A Calgary company has developed North America’s first satellite-based video game for cellphones that pits players against a wily school of marlins. Blister Entertainment Inc. announced Wednesday that it is working with Bell Mobility to launch Swordfish, a game that allows anglers to troll for fish in a virtual sea.
The technology uses GPS chips embedded in newer handset models to simulate the experience of hunting — and catching — fish in a boat. Gamers can play from anywhere, said Blister president Paul Poutanen. “In the middle of a snowstorm, you can wander around and do some fishing if you choose to, or cast your pole from the top of the mountain,” he said. “We’ve turned the phone into a fishing rod, and the world is a giant ocean.” Blister, with 11 staff, is in “formal negotiations” with other major wireless carriers in Asia, Europe and North America to develop other interactive games for mobile handsets.
Such products are designed to include the user’s location in the context of the game, making the individual’s physical environment part of the scenario. For Canada’s four major cell phone carriers — Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility, Rogers Wireless and Microcell — mobile games are a means to drive data traffic and sell more services after spending millions in recent years to upgrade their networks. Mobile entertainment revenues are forecast to grow to $25.1 billion worldwide by 2007, driven by the games sector, according to a recent report from industry consultants ARC Group.
