile gaming industry as a whole."

Goode also says the MGIF v1.0 specs will provide benefits for all stakeholders in the mobile gaming space, including developers, publishers, platform companies, operators, hand-set manufacturers and end users. Benefits of the MGIF solution include reducing developer costs through standardizing access to core game services for server-based applications, as well as reducing the cost of ownership and delivery of games for mobile operators and service providers.

MGIF sees its v1.0 specification as a catalyst for future standardisation, and through a recently executed memorandum of understanding, the Forum will continue its work within the Open Mobile Alliance, a newly launched standards body established to remove the barriers to global user adoption by ensuring seamless application interoperability. The OMA is in the process of incorporating the work of the Wireless Application Protocol Forum, the Wireless Village initiative, the SyncML Initiative Ltd., the Location Interoperability Forum and the MMS-IOP group.

"The MGIF is committed to continuing its standardization work with the future specification releases to further address stakeholder needs and to ensure the vitality and prosperity of mobile gaming market," says Graham Thomas of Cash-U, vice chairman of the MGIF. "We expect the OMA will provide a great environment for us to do just that, since the OMA model is to develop specifications based on use-cases driven by end user demands and benefits."

Thomas says the planned integration into the OMA is beneficial to all involved, as the MGIF will now have access to a broader mobile community, including mobile operators, and the OMA will establish stronger ties with the games developer and publisher communities.

Future focus within the Forum will also include addressing developer issues on the handset side. On 7 November 2002 in London, the MGIF will host a Requirements Workshop, gathering input on both server and handset issues to be addressed in later releases. The day will include a series of panel discussions among leading handset manufacturers and game developers to move toward greater interoperability so as to deliver compelling content for mobile handsets. The results of the workshop will be used as input for future specification releases as well as producing recommendations to handset manufacturers and associated standards groups, such as Java Community Process addressing the J2ME specifications. For more details on the workshop, or to register free of charge, go to http://www.mgif.org/workshop/index.html

About MGIF The Mobile Games Interoperability Forum (MGIF) is an industry forum founded in July 2001 by Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and Siemens. The MGIF works to define mobile games interoperability specifications and application programming interfaces (APIs) for network-based servers. MGIF specifications will enable game developers to produce and deploy mobile games that can be distributed across multiple game servers and wireless networks, and played over different mobile devices.

In addition from the four founding companies, the MGIF Sponsors are Borland, Capcom, Cash-U Mobile Technologies Ltd., Codetoys, Digital Bridges, iFone, In-Fusio, Konami, Metrowerks, Picofun, Terraplay Systems and THQ. Additional information about the MGIF, including a list of the MGIF Supporters, can be found on the Forum's website (http://www.mgif.org) or requested via e-mail through mgif-info@mgif.org.

The MGIF is a program of the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO), which supports the management and administration of the Forum's day-to-day activities.

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