Imagine this: You need to catch a bus. You know the bus is always fifteen minutes late, but you go to the stop ten minutes early anyway, on the chance it arrives on time. Simultaneously, your friend on the other side of the country is waiting for a delayed train. He’s bored, you’re bored, but what can you do? The folks from mobile developer 3 recommend playing a FPS death match to pass the time.

Earlier this week, 3 mobile announced the launch of real time mobile multi-player gaming across their network. From April, customers will be able to play games against each other from anywhere in the country (well, network covered anywhere). The selection includes three real-time titles, of which 3 label two of them ‘near-console quality’. What ever you say about 3, it can’t be said that their aspirations aren’t high.

The question is, can they fulfil their aspirations in reality? \

I just tore my press release up and now feel much better. If 3’s latest endeavour has any merit what so ever, I should be able to write about it without needing a press release prompting my brain. Fortunately, to 3’s credit, their demonstration this week left quite an impression.

From a technical standpoint, 3 seem to be quite capable of what they aspire to do. The basic network infrastructure is in place and now waiting for the launch date, whilst the finished games just need to be prepped for download. Whilst the games shown so far are not the most innovative of titles, they don’t really need to be. Bo Nordblom, the business director of Rally Pro developer Synergenix, said to me that when developing games, they looked to what would be the most fun real-time experience to have on a mobile. It shows. The games are simple, fun and effective.

However, having the infrastructure in place and games with potential does not mean 3 is definitely going to be successful. Out of the demonstrated games, two tiers emerged. The lower tier included Java games No Refuse and Cannons Tournament, which seemed to be the most accessible in terms of existing users and the all important issue of lag. The simplistic style of these games suit the mobile platform very well. Coincidentally, these titles were the ones 3 chose to demonstrate their network with. The demos of higher tier products used Bluetooth. Given the small – but noticeable - lag on even Bluetoothed multi-player, it’s not hard to see why.

The ‘near-console quality’ shows how high 3’s aspirations are and perhaps, where they lack the technology to support them. Out of these two games, only Rally Pro Contest will be countrywide capable come April. The other, shooter Lock and Load, will not support this initiative until the summer. Both only operate on high end of the market handsets and both suffer from the ongoing design problems with mobile handsets. On the phone used for the demo, gaming wasn’t even an after-thought in its design. It was more like a post-script.

Still, the potential for such technology is impressive. The need to carry a handheld console could well be threatened, as 3 is close to not just matching current machines, but superseding them in terms of network capabilities. More over, the incorporation of these games into 3’s already popular rental service will ensure it’s not just gamers who use the multi-player infrastructure. Non-gamers can fill a wait at a station by renting a game and playing a friend. Old colleagues can continue to game long after the person has moved away, even if one of them is without access to the Internet. Even those who don’t wish to game can take advantage of the embedded instant message service in each title.

Presently, it is hard to deny that 3 must overcome a few flaws – namely the network issue and the poor handset design – if this initiative is to succeed, though it is equally hard to deny they deserve full credit for the ferocity of their ambition. How well the network works when the general public uses the service will be interesting, but for the good of gaming in general, it’s worth crossing fingers. If the network is sustained with minimal lag and handset design improves, instead commuters playing golf on the tube, they might take a pounding as their daughter plays them from the living room sofa. Now there’s a slogan: ‘Death-matches – Bringing The Family Back Together’.

Chris Hicks