Skipping Stone scoops IGN’s ‘Wireless Game of the Year’

Author: I-play

San Mateo, CA & London, UK - 20th December, 2005: I-play, the mobile games company, today announced that Skipping Stone, the most compulsive 'one thumb play' title was voted 'Best Wireless Game of the Year' overall, as well as 'Wireless Game of the Year for Best Artistic Design'. The game, which has enjoyed unprecedented critical success, was developed by Korean based Gamevil, and published and distributed by I-play last September to its global network of over 100 operators.

Skipping Stone beat Zuma and Star Wars Battlefront Mobile, as it claimed the prestigious accolade of 'Best Wireless Game of the Year' from IGN. According to Levi Buchanan, one of the judges on the panel which chose the winning game, here is 'Why It Rocked':

"Skipping Stone is the best example of a game that only makes sense on mobile -- it's a one-button casual game that lulls players into bizarro 20-minute gaming sessions. All you do is charge up your throw, then attempt to skip a stone across a lake by rhythmically tapping the button as the rock splashes down. Repeat. Repeat. Talk about zen gaming. Your only goal is to best your previous record of skips. That it's flanked by crazy-cool graphics is only gravy -- distracting gravy. That cutie-poo whale and madman chicken-suit dude are only there to pull your eyes off the task at hand, and should you give it, you're treated to a scene of your weeping stone sinking into the drink. While Stone is not as deep as some of the runner-ups, it's a grand example of how concept ultimately wins out in the end, something that powers the best wireless games and makes your cellphone one of the most exciting places to find pure gameplay experiences."

Skipping Stone also went on to pip 'Ancient Empires II' and 'Marc Ecko's Getting Up' to the post for 'Best Artistic Design'. Here is 'Why It Rocked':

"Skipping Stone has one of those oddly endearing looks to it, making one curious to see the mock-ups or character design sheets floating around developer Gamevil's headquarters. The little yellow stone that you throw out across the briny blue is fully equipped with googly eyes (imagine if Rare had designed a rock), capable of streaming tears should you fail to make with the skipping. Watching the teary stone sink into the aqua abyss, not unlike Leo in "Titanic," actually makes you feel kinda crappy. The backdrops are increasingly silly, with a calm afternoon giving way to nightfall, then to a strange sunrise where the sky is full of oddities. And then there's a cat in the chicken suit. The entire game has a quirky charm to it, one that draws you closer -- not unlike Katamari -- that is impossible not to love on first sight. There are times when weird feels like weird for the sake of being weird -- but with Skipping Stone, it's weird because it simply cannot be anything else.

I-play has not only brought this game to global audience of over one billion people, but it is re-defining mobile gaming by putting the mass-market audience at the center of its gaming ethos. Skipping Stone uniquely has something to offer hardcore videogames players and novice game players alike, in the form of instant accessibility game play, quirky graphics, and an overwhelmingly compulsive fun-factor."

This is the second honor that Skipping Stone has been awarded, having recently been chosen as 'Game of the Year' at the Mobile Choice Awards.

David Gosen, acting CEO, I-play commented: "Winning IGN's Wireless Game of the Year for Skipping Stone is one of the most prestigious accolades that a mobile games publisher could hope to achieve. This game is the very definition of "pick up and play", with the distinction that once you pick it up, you can't put it down."

Contact:

Annabel Brog

PR Manager, I-play

Tel: 44 2079011770

[email protected]