Interview

Zeemote boss: 'iPhone is a challenge for us'

But there are plenty of other reasons to be cheerful

Zeemote boss: 'iPhone is a challenge for us'
Zeemote may be making its JS1 Bluetooth joystick work with an increasing number of mobile platforms, including BlackBerry, N-Gage, Android and Windows Mobile, but iPhone is not on its immediate agenda.

"iPhone is a bit of a challenge for us," says recently-appointed CEO and president Ernie Cormier. "We need to get Apple to support JSR-82 before we can support it."

Even so, there is plenty going on for Zeemote, which launched the JS1 last year with several operators and handset makers, and is working on further deals to expand its distribution footprint in 2009.

One of Cormier's big tasks is to win over some of the industry sceptics, particularly those who acknowledge that the JS1 is a nice piece of technology but question the business case and whether consumers will be prepared to carry it around with them.

"What Zeemote has is a very strong software team and really bright product people," says Cormier in response.

"We have people with a real product sensibility, which a lot of tech guys don't have. It's not just cool technology - they see how it's going to be used, sold and supported. We have that product sensibility in the company."

So how is the JS1 going to be used, sold and supported? Zeemote has learned some lessons from recent months. It seems the strategy of putting a voucher inside handset boxes wasn't a success, for starters.

"We're hoping we never see that again," says Cormier. "Voucher redemption for anything is a real challenge. You have to execute flawlessly, and even then it's tough."

However, he says that Zeemote is picking up steam with its operator and handset manufacturer deals, with several due to be announced in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, the company unveiled its plans to sell standalone JS1 controllers through retail channels last week, at Mobile World Congress. The controller will cost around 39 Euros in Europe, and $39 in the US.

"The first one is targeted at Nseries handsets, and we're investigating including some content with it," says Cormier. "It's using our Zeekey application, although in the future as we get more penetration, we'd like to be able to have our SDK playing a larger role."

This is an important point. The Zeekey application allows the JS1 to be used to take over control of a handset's UI - meaning it can be used to play any game without developers having to incorporate the Zeemote API into their titles.

However, Cormier says that to use the full functionality of the JS1, the SDK does need to be used. It's a trade-off - Zeekey is important for really pushing JS1s out there, but in the long-term, the SDK may be more important.

Cormier is very enthusiastic about the development of Zeekey for BlackBerry, which was shown off in Alpha form at MWC last week.

"RIM is behind it big-time, and they're a great partner for us," he says.

"Their model isn't to buy devices from us, like Nokia is. What RIM does with partners is take you into all of their carriers. They understand the idea of strategic partnerships, so we're very excited about that."

Indeed, at MWC last week, RIM's Rory O'Neill whipped out a JS1 during his interview with PocketGamer.biz as an example of an innovative accessory.

Interestingly, Zeemote is also taking firm steps towards selling Zeemotes direct to consumers online.

"We haven't been able to focus as much as we want to on our e-commerce play, but well before the end of this year we plan to launch an e-commerce platform to sell the device to people," says Cormier.

However, he says Zeemote isn't looking to sell JS1-enabled games through the website. "We don't want to get into the software distribution or publishing business."

In the long term, Cormier says Zeemote sees three major paths to market for its technology. The current two are distributing via retail partners, and distributing D2C. The third? Licensing.

"It hasn't been fully explored yet, but we see device manufacturers who want to develop different kinds of controllers with their own brands," he says.

"We have a certain amount of IP and patents, and we have become well known as guys who understand the hardware and software complexities."

Of course, the JS1 has been available for several months now - and was being touted round the industry for some time before that. How soon will Zeemote bring out a refresh, or a second model?

Cormier says that in the short term, the JS1 has already been subtly re-engineered to reduce its manufacturing costs - "it was originally designed for speed-to-market rather than cost effectiveness" - but that further out, more models will be coming.

"We have a few options, with one being a motion sensor based device," he says. "We have done quite a bit of R&D on that, so we understand what we need to deliver. And then we have a whole list of features and functionality we could put into a joystick-based device. We call it the JS2 spec wishlist."

Will it always be one multi-purpose controller, or is there scope for different kinds? Interestingly, it seems the latter is more akin to Zeemote's thinking.

"We see a large opportunity for dedicated controllers," says Cormier. "So a football game has certain input needs that are different from a racing game, a flight simulator or music rhythm game. We think there's an opportunity out there towards the latter half of this year, as the market gets more used to the idea of a mobile game controller."

Woah there, though. If there's doubt about mobile gamers carrying one external controller around with them, surely they'll balk at carrying several?

But there's a completely separate opportunity opening up - one illustrated by the upcoming launch of the Zeebo device - in emerging markets. It's the idea of the mobile handset as substitute games console in markets where actual games consoles aren't so popular.

Against this context, the fact that Zeemote now demonstrates the JS1 playing games on handsets connected to big screens via TV-Out makes more sense. In essence, future Zeemote products could become peripherals for gaming in the home as well as on the go.

Cormier actually has a family member working in Africa with the Peace Corps, so he says he's been following those kind of markets with interest.

"There's no penetration of consoles, and PCs are a fantasy except for maybe internet cafes in towns," he says. "In those environments, the phone is the mobile computing platform, including entertainment with TV-Out. We're very excited about the role Zeemote might play in those markets."

Meanwhile, the company is starting to look beyond gaming to other industries where JS1-style controllers may find an audience.

"We will never leave the gaming vertical, but if I was to fast forward by - depending on money - a couple of years, I see us having products in other verticals," says Cormier. "For example the medical and enterprise fields."

Contributing Editor

Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)