Zeemote has announced plans to release a BlackBerry SDK, allowing game developers to make their BlackBerry titles compatible with the company's Zeemote JS1 Bluetooth joystick.

The SDK will include a set of standards, testing procedures and support, and ties in with the existing Zeemote Ready developer program run by the company.

Zeemote is exhibiting at the BlackBerry Developer Conference in California this week, and is accepting pre-registrations for the SDK now (to sign up, you have to email bizdev@zeemote.com).

"By adding RIM's cutting-edge BlackBerry smartphones to the list of handsets that already work with the JS1 Controller, we are able to bring the Zeemote experience to even more people," says jim Adams, VP of worldwide marketing, sales and business development.

Up to a point, that's true. However, Zeemote hasn't yet announced how it'll be getting the JS1 into the hands of BlackBerry owners. In Europe, so far its strategy has involved bundling the controller with phones, via deals with handset makers and operators.

Is the company planning something similar with BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, or is this a first sign of plans to sell the Zeemote direct to consumers?

RIM is making a point of turning BlackBerry into a more multimedia-friendly brand, but hasn't talked much about its gaming ambitions yet. A gaming-themed BlackBerry? Watch this space.