While I’m not the biggest poker player in the world, I do think this is the start of something that can prove to be very successful. At E3, Yahoo! Games is going to show their new poker game which will allow people accessing the service either from a PC or a mobile phone to play against each other. If Yahoo! decides to develop this technology, which makes perfect sense for them to do, we can expect to see even more of a blurring of the line between PC gaming and mobile gaming.

“Our goal at Yahoo! Games is to provide a dynamic, thriving online community that unites and connects gamers of all ages and tastes,” said Geoff Graber, general manager of Yahoo! Games.  “We’re excited to lead the industry in building the best multiplayer games and deliver a multiplayer mobile game, Yahoo! Poker, which lets people play friends anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

Full release after the jump.

YAHOO! GAMES TO UNVEIL NEW MULTIPLAYER,
WEB-TO-WIRELESS GAMES AT E3 EXPO

Sunnyvale, CA – April 29, 2005 – Yahoo! Games, the leading online games site[1], will make its mark at this year’s E3 Expo, May 18-20, by showing off the next generation of multiplayer gaming.  At the show, Yahoo! Games will be featuring Yahoo! Poker, a multiplayer, cross-platform game, fulfilling a promise made earlier in the year to bring PC-to-mobile games to the U.S. market. 

“Our goal at Yahoo! Games is to provide a dynamic, thriving online community that unites and connects gamers of all ages and tastes,” said Geoff Graber, general manager of Yahoo! Games.  “We’re excited to lead the industry in building the best multiplayer games and deliver a multiplayer mobile game, Yahoo! Poker, which lets people play friends anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

Flagship Product, Yahoo! Poker, Integrates New Features and Services
Yahoo! Poker exemplifies Yahoo! Games’ market-leading game innovations like cross-platform game technology and community and personalization features.

Yahoo! Poker, now developed in Flash for a better user experience, brings this mass market, popular game to a completely new level.  Some of the highlights include:

One of the first games with cross-platform functionality – enables gamers on their mobile phones to select to play against tens of thousands of people who may be playing Yahoo! Poker on their PC.  Now poker players everywhere can log onto Yahoo! Games from their PC or mobile phone, find their friends online and strike up a classic Texas Hold ‘em style game.
Leverages Yahoo! Games’ huge community, so there are always thousands of people ready to play.
Lets people show their Poker face with personalization features.  Millions of people have created online personas through Yahoo! Avatars. Now they can bring those same personas into Yahoo! Poker, so they see who they are playing. 

With the help of Yahoo! Games’ PC-to-mobile technology and its gaming on-the-go support, players never have to miss Poker night again!

The poker world is so excited about Yahoo! Poker that professional players, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Laak (“Unibomber”) and Antonio Esfandiari, will be playing poker with E3 Expo guests at the Yahoo! Games booth on May 18-20.  They’ll show convention attendees some poker tips and tricks, and demonstrate how they stay connected with fellow players and the sport they love, from their desktop PCs and mobile phones. 

Third-party Developers Get Access to Yahoo!’s Multiplayer, Cross-Platform Gaming Tools and Network
Known on a global scale for its leadership in single and multiplayer casual games, Yahoo! Games is well positioned to lead the next generation of multiplayer games beyond the desktop. 
Yahoo! Games is partnering with third-party developers to help them tap into its cross-platform multiplayer games experience and Yahoo!’s community network services.

Additionally, these developers will be able to be able to reach Yahoo!’s expansive consumer base of passionate gamers.

“The tools and applications that we are offering our industry partners, will not only provide exciting new game play experiences for consumers,” said Graber, “but will also provide our partners the opportunity to leverage Yahoo!’s extensive network of millions of users, presenting new sales, marketing, advertising and cross-promotional opportunities.”