MEM: Industry leaders address issue of mobile game quality

Leading figures in the mobile gaming industry came together yesterday to discuss the need to deliver quality titles to market, identifying testing, porting and digital rights management as key issues.

"There comes a point where developers and publishers have to take some responsibility for the quality of their games," said Graham Thomas, VP of content services for T-Mobile.

"We're focused on making sure the technology is stable and can be tested cost efficiently. That's where our focus should be," he added.

Thomas's comments were echoed by Pramesh Chauhan, head of business development for Namco Europe's web and mobile content division.

"Testing is very important because game quality is of the utmost importance," he said.

"There are still only about four handset manufactures who are part of a Java-verified programme, and the imperative is on the network operator to push the process further."

Chauhan went on to discuss the importance of the porting process as "something we want to keep a very close eye on.

"A lot of operators have yet to put the same level of certification in place, but porting is as important as actual game development."

"There are still only about four handset manufacturers who are part of the Java-verified programme," he said, adding that the imperative is on network operators to push the process further.

Kristian Segerstrate, VP of production for content publisher Glu Mobile, also said that understanding the differences between platforms was an important factor in the process of creating quality games.

"We want to make games that feel like they were designed for your handset, so we must understand the platforms we are developing for," he commented.

The panel went on to discuss the importance of digital rights management in the process of creating quality games, with Chauhan stating: "DRM is a pressing issue. We have titles that have long-term appeal, and it's important to ensure that handsets have an adequate level of DRM."

"You would see better quality games coming onto the market if DRM was taken more seriously," he concluded.