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''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. The site launched in 2005 and is published and owned by UK company Steel Media Ltd. The site covers all major portable and mobile gaming formats, including iPhone, iPod, iPad, MacBook, Pokémon GO Plus, Android, Nintendo Switch and others. It was one of the first to cover the iPhone gaming market. The publication also hands out awards for handheld games to recognize them in several categories. The British newspaper ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' at one time syndicated a list of recommended mobile games from ''Pocket Gamer'', especially the list of recommended games for each month. In the years since launch, Steel Media Ltd has created many brand spin-offs, including the industry-facing ''PocketGamer.biz'' site and a series of conferences called Pocket Gamer Connects. Its publisher Steel Media Ltd. was acquired by Enthusiast Gaming in 2019.


History

Launched in April 2005 with the subtitle 'play as you go', ''Pocket Gamer'' set out to provide professional editorial coverage of mobile and handheld gaming formats which they saw as the future of gaming. At launch the site focused on mobile phones (java and brew), the Nokia N-Gage, Nintendo's
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
series as well as the then newly launched
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. They also mentioned PDAs and handheld console pretenders such as
Gizmondo The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console developed by Tiger Telematics. It was released in the UK, Sweden and the U.S. starting in March 2005. Its first-party games were developed in studios in Helsingborg, Sweden, and Manchester, England. Gi ...
and the
Tapwave Zodiac The Tapwave Zodiac is a mobile entertainment console. Tapwave announced the system in May 2003 and began shipping in October of that same year. The Zodiac was designed to be a high-performance mobile entertainment system centered on video games, ...
. The
Sony PSP The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
was added to the site soon after. When the Apple iPhone arrived in June 2007, followed by the subsequent launches of the
iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
in September 2007 and the
App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
in July 2008, it grew to increasingly dominate the editorial agenda. The site subsequently added
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
,
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
, Android,
BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
,
Windows Phone 7 Windows Phone 7 is the first release of the Windows Phone mobile client operating system, released worldwide on October 21, 2010, and in the United States on November 8, 2010. It runs on the Windows CE 6.0 kernel. It received multiple large upda ...
,
MeeGo MeeGo is a discontinued Linux distribution hosted by the Linux Foundation, using source code from the operating systems Moblin (produced by Intel) and Maemo (produced by Nokia). Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances ...
and
Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...
to the roster of covered formats, although latterly it's concentrated just on iOS and Android, plus the
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
in its portable mode. In October 2007, ''Pocket Gamer'' launched the ''Pocket Gamer Guide to Mobile Games'' magazine, which was first featured by
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...
, where it is published bi-monthly in all of their stores in the United Kingdom. It was expected to have a circulation of 150,000 copies. A digital version of ''Pocket Gamer'' was also available on the websites of
Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
and 3 UK. In May 2008, British company Steel Media (founders of the ''Pocket Gamer'' website) announced that it partnered with O2 to produce the ''Pocket Gamer Guide to Mobile Games'' magazine, which had an initial print run of 500,000 copies and was made available in all O2 UK stores, making O2 the 4th UK mobile network to feature the ''Pocket Gamer'' magazine. In May 2008, the magazine's circulation reached 700,000 copies, with a total audience of 1.5 million when including web and
WAP WAP or Wap may refer to: Music * "WAP" (song), a 2020 song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion Organizations * Weatherization Assistance Program, for US energy costs * Western Australia Party, a political party founded in 2016 * Western A ...
readership, and syndication reviews to
Vodafone live! Vodafone live! was the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, offering news content, picture messaging, instant messaging, email, and downloadable ringtones and games. The service officially launched on 24 O ...
and the Samsung Fun Club. In May 2008, Steel Media Ltd expanded the ''Pocket Gamer'' stable with the launch of a b2b-based sister site. ''PocketGamer.Biz'' focuses on covering the business of mobile games. Steel Media Ltd also launched Quality Index which tracks review scores of leading mobile games and publishers. ''PocketGamer.Biz'' produces quarterly industry reports. Ten years later in May 2018, Steel Media Ltd expanded the international reach of ''PocketGamer.Biz'' by partnering with Maysalward in Jordan to launch a b2b Arabic-language mobile gaming site, ''PocketGamer.me''. In October 2008, ''Pocket Gamer'' launched its first foreign edition aimed at consumers, PocketGamer.Fr, providing news and reviews on mobile and iPhone apps to a French language audience. The site grew steadily and launched its own iPhone app as well as providing syndicated content to several third party magazines. In August 2010 the site merged with number two in the market, JMobil and relaunched with a new design, new features and coverage of a wider number of platforms including Android. In October 2018, Steel Media Ltd undertook a major redesign of ''Pocket Gamer'' and unveiled a new look for the site, its first refresh in many years. At this point the site changed to a .com domain, to reflect the site's growing international appeal, from its previous .co.uk homepage.


Past guest authors

*
Ray Sharma Ray Sharma is the founding partner and CEO of Extreme Venture Partners, the founder of XMG Studio and a super angel investor. Education and career Sharma was born in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India. He obtained his degree in Business Administratio ...
* Si Shen * Rick Marazzani * Tak Fung


Awards

Since 2010, the ''Pocket Gamer'' Awards are handed out every year in March to video games for iPhone,
mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
, and
handheld A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...
devices in eleven categories each. The website also publishes regular features showcasing the 10 best games for each type of device, by genre. For 2010, on the iPhone,
Firemint Firemonkeys Studios is an Australian video game developer and publisher of video games, based in Melbourne, Victoria. In May 2011, Electronic Arts announced the acquisition of Firemint for an undisclosed sum, making it an in-house studio for ...
won "Best Developer",
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
won "Best Publisher", and ''
Flight Control A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft e ...
'' won "Game of the Year". For other mobile devices,
Digital Chocolate Digital Chocolate, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher headquartered in San Mateo, California. It was founded in 2003 by Trip Hawkins, the founder of video game companies Electronic Arts and The 3DO Company. The company focused on deve ...
won "Best Developer",
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
won "Best Publisher", and '' Mystery Mania'' won "Game of the Year". Among handhelds,
Rockstar Leeds Rockstar Leeds Limited (formerly Möbius Entertainment Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Leeds. Ian J. Bowden, Dave Box, Gordon Hall, and Jason McGann founded the company as Möbius Entertainmen ...
won "Best Developer",
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
won "Best Publisher", and '' Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars'' won "Game of the Year". ''Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars'' also won the overall "Game of the Year" award."And the award goes to..."
''Pocket Gamer''. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
The People's Choice category of Steel Media Ltd's annual Mobile Game Awards is voted for by readers of ''Pocket Gamer''. ''Pocket Gamer'' has been listed as one of the top 100 websites by the Guardian newspaper two years running as well as being named in The Sunday Times newspaper's Top 5 Websites for Gaming.


Podcast

''Pocket Gamer'' launched the weekly Pocket Gamer Podcast on 1 December 2008, featuring a round-up of the biggest news stories from the world of iOS and Android gaming, plus information on the latest releases. Though initially a video podcast, the format changed to audio only on 18 May 2009. The show has seen multiple hosts and is currently helmed by James Gilmour with regular input from other members of the team, including Matthew Forde and Dann Sullivan.


References


External links

*
B2B website
{{Video Game Critics Video game magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 2005 Video game websites Online magazines published in the United Kingdom