[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 9, 2010 - GameSpy
Technology, the video game industry's leading provider of online
gaming services, today announced several updates to their
successful suite of tools for developers of iPhone games, including
an entirely new customizable user-interface (UI) toolkit and new
services such as in-app purchases and push notifications.
"GameSpy Technology has made it easier than ever for developers
of any size to add online features to their iPhone games," said
Todd Northcutt, Vice President, GameSpy Technology. "Unlike
competitors in the space, GameSpy is not attempting to create
another proprietary platform but act instead as a service provider
in order to empower developers. Thanks to GameSpy's iPhone
services, the power to control online destiny is now in the hands
of people making the games."
GameSpy's new customizable UI for iPhone will come as a huge
benefit to independent developers who are looking to add robust
online features that can span multiple games without having to
invest additional time and money.
Developers can either implement the UI as is, change the
appearance to match their game/brand or use the provided APIs to
include GameSpy's services into their existing game UI. Providing
this standardized UI for its services for the first time will
ensure more consistent, higher quality of online services, while
making it that much easier for developers to implement into their
games.
The GameSpy API is common across all gaming platforms, making
GameSpy the only online service provider powering games on the
iPhone and all other connected gaming platforms. GameSpy's iPhone
services are already in use in titles like Warner Bros
Interactive's Guinness Book of World Records and Rockstar Games'
Beaterator. Moving online features to and from the iPhone is easy
with GameSpy's iPhone technology.
"This aligns perfectly with GameSpy Technology's strategy of
supporting all gaming platforms with a truly open approach," said
Northcutt. "By offering multiple options for integration and
turning over control of the branding and customer relationship to
developers, GameSpy continues to play the role of true service
provider. In keeping with its newly announced GameSpy Open
initiative, we have enabled in-app purchases to facilitate
development of new business models, especially for games and IP
moving over from other platforms."
GameSpy offers iPhone developers all the benefits of a platform
(such as a standardized user experience and ease of integration)
with the additional upside of being able to own the relationship
with their customer and control the presentation of their branding
and UI. The entire suite of iPhone tools encompasses a large number
of services, including connectivity to existing game identities and
social networking sites, leader boards, user statistics, player
buddy lists both from Facebook and from other GameSpy-powered games
and important usage metrics. GameSpy also provides a number of high
value services like push notifications (with the first million
messages delivered to users free of charge) and in-app
purchases.
A preview release of GameSpy's new iPhone development services
can be previewed during the 2010 Game Developers Conference, held
in San Francisco from March 9 through March 13. Interested
developers can stop by GameSpy, located in Moscone South Hall #1124
on the GDC convention floor. More information can also be found
online at
http://www.poweredbygamespy.com
About GameSpy Technology
A division of IGN Entertainment, GameSpy Technology is the
leading provider of online services to video game developers.
Founded in 1997, GameSpy has provided its connected gaming
technology to the best-selling, most innovative games in the
industry. We specialize in high value services -- social, cloud,
commerce, data and mutliplayer -- designed to make games more fun
by helping players share their experiences. GameSpy's technology is
accessible on every gaming platform and has been utilized by more
than 900 titles to date, including landmark games like Rockstar
Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, Nintendo's Mario Kart Wii, and
Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer franchise.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment, a unit of News Corporation, is the leading
Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and
entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties
reached more than 42.9 million unique users worldwide January 2010,
according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media
Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com,
GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others) is one of
the Web's leading videogame information destinations. IGN also owns
the leading male lifestyle website AskMen.com. In addition, IGN
provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is
headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across
North America, Europe and Australia.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Kris Sharbaugh
IGN Entertainment
Ksharbaugh@ign.com
(415) 508-2075
Chris Kramer
fortyseven communications
kramer@fortyseven.com
(408) 338-7191
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