Many of you know which studio produced the GTA series, who launched the Need For Speed franchise, and who owns the Assassin’s Creed series. They know the history of these companies, perhaps they follow them. But, what do you know about the company behind the Angry Birds series, Rovio? And what about Halfbrick Studios, which gave the world such games as Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride? Mobile game developers are most often invisible or simply ignored, although mobile games, like the GTA series, are played by millions of people.
In the informative section “Ups and downs”, I will tell you about the history of famous mobile game developers, which, at least once, each of us played. I will tell you about how you started your journey, about the first successes and failures, and what is happening to them now.
The first to be discussed will be one of the pioneers in the field of mobile games, the notorious French company Gameloft.
The origin of the company
1985, France, the five Guillemot brothers decide to get serious about selling multimedia products, including video games, and found Guillemot, which is rapidly gaining popularity in France.
After a while, they notice that video game software is bringing in more and more profits and decide to get into the release of computer games, because they have already succeeded in how to sell multimedia products. So, in March 1986, the brothers founded the Ubi Soft company and began to develop their own games.
In the late 90s, Ubisoft, which has already gained worldwide fame, together with Guillemot Corporation decides to try their hand at Internet entertainment and on December 14, 1999 launches Gameloft.com SA, a subscription gaming site. Manage the service put Michel Guillemot.
Even before the launch of Gameloft.com, the Guillemot family had a company called Ludigames SA, which specialized in WAP games. Initially, it was called “Ludiwap SA”, but as technology developed, the focus was expanded to games for PDAs and Java (Java ME / J2ME). And since the original name no longer reflected the new concept, in February 2001 it was changed to “Ludigames SA”.
In October 2001, Gameloft.com SA and Ludigames SA decide to join forces as due to its lack of experience, Gameloft.com SA could not generate the profits that management needed, and Ludigames SA, despite its wider scope of activity, also did not generate income.
Later, Ludigames SA becomes wholly part of Gameloft.com SA and a single company Gameloft SA (Gameloft) is formed, headquartered in Paris, with Michel Guillemot taking over the management of the company.
At the same time, Michelle notices Java ME technology, which is designed for low-power devices such as mobile phones. He was convinced that mobile games had great potential and decided to give web products a lower priority in the company and focus on mobile game development based on Java and Brew.
This is how Gameloft, a company known to this day, develops and releases games for mobile platforms. At the time of its foundation, it already had 100 employees.
1999 – 2004. First steps and first success
The company’s very first game was a browser game released in February 2001 DJ Nights: The Hip-Hop Sessions. In it, the player had to take control of the DJ.
DJ Nights: The Hip-Hop Sessions (2001)
“At Gameloft, we’re exploring new ways to bring music, games, and the web together. When we initially conceived the concept of DJ culture for the game, we instinctively knew that this would give us the opportunity to do something completely new and unique. Hip-Hop Sessions will now give PC users and music lovers the chance to experience club culture online“Gameloft told IGN in January 2001.
The first game for mobile phones was a puzzle Lock em up, which was released on October 18, 2001. In it, you had to help four figures – a square, a circle, a triangle and a cross – get out of the underground labyrinth.
Cartel Wars (2002) became a kind of exclusive from Gameloft – the game was released only on the Brew platform.
Harem Adventures was the first mobile game in the Prince of Persia series. Released in 2002, it did not gain much popularity, because At the time of the release of the game, the J2ME platform was supported by a limited number of devices – Siemens SL45i and Siemens M50, but received a positive response from those who managed to play.
IGN wrote the following about the game:
Excellent. Gameloft quickly built a reputation for making the best mobile games and this port of Prince of Persia is an example A (Splinter Cell is an example B), when this 3G revolution kicks in, you need to download this great port to see how good a mobile game can be when the developer really cares about it. Thank you gameloft.
Gameloft also releases the first mobile game in the Tom Clancy’s series – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Broken Wing. The game takes place at the New York International Airport, which was captured by terrorists. The goal of the game is to kill terrorists, rescue hostages and defuse bombs.
If in 2002 there were only a few phones with Java ME support, then in 2003 their number already numbered about 100 models. That could not but affect the interest in mobile games on the part of users. That same year, Gameloft announced for the first time that the company was profitable.
In 2003, the legendary game comes to mobile phones Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell,which showed people that mobile games can be of high quality and you can play them with pleasure
In the same year, Gameloft presents the no less legendary game of the Prince of Persia series – The Sands of Time. The game received a positive response from both players and critics.
The mobile gaming market is developing rapidly and on October 7, 2003, Nokia presents a smartphone based on the N-Gage platform – the first phone-game console on the mobile phone market.
Gameloft does not stand aside and starts releasing games on the N-Gage platform.
In 2004, the company starts launching its own game franchises and on November 17, 2004, the first game of the famous Asphalt series is released – Urban GT.
The game was lukewarmly acclaimed by critics. She was criticized for her lack of sense of speed, poor control of the car, and the limited draw distance often made it difficult to see approaching corners, especially when there were other cars on screen. The game was considered simply uninteresting.
But the company pleased users not only with ordinary arcades and races.
In 2004, Gameloft more than doubled its workforce, from 248 employees in 2003 to almost 750 in 2004. In 2004, revenue was $30.4 million, up from $13.4 million in 2003.
In 2004, the company for the first time offers the use of 3D graphics in mobile games. About the first Gameloft mobile games with 3D graphics, as well as what other franchises the company is launching, and much more, I will tell you in the next part of the Gameloft story.
Source: Trash Box
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
