Namco launches new digital delivery service

Namco Bandai Networks Europe has announced a new digital delivery channel for its mobile and casual games.

The new service is called Namco Arcade, with the company first making the announcement to its fans on Facebook.

Namco Arcade lets users try out mobile games on Facebook before they decide whether or not they want to buy. Then when they do buy the game it is sent directly to their mobile.

Perfect mobile marketing

It is the perfect way of marketing casual and mobile games to an eager fanbase and Namco's latest venture is in partnership with social network discovery firm, Mplayit.

Titles confirmed to date include such crackers as Pac-Man CE, Katamari, Namco Arcade Golf, Pac-Man Pinball 2 and Time Crisis Elite.

The Namco drift-driving classic Ridge Racer Drift will be launching at some point in the future, with a date still to be confirmed.

"Namco Arcade is a great way for us to complement the traditional carrier channels of our distribution partners with an alternative channel for users to try and buy our games," said Barry O'Neill, President of Namco Bandai Networks Europe.

He added: "Integrating social networks into our distribution channels was an obvious move. Facebook has a user base of 350 million, many of whom love casual gaming. Namco Arcade is a great way for us to reach a whole new audience, and allows us to reduce the overall cost to customers, while offering a new level of service and interactivity.

"The ability to discover and share games easily will be a key driver for the mobile games market in the future."

Via Edge