IGF Mobile 2009 finalists announced
Over at the official IGF Mobile website, the finalists of this years award categories have just been announced - with iPhone games dominating the line-up.
The festival is open to entrants from all handheld games systems, including mobile, PSP, DS, N-Gage and iPhone, though Nokias system is as noticeable by its absence as Apples is by its abundance.
The number of entrants was still doubled from last year, however, and the defining innovation requirement is more prevalent than ever.
Among the finalists are the unique DS game Wardrive, which uses local wi-fi hotspots as enemy bases, while the iPhones Smiles, Fieldrunners and Edge hold three of the top five places for Best Game Award.
The mobile industry has seen incredible innovation and quality in mobile gaming, in particular with the rise of the iPhone and iPod touch platform, says IGF chairman Simon Carless.
The significant increase in the number of entries speaks to the unlimited possibility that exists in the mobile market, and the IGF is excited to acknowledge the importance of indie developers in the handheld game device space.
This is also the first year to host a specific iPhone category, which has some familiar titles in there, though not all have yet been released - Zen Bound, for instance, has been on our radar for quite some time, though its not yet hit the App Store.
The US$30,000 prize money will be shared out when the winners of each category are announced at this years Game Developers Conference on March 24th, with a special celebration of the IFG Mobile the day after. In the meantime, heres the rundown of the finalists:
IGF Mobile Best Game
Cubic Republic (IKS Mobile) Flash Lite
Smiles (Sykhronics Entertainment) iPhone/iPod touch
Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) iPhone/iPod touch
Edge (Mobigame) iPhone/iPod touch
Wardive (And-or) Nintendo DS
Innovation In Mobile Game Design
Wardive (And-or) Nintendo DS
Galcon (Hassey Enterprises) iPhone/iPod touch
Eliss (Steph Thirion) iPhone/iPod touch
Achievement In Art
Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) iPhone/iPod touch
Dizzy Bee (Igloo Games) iPhone/iPod touch
Ruben & Lullaby (Song New Creative) iPhone/iPod touch
Technical Achievement
Football Tycoon (Dynamo Games) Java
Real Racing (Firemint) iPhone/iPod touch
Wardive (And-or) Nintendo DS
Audio Achievement
Radio Flare (Studio Radiolaris) iPhone/iPod touch
Zen Bound (Secret Exit) iPhone/iPod touch
Edge (Mobigame) iPhone/iPod touch
Best iPhone Game Presented by ngmoco
Edge (Mobigame) iPhone/iPod touch
Dizzy Bee (Igloo Games) iPhone/iPod touch
Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) iPhone/iPod touch
Zen Bound (Secret Exit) iPhone/iPod touch
Frenzic (The Iconfactory) iPhone/iPod touch