Beep Science introduces OMA v2 DRM product for next generation console alike Mobile games

Supports licensing of games through subscriptions, new levels or items and communities, especially suited for the widely used mobile payment methods.

London, October 5th, 2004, at Symbian Expo: Beep Science showcases and announces commercial availability of its new Digital Rights Management product for Native Mobile Games and Console Games. The product is based on version 2 of the DRM industry standard from Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), with extended functionality and security tools especially tailored for cost effective and secure distribution of Native Mobile Games.

The market for Mobile Games is forecasted by Industry Analysts to become a multi billion dollar market for gaming actors such as Mobile Operators, Game Developers / Publishers, Device Vendors and Gaming Ecosystem Providers. To facilitate this promising market the player’s can boost profitability by solving major challenges in regards to game protection and the cost of game distribution.

The new DRM solution for Native Mobile Games from Beep Science provides innovative state of the art protection of games incorporating multiple security mechanisms. It enables attractive and flexible business models, creating opportunities for the market actors to innovate new games as well as to cut distribution costs of games.

The essential part of the solution from a business point of view is that the billable asset is no longer linked to the actual game it self but linked to the sale of licenses and the rights to play for consumers. This enables games to be securely distributed through any channel – including peer-to-peer networks, electronic downloads, or on physical media – and the gamers will then be billed according to the actual usage rules set forth by the publisher or distributor. Any billing method can be used, including operator billing, subscription models, pay per use, and pay per download.

This separation of concerns is essential in a future proof DRM system as it removes any dependencies between license management and the way games are being promoted, sold or billed for. The solution supports business models such as:

Free trial game license

Full game license

Game Subscription license

Additional level or item (weapon, car, engine etc) license

Domain / Community licensing models

“Our objectives with this OMA v2 DRM based solution for Native Mobile Games are to provide a business accelerating, sustainable and future proof system that implements state of the art protection mechanisms, today and in the future, into all vulnerable parts of the gaming eco system, whilst retaining the necessary confidence and ease of use for our customers as well as for their gamers” says Jan Rune Hetle CEO in Beep Science.

The Mobile Gaming solution is supported on the Symbian OS and is tested with a wide selection of Symbian based phones in available the market today, the solution will have future support for other platforms such as Linux.

The solution contains a DRM SDK for game developers and additional client and server side OMA v2 DRM entities. The OMA v2 DRM Client software with gaming extensions can either be distributed together with the game package to consumers or be pre installed by device manufactures.

Beep Science is a market leader in providing mobile Digital Rights Management software solutions based on the OMA v2 DRM industry standard, supporting copyright protection of high value content and rich media formats. The Beep Science DRM Agent client software works on any Symbian based device, and can also be deployed on other operating systems such as Linux, Palm OS or Windows Mobile.