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Telcogames acquires Finnish producer of advanced 3D mobile games

13/06/2006

On 6th June 2006, Telcogames, a global publisher, developer and distributor of mobile games, announced that it has acquired Fathammer, a Helsinki-based developer of advanced mobile games. According to a statement, Fathammer will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telcogames, Fathammer’s current employees in Helsinki and Seoul will continue with Telcogames, and Fathammer’s current investors, 3i and Nexit Ventures, will become investors in Telcogames.

Commenting on the acquisition, Telcogames said that the deal is positive for the mobile game end-customer, and “helps move the sector forward by setting the quality bar higher”. Distribution of Fathammer’s High End native games by Telcogames to consumers via carriers, off-portal and retail channels will start immediately. According to Telcogames, Fathammer games are true 3D games which take advantage of the opportunities offered by carriers’ faster data networks.

Commenting on the market prospects, Telcogames said that the acquisition gives it two new territories of operations in Finland and Korea, with Finland being a leading country in wireless innovation and Korea leading the world in advanced mobile games. According to Telcogames, it has already begun distributing games in Korea and China via Fathammer Asia contracts with SKT, KTF and Digital Red.

Pioneers in the field of 3D mobile gaming

Commenting on the announcement, Jamie Conyngham, CEO of Telcogames, said “Combined with our Magic Productions acquisition, this deal positions Telcogames as a world leader in publishing, development and distribution of native and advanced mobile games. Fathammer immediately adds 24 exclusive 3D titles to our portfolio, most of which have not been distributed yet. Fathammer will continue producing superb 3D games for third parties such as Disney’s Narnia and Eidos’ Tomb Raider, as well as their own original IP.”

Annariikka Lönnberg, Managing Director of Fathammer, said “Fathammer has six years of experience in developing mobile 3D games, which makes our development team the pioneers in this field. Our talented game development studio is a perfect complement to the unparalleled distribution channels of Telcogames.”

Smartphones are the fastest-growing sector in the mobile terminal market

Commenting on market trends, Telcogames said that the market for premium mobile content is expected to hit USD 43,000 million by 2010, and that US revenues from mobile gaming will increase from USD 600 million in 2005 to USD 1,500 million in 2008. Telcogames also said that smartphones, the devices most suitable for mobile gaming, comprise the fastest-growing sector in the market for mobile terminals, with sales expected to achieve an annual rate of 200 million by 2008.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in London, privately-owned Telcogames is a global publisher, developer and distributor of quality mobile games across all major formats, including Symbian, Windows Mobile, Linux, J2ME and Brew. The company distributes mobile games to Tier 1–3 carriers globally and is regarded as the leader in “off-portal” distribution. In Q4-2005, Telcogames acquired the Magic Productions development studio in France to strengthen its publishing activities for native smartphone games ported from console classics. Telcogames has offices in London, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Liverpool, Norrköping, Paris, Seoul, Taipei and Tel Aviv.

Privately-owned Fathammer was founded in 2000 and is based in Helsinki with an office in Seoul (South Korea). According to Telcogames, Fathammer’s advanced 3D mobile games support all major mobile platforms and have gained wide industry recognition. Fathammer is also the developer of the industry-proven X-Forge® game development system and toolkit, which help game developers create advanced mobile games quickly and with reduced risk. The X-Forge® middleware part of Fathammer has been sold to a third party.

Further information:

http://www.telcogames.com/

http://www.fathammer.com/