ATI And Nokia Begin Strategic Mobile Game Relationship

Representatives from graphics chip firm ATI Technologies and cellphone giant Nokia have announced a new long-term strategic relationship to create new portable multimedia development tools and promote open standards within the industry. ATI intends to provide a dedicated tools chain and software development kit (SDK) for developers by autumn 2006. ATI and Nokia will also hold a series of joint workshops in the second half of the year to showcase the environment to key developers. The two company’s efforts will include not just 3D games but also music playback, mobile TV, video and other unspecified applications. The announcement appears to tie in with Nokia’s plans to create a 'successor' to the company's N-Gage gaming platform in the form of a much wider, 3D-enabled network for Nokia cellphone users, announced at GDC 2006, which will be powered by ATI chipsets in many of the handsets, though this is not explicitly stated in the press release. "Working with ATI underscores the commitment that Nokia has in providing unparalleled mobile multimedia experiences to consumers," said Ilkka Raiskinen, senior vice president, multimedia experiences, Nokia. "With the mobile device now at the center of people's lives, we want people to have access to fantastic mobile content when and where they want. We are announcing our collaboration with ATI now, so that developers have the next 12 to 18 months to be innovative and create world class mobile multimedia experiences." "Our role is to enable all content, from ultra-high quality music playback to 3D gaming, and we'll jointly guide and support the members of the content development community as they focus on creating amazing user experiences," said Paul Dal Santo, vice president and general manager, handheld products, ATI. "With a shared vision of how multimedia impacts the mobile market, Nokia and ATI are providing much needed direction and a framework to move the whole industry forward."