28th May, London - Bango.net and Masabi are taking mobile games to a new level with the introduction of a system for pay-per-level downloads that will generate a continuous revenue stream from addictive games. By implementing the Bango Premium Service, Masabi, the mobile phone games and entertainment applications developer, can charge micro-payments for each level that the user downloads over the air.
Masabi has developed a Java version of the popular BBC Micro classic game Repton. From November, people will be able to download the core gaming engine and one level of play for playing on the latest colour Java phones such as the Nokia 7650. The free download will be easily accessible by entering the number 737866 (R-E-P-T-O-N) from a bango.net bookmark on their WAP phone. Further levels and game skins will be available for purchase and download from within the game itself with each level costing 49p.
"The current crop of mobile phone games are limited both in terms of longevity and user involvement," said Tom Godber, Co-Founder of Masabi. "This pay-per-level model, as pioneered by Bango and Masabi, enables the next generation of games where users can interact with one another, fostering community and generating sustained revenue streams."
"For the developer and publisher of mobile games, the ability to generate a large volume of low-cost micro-payments during game play means that infectious, addictive games will earn significant revenue from the community of mobile game players," said Ray Anderson CEO of Bango.net.
Gamers have a variety of ways of paying for new levels and gaming skins through their mobile phones. They can pay by reverse SMS, charging it to their operator's own billing system - such as Vodafone's m-pay bill - or by buying PIN codes for £3 or £5 worth of content.
As a payment aggregator, Bango simplifies content providers' lives by setting up relationships with different billing providers and collecting money from consumers before passing the bulk back to the content provider.
About Masabi
Masabi develops games and entertainment applications for use on the next generation of mobile phones. The company is currently working on Mobile Repton, an enhanced version of Repton 3 that will allow users to pay to download additional levels and skins. In addition to developing the game, Masabi is also working on web-based level and sprite designers enabling gamers to design and upload their own levels and game skins, providing unlimited gameplay.
The company was founded in late 2001 and is based in London.
About Bango
Bango.net provides the technology to help businesses promote and charge for their content and services on the Mobile Internet in the easiest way possible - through numbers.
Working with industry leaders such as Vodafone, Telefonica, O2, KPN and Mitsubishi, Bango has helped thousands of content providers world-wide to promote and charge for their content and services. Over thirty portals and mobile operators provide Bango services to over twenty million users world-wide.
Bango.net is headquartered in Cambridge, England. For further information, go to http://www.bango.net/. Photography can be accessed at www.bango.net, type photos into the Bango box.