World of Warcraft on mobile phones

This is a rumor based on an article on 1UP.com...


 * Vollee, a relative newcomer to the field of wireless games, has a disruptive plan to leapfrog anything else established mobile gamemakers are currently working on. With streaming technology, any PC or console title can be played on a mobile phone, and we've already seen how the service handles a massively multiplayer online PC game: Second Life.


 * Vollee's big idea is reliant on their relationship with publishers. Linden Lab, which produces Second Life, and Activision, which has merged with World of WarCraft developer and publisher Blizzard, have both already announced partnerships with Vollee. Since Second Life proves that PC MMOs can be streamed to mobile phones, the idea of 10 million World of WarCraft users accessing their accounts and controlling their characters remotely starts to seem much more likely.


 * Vollee works in a similar fashion to online TV and other streaming multimedia. Vollee runs the game off servers on the back end and constantly pipes information to the user's phones, so the game isn't actually being rendered on the phone. Your 3G (third generation) phone only has to run Vollee's 100kb client, and the game will stream continually from their servers. Better make sure you're not paying by the bit, however, because Vollee's model only makes sense with an unlimited data-access plan.


 * The results are stunning. A PC-perfect version of Second Life runs on a phone that could barely handle some of the most elemental mobile games. Vollee also optimizes the controls and user interface for phones, so in Second Life's case, instead of having pop-up windows for chatting or maps, a tabulated system lets you switch between each screen. It may not have keyboard-and-mouse support, but Vollee tries to make the keypad perform most of the same functions, so moving and flying around in Second Life felt quite natural and looked great to us.


 * The visual fidelity, while a bit grainy (think YouTube-quality resolution), was still leagues beyond any 3D game capable of being rendered by the phone itself. Even the most advanced 3D phones can't match the visuals of a current PC or console title, and after playing a streaming PC game on a relatively low-powered phone, it's hard to imagine how current mobile titles can compete.


 * Vollee requires a 3G phone, but these are becoming much more common. Adoption rates for 3G phones are pretty high, but many factors determine the purchasing decisions of consumers, and technical specs are rarely one of them (fashion seems to be among consumers' top priority). With more Vollee partners expected to be announced soon and an open Second Life mobile beta starting in May (sign up at http://vollee.com/secondlife), now is definitely the time to get on board with a 3G phone to catch this potentially massive wave of innovation.