Bango has revealed that Gameloft, the publisher and developer of mobile games, is using Bango technology to power its direct-to-consumer mobile Internet site, featuring Gamelofts most popular titles, including Mission Impossible 3, Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Double Agent and 2006 Real Football. Gameloft chose to use Bango as it builds the direct-to-consumer side of its business because it wanted to provide a mobile Internet solution with payment integrated into the WAP session.
The Bango service enables global billing, with the best payment method dynamically presented to the consumer depending on their country and network, using Bangos BillRank technology. The system chooses from the following payment methods: direct operator billing (including PayForIt in the UK); Premium SMS; credit/debit cards; and PayPal, and adapts according to the users preference. So if a consumer in the UK prefers to pay with their credit card, the next time they come to pay for a game, this option is presented first.
“We are very happy to have signed this partnership with Bango” says gameloft B2C Development Manager, Houssain Elguertit. “Were witnessing a big evolution today in terms of WAP usag,e and Bango is a good partner to work with for WAP billing.”
Gamelofts marketing programme is driving traffic to the direct-to-consumer site with visitors seen from across Europe and the US. Mobile users access the mobile site by entering www.gameloft.com into their phone browser or by clicking through from specific promotions. Once on the site, they can buy games in one seamless step.
Bango points out that by building sites on the mobile Internet model, brands ensure they provide a superior user experience, where users can browse for up-to-date information, and download digital content. Mobile Internet sites also tap into increasing use of search and advertising on mobile, as consumers looking for new mobile content and services browse into mobile sites from a search engine, or clickthrough from a mobile ad. Where brands are delivering ad-funded mobile sites, the mobile Internet is the only way to generate the necessary ad revenue to support this, the company says.
Bangos customers include News Corporation, Discovery Mobile and MTV, together with smaller, niche content providers. Each Bango package is designed for the different needs of small and large businesses, from the Bango Focus package for smaller content providers, to the Bango Target and Bango Advantage packages for global brands.