Get ready for some classic platforming action with everybody's favorite alien, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, as he makes the jump from the Atari 2600 and into our mobile phones with the help of developer and publisher Ojom GmbH. Yes, dear friends, it's a completely-new E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial game this time around, with more minigames and surprises than you can shake a glowing finger at - and we've got the screenshots to prove it, too!

So what's new with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial this time around? The fact that his latest game bases a lot of its gameplay sections on actual setpieces or events that occurred in the movie, with a visual style and flavor that jives with the heartwarming movie. For instance, there's a minigame that has you luring E.T. back into the house with candies.

Another one has you manning Elliot's bicycle to evade scientists and government officials during a mad dash to collect parts for E.T.'s home-made intergalactic phone (thankfully with no wells in sight). These and more make up the title's hefty 42 minigame count, and is sure to keep you occupied during those long commutes.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial will available in all operator portals across Europe.

International market research and market data company Research and Markets just announced that it has added "The Market for Portable Video Games" in its huge roster of studies. If you are not familiar with this company, you can actually think of it as a one-stop shop for market research reports and industry newsletters.

Anyway, like we said, a new report has been published that tackles the market for portable game systems. The study itself contains a detailed five-year forecast for each platform. Aside from that, the study also discusses the potential impact of yet-to-be released gadgets.

Aside from the above mentioned, a sub-report has been attached to the study that concerns the mobile game market and you can get a lot of insights from it given the round table discussion with leading players and visionaries in the mobile game space. The companies included in the study are:

• Atari (Atari Lynx)
• Bandai (Bandai Wonderswan)
• NEC (NEC Turboexpress)
• Nintendo (Game Boy, Virtual Boy, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Ds)
• Nokia (Nokia N-Gage)
• Sega (Sega Game Gear and Sega Nomad)
• SNK (SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color)
• Sony (Sony PSP)
• Tiger (Tiger Gamecom and Tiger Telematics Gizmondo)

Quite interestingly, the study also gives a detailed history of the portable game market as well as an overview of failed systems. Video game genres were also discussed aside from complete business models for third-party software sales broken down by platform.

Refer to the Read link below for more details and how you can get the study.

Gameloft shouts "Driver is mine!" to Glu Mobile, announcing that it has acquired the exclusive rights to develop, publish and distribute games based on Atari's Driver franchise, and that all previous Driver mobile games developed and published by Glu will be off the market on March 31, 2007.

Gameloft expects to launch its game Driver: LA Undercover in both 2D and 3D in June 2007, in time for Ubisoft's release of Driver titles. Ubisoft and Gameloft are sister companies, which may have helped Gameloft acquire the Driver license as Ubisoft also holds the PC, Wii and PSP license of Driver. Last year, Atari itself released the Xbox and PS2 Parallel line skus.

In a statement, Gameloft President Michel Guillemot said that they are excited about adding Driver to their award winning portfolio of games, and that they are confident that they can take the Driver franchise to the next level.

We wonder how the two rivaling game publishers will render the same franchise title?

Personally, I only know one person who is actually itching to buy an N-Gage. I don't doubt that there are others who want the same thing, however, so here's some good news for all you N-Gage fans out there.

Nokia and Glu Mobile announced today that Glu will be publishing a selection of mobile games and content on the N-Gage platform. Glu's portfolio of top-rated games includes original titles like Super K.O. Boxing! and the Ancient Empires franchise, as well as titles based on major brands from Atari, Hasbro, Microsoft, and Sony.

"Glu Mobile is one of the driving forces in the mobile gaming industry and we’re excited to be working with them to bring premium mobile game experiences to our N-Gage platform," said Gregg Sauter, Director, Games Publishing, Nokia. "Glu’s reputation and experience in creating compelling mobile games makes them a natural fit for the N-Gage platform."

The first title slated for an N-Gage release is World Series of Poker Texas Hold’em. The game hasn't been dated yet, but we expect it to drop before the holidays.

Did you know Atari's classic Centipede was the first arcade game designed by a woman? Back in the 1980s Dona Bailey's vertical shooter featured a host of creepy crawlies including a centipede, fleas, spiders and scorpions in a backyard jungle setting. To complete rounds, the player must shoot a centipede before it reaches the playing field.

As part of Glu Mobile's "everything old is new again" partnership with Atari, Centipede is coming back as a mobile game. Although the gameplay of the mobile version of Centipede is close to the original arcade, Glu Mobile gave it a twist of the 21st century with such elements as additional themes, power ups, and upgrades in graphics, control and functionality.

Now on its final stages of development, Centipede for mobile phones is set to launch around the world starting the first quarter of 2007. Other Atari arcade classics following the hundreds of footsteps of Centipede include Asteroids and Super Breakout. Proof that great games don't fade away. They just get ported!

Originally titled Arthur and the Minimoys, this mobile game adaptation of the children's book by Luc Besson has something in it that has captured our attention. It has made us believe in enchanted little creatures, once again. Although we may be too old for fairy tales and those kind of things, we just can't resist this unique game that revolves around the teamwork of a 10-year-old boy - named Arthur - and his friends, Selenia and B?m?e, to save the Minimoy universe from destruction. Through their journey, they are not only in a mission to save the Minimoy universe but they will also discover the true worth of friendship.

They may be small in size (roughly a couple of millimeters tall), Arthur and the Invisibles is packed with huge surprises. Basing from these new screenshots, gameplay introduces a new world filled with adventure that would surely captivate kids and those who are "kid-at-heart". It includes battling a variety of insects, overcoming different obstacles, solving mysteries, and the best of all, sticking to your friends through it all. From sewers, to gardens and to underground tunnels, Arthur and his friends will realize the valuable lesson of teamwork and believing in each other's abilities.

This exciting mobile phone game is being developed by France-based MIG and will be published by Atari. It is set to enchant European mobile phone users at the end of 2006.

Mods really are exciting things, aren't they? They may turn out to be surprisingly innovative, or downright an excruciating mistake. But that's where the fun lies. Ben Heck, who has already made portable versions of several non-portable systems, came up with this impressive Atari 800 laptop mod.

The Atari 800 was introduced in 1978 as a home computer. It's part of the Atari 8-bit family - the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips.

The Mod sports an 8" screen, built-in Player 1 & 2 controls, 2 Joystick ports, and a QWERTY keyboard. It's also got a compact Flash disk drive storage for roms, a built-in Ni-MH battery.

Yes, having a classic on board new gadgetry can be just as sweet as the real thing. Thank goodness there are enough brave souls out there blending this mix just right.

HeroCraft, the makers of the well-received cellular game Ball Rush 2, is at it again! Only this time, they not only plan on dominating the cellular phone gaming scene, but the PDA gaming scene as well. The company has just released a game called Cake Press-- a new multiplayer tetris-style arcade game for mobile devices.

The company promises that the game will be able to let people come and play together, regardless of what brand of mobile phone they are using, or what smartphone is helping them organize their lives.

The only requirement is that all devices must have Bluetooth connectivity in order for players of the game to interact with each other real-time. In other words, there is just one word to describe this game - fun!

The objective of the game is to place three or more blocks of the same or suitable type in some kind of continuous figure. But that's not going to be easy for there are lots of enemies ready to squash you just like that.

This will surely be a big hit to those who have grown up playing with Commodore 64 or Atari, for the company promises that Cake Press will bring back those cherished moments of playing Tetris on the mentioned consoles. The game features the following:

    * 8 characters to choose from
    * 8 enemy units
    * 3 different gaming sets
    * 12 exciting levels
    * Multiplayer mode up to 4 human players can play through Bluetooth (different smartphone and PDA models supported);
    * 2 single game modes (Campaign and Freeplay).

Cake Press costs 4.95 US Dollars and it runs on Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian mobile devices.

Atari issued an announcement that it will bring Arthur and the Minimoys to mobile phones across Europe in November 2006. The game is based on a four-volume literary adventure written by Luc Besson and is currently being developed for the PSP and Nintendo DS as well.

In the mobile game, players follow the fantastic adventure of young Arthur, Selenia and Bétamèche to save the Minimoys’ world from destruction. Set in Besson’s richly imaginative Minimoy universe which is inhabited by teeny, tiny inhabitants, the unique gameplay requires achieving teamwork between Arthur, Selenia and Bétamèche in order for the players to progress.

In case you're scratching your head and still thinking Arthur and the Miniwhooo? Here are a few info about the game and the upcoming film:

• The books sold more than 1,000,000 books in France alone.
• The film have the highest budget ever for a European animated film ($85 million).
• It is currently being filmed using three technologies (2D, 3D and real film footage) and a groundbreaking animation graphical style.
• The film will be distributed in more than 40 countries, including the United States, Europe and Asia.
• Voices and original music for the film will be provided by superstars David Bowie, Madonna, and Snoop Dogg.