NBC Sports Figure Skating
Encyclopedia
NBC Sports Figure Skating is a mobile game
developed by Ziggurat Interactive and published by Abandon Mobile in 2006
. This game, which was released for both Verizon Wireless
and Cingular Wireless
cell phones, involves making a figure skater
execute moves by carefully timing the correct keypresses against a series of numbers, each associated with a particular maneuver, as the numerals scrolled along the bottom of the screen.
, NBC Sports Figure Skating became the first mobile game to be promoted on television when a banner inviting viewers to download the game appeared during NBC's
broadcast of the figure skating event at 8:41pm EST on February 13.
Mobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
developed by Ziggurat Interactive and published by Abandon Mobile in 2006
2006 in video gaming
-Events:* January 26, 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model is lighter, smaller, has configurable brightness and features an improved user interface.* January 26, 2006 -- Konami Corp...
. This game, which was released for both Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
and Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless
AT&T Mobility LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T that provides wireless services to 100.7 million subscribers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands...
cell phones, involves making a figure skater
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
execute moves by carefully timing the correct keypresses against a series of numbers, each associated with a particular maneuver, as the numerals scrolled along the bottom of the screen.
Gameplay
The goal is to execute skating moves in the correct time and sequence, and earn the highest score for your event. Each skating move has a series of button presses and timing cues. For each button press in the move you are currently performing, a picture of a number from 1 to 6, randomly chosen by the game, will move across the bottom of the screen to a target zone at the center. You must push the button corresponding to its image as soon as it reaches the target zone to pull off each part of the move perfectly. However, even the world's best figure skaters slip up sometimes, and if you miss a button completely while executing a move, you will fall and receive no points for that move.Marketing
During the 2006 Winter Olympics2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, NBC Sports Figure Skating became the first mobile game to be promoted on television when a banner inviting viewers to download the game appeared during NBC's
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
broadcast of the figure skating event at 8:41pm EST on February 13.