IGDA Mobile Special Interest Group Formed

The International Game Developers Association has formed a subgroup within the association specifically for mobile developers, called the Mobile Game Development Special Interest Group (Mobile-SIG). The Mobile-SIG is intended as a meeting ground for all mobile developers to discuss subjects such as game development and mobile technology. The new group, which already has an official website, was formed as a result of demand due to the sharp growth of the mobile games market in recent years, as companies such as Nokia attempt to launch mobile phones with game-specific features built in. The first step taken by the group will be to launch an electronic newsletter for the members of the group, examining successful mobile games, marketing, and other challenges in the mobile game industry. Both the newsletter and a planned series of white papers will be overseen by Karthik Swaminathan, executive producer at Screentoons. Discussing the reasons for the group's launch, Mobile-SIG chairman Kurt Uhlir commented: "All members of the mobile games value chain must start to discuss the consumer needs, technical limitations, resources and technologies from related fields and new models for interacting with the end-user."