WorldWide Tech and Science. Francisco De Jesús.
Exent announced the launch of GameTanium Mobile, which it described as “the first and only all-you-can-eat subscription service for mobile devices offering unlimited game play of the hottest games on Android.”
Customers download an enabling app and pay US$4.99 per month in order to access a portfolio of games – currently 75 are available, with the intention to grow to more than 200 by the end of the year. The company highlighted the potential for the technology to be a money spinner for operators – “operators can extend their brand, games offering and subscriber engagement to new screens, increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and strengthening brand loyalty and retention,” it said.
According to Exent, which is the PC games on-demand supplier to companies including T-Mobile and Verizon, GameTanium Mobile was “built specifically with carriers in mind.” It is said to mix Exent’s “content and programming expertise” alongside carrier channels and billing, to “increase conversion exponentially and provide a healthier ecosystem for monetisation on Android.” The solution can be customised for operators, including through branded UIs or tailored pricing and packaging.
There are some drawbacks to GameTanium Mobile. Because the enabling app acts as a distribution channel for other software, it falls foul of Android Market guidelines which state that alternative app stores cannot be distributed via this channel. And because it cannot be distributed via Android Market, this means it cannot be installed on devices that do not support apps installed from other sources – some operators “lock” devices to only permit Android Market downloads, for example. It is supported by devices running Android 2.2 or higher, but is not currently compatible with tablet devices.
