Namco Does Retro Right (Almost)

Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg posts today about Namco releasing some of their classic arcade games, such as PAC-MAN, Ms.PAC-MAN, Galaxian and Galaga for use on cellphones, smartphones and PDAs.

As Jupiter and other analyst firms have stated, casual games are currently driving the mobile gaming market and these games fit the bill with their simpler graphics but great gameplay. Perfect for playing 5-10 minutes while riding the bus or waiting on line.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a game that works on my Audiovox SMT5600 Windows Smartphone. I like having games on my handset to keep myself or my kids busy when there is a lot of downtime. While Namco had games compatible with numerous PDA and cellphone models, none were avaialble for Windows Mobile.

This highlights one of the problems facing the mobile gaming industry. Game publishers have to port their mobile games to run on myriad platforms (i.e. Symbian, Palm, JAVA, BREW, etc) and often for each different handset or device as well. And porting costs are on top of the costs to develop the game, which can add up quite quickly. Only time will tell if the current economics can drive the market....

via Michael Gartenberg's Jupiter Blog