Many moons ago, Nokia purchased the Sega Dreamcast destined network gaming engine, SNAP. They've now licenced it to Gamica for their Java game, Lucky Ranch Tycoon. This ould be the first visible moving of the N-Gage Technology to other platforms,showing that while the N-Gage has more benefits to Nokia than just financial margins.

SNAP Mobile game portfolio grows as Lucky Ranch Tycoon is unveiled
SNAP Mobile enabling the world's first mobile connected tycoon game

San Francisco, CA, USA - Nokia, together with Gamica, today announced that Lucky Ranch Tycoon, the world's first mobile connected tycoon game, is under development for Java handsets utilizing the Nokia SNAP Mobile solution.

In Lucky Ranch Tycoon, the mobile gamer's goal is to become the most successful ranch owner in Lucky Town. Competing against other ranch owners, players will be impressed by the richness of features, including horse training, multiplayer races and gambling, in-game chatting, a wide array of rankings, and much more.

"Powered by the Nokia SNAP Mobile multiplayer and community solution, Lucky Ranch Tycoon is a prime example of the innovation in wireless gaming making its way to mobile handsets," said Gerard Wiener, Head of Nokia's Games Business Program. "Lucky Ranch Tycoon brings a whole new connected experience to mobile gamers using Java handsets."

"We are really excited about developing Lucky Ranch Tycoon on SNAP Mobile," said Ferdy Blaset, CEO of Gamica. "Gamica is focused on creating truly entertaining mobile multiplayer games that drive communities, stimulate participation, and increase the ARPU. We are thrilled to see SNAP Mobile being the first solution offering us the required tools to create these games."

Lucky Ranch Tycoon is expected to be available for mobile operators and other service providers in the third quarter of 2005 exclusively as part of the SNAP Mobile solution.