Gazuma: A new option for mobile gamers

SkillPod Media, a recent finalist in the Excellence in the Management of Systems category of the Technology Top 100 (TT100) awards, claims to have broken the standard mobile gaming mould by launching a new mobile games platform Gazuma.

The new platform allows users to play their games directly from their handset’s browser, as opposed to the normal model where users first have to buy the game online and then download it to their handset as an application.

With the Gazuma platform, gamers are able to log game scores, enter tournaments, win Pods
(SkillPod’s virtual currency built into the platform), challenge friends, integrate their friend list with their Facebook contacts, message friends, integrate with Twitter; and still buy games to download and play offline in the traditional fashion.

Skillpod says the aim of the new platform is “playability and ease”, allowing users to play offline or online in their device’s browser using Flash Lite.

SkillPod Media has been publishing its games on the Nokia Ovi Store since December 2009 and claim to publish an average of 12 to 18 new titles across a number of genres each month.

Gazuma allows customisation and “white-labelling”, which opens the door for advertisers and promotional brand-building.

Most of Skillpod’s games have also been developed for the new generation of Symbian S60 handsets
which allows for greater innovation, while focussing on the overall gaming experience.