The deal reinforces the notion that mobile gaming has become the most exciting part of the game business, and everybody wants to participate in it in some significant way. Blackley started Innovative Leisure last year with partner chief executive Van Burnham as part of a retro movement. They have recruited a team of veteran game designers from the “golden age” of Atari in the 1980s and 1970s. Their plan is to create games for the “new arcade” on iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) devices. The veterans have been coupled with younger game programmers who have a fresh perspective on making mobile games. The calculation is that gameplay (something the veterans are great at creating), not distribution power or brands, will triumph in mobile games.

“This enables us to publish our own games, and to do all sorts of other interesting stuff that we will be talking about soon,” Blackley said. “It’s great news because it lets us be even more creative and innovative in our thinking.  Stay tuned.”

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I thought Kickstarter was the preferred way to create innovative leisure mobile games in this day and age?