Is mobile entertainment stuck in a rut? You would think so looking at the latest mobile gaming chart compiled by the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA). For the second month, this new guide to the most regularly downloaded Java applications is dominated by conversions of ancient coin-operated games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man. It seems the industry is unable -- or unwilling -- to challenge the nostalgic tastes of the average phone user.
Fortunately, a few developers are trying to provide more up-to-date entertainment. Bluetooth two-player modes are an interesting example. Macrospace's excellent shooter "Fatal Force" and Kuju's well-timed "Pat Cash Tennis" allow owners of Nokia 6600 and 6230 handsets to play against each other over a distance of about 10m. Two more titles, Morpheme's crazy golf sim "Micro Golf" and Acclaim's street car racer "Juiced," are due in the summer.
This month should also see an innovative GPRS multiplayer gaming platform developed by US company Kayak. The launch title -- a new version of Iomo's best-selling "Pub Pool" -- will allow gamers to challenge each other, wherever they are and whatever network they're on. Kayak is hatching plans for a huge multiplayer game along the lines of PC phenomenon Everquest.
Java application producers are also branching out to provide a wider array of services. British developer Player X has launched a range of Java phrase guides in association with travel publisher Berlitz. Six European languages are offered and for each there are five themed guides covering subjects such as "Eating Out" and "Chat-up Lines." Where's the entertainment value? The Series 60 version speaks many of the phrases for you, so just select what you want to say, then hold the phone up. The guides will be rolled out this month through all the major operators and can be downloaded for around ?4.50 each in the UK.
Social entertainment applications are also on the rise. Saw-You, a small UK company, has launched Weemee, an "avatar community" package allowing mobile phone and Internet users to create mini-cartoon versions of themselves to accompany multimedia messaging (MMS) and instant messages.
The service has quickly evolved -- there are more than 2.5 million users in the UK, and people use Weemee to identify preferred locations such as pubs and clubs. For example, if you are in an unfamiliar town and want to know if a bar is any good, enter the name and location at Saw-You's wireless application protocol (WAP) site. If any members have "tagged" it as a favorite haunt, you will be able to instant message them for details.
Your mobile phone could also soon be used as an instant dating tool. A German programmer claims to be beta-testing an application for Bluetooth handsets that lets people input details about themselves and their perfect partners, which are then permanently transmitted from their phones. Whenever two users with similar likes and dislikes wander within Bluetooth range of each other, their handsets swap contact details -- and photos. It's essentially a more developed take on the Bluejacking craze. The potentially messy privacy issues it raises, however, could prevent its appearance on major networks.
The mobile-entertainment industry may soon be forced to move away from the cash cow of classic arcade ports. Emame, a mobile version of the legendary Multi-Arcade Machine Emulator (Mame), has been converted for use on Series 60 phones by a coder, Staffan Ulfberg.
It's not particularly reliable, and most of the thousand or so Mame ports are too slow to play, but the threat is there.The mobile entertainment industry must move on. Pac Man -- once again -- is history.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique