TV's 24 prepped for mobile gamers

Mobile publisher I-play announced this week that it will produce a mobile game based on the hit Fox television show 24 in conjunction with Fox Mobile Entertainment. The content deal also includes ringtones and wallpapers, which will be readied along with the game for a first-quarter 2006 release--just in time for the premiere of the show's fifth season.

According to David Gosen, I-play's chief operating officer, the publisher is working closely with Fox's 24 gurus to capture the flavor of the show. "Fox has drafted its creative script writing team to work together with I-play's production team on the game's concept and creation. Then I-play and the developer, [San Diego-based] SandCastle, will take that concept and turn it into reality," said Gosen in a recent e-mail interview with GameSpot.

"The first game will launch simultaneously worldwide, and it will work on [the] widest possible range of handsets," Gosen continued, seemingly suggesting that more games based on the series are in the works.

The TV version of 24, a taut thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland as counterterror agent Jack Bauer, is best known for its real-time portrayal of the onscreen action. Every season covers Bauer's race to stop a terrorist plot in the next 24, hour-long episodes of the show. According to I-play, 24 has an audience of 6 million, making it one of the most popular TV shows in America.