Palm webOS PDK Public Beta Now Available

Palm this week will be demonstrating 3D gaming at GDC (Game Developer’s Conference) in San Francisco. As perfect timing would have it, the company has announce the public beta release of webOS PDK or plug-in development kit. For those of you who have checked out Need for Speed or any of the App Catalog 3D games, they were developed using the PDK. With this now available, this should allow for expanded App Catalog offerings. Full press release after the break. Developers can find more information and download the PDK by hitting up developer.palm.com.

Palm Demonstrates New Games at Game Developers Conference

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SAN FRANCISCO, Mar 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Game Developers Conference (GDC) – Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today announced that a public beta version of the Palm^(R) webOS(TM) Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) is now available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). Palm is demonstrating new games from early PDK developers in its booth at GDC (No. 2016).

The PDK complements the Palm webOS Software Development Kit (SDK), letting developers use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app. The PDK enables new functionality, including immersive 3D graphics, and gives developers who have built games for other platforms an easy way to bring their titles to the webOS platform. Developers can download the beta PDK and start developing today, but distribution of games built with the beta PDK will require functionality provided in an upcoming Palm webOS update.

“Palm webOS is the go-to platform for great games on two of the three leading carrier networks,” said Katie Mitic, senior vice president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. “We have both the developer tools and the hardware necessary for a world-class gaming experience, and an impressive portfolio of webOS game titles from top-notch developers to show for it.”

At CES in January, Palm introduced 12 games built by four leading developers with early access to the PDK:

• “Asphalt 5″ (Gameloft)
• “Brain Challenge^(R)” (Gameloft)
• “Glyder 2″ (Glu Mobile)
• “Let’s Golf!” (Gameloft)
• “MONOPOLY” (EA Mobile(TM))
• “Need for Speed(TM) Undercover” (EA Mobile)
• “SCRABBLE” (EA Mobile)
• “Sudoku” (EA Mobile)
• “Tetris^(R)” (EA Mobile)
• “The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)
• “The Sims(TM) 3″ (EA Mobile)
• “X-Plane” (Laminar Research)

Since then, more than 20 exciting webOS titles have been launched by these early-access developers:

• “Apollo” (Laminar Research)
• “Assassin’s Creed(TM) – Altair’s Chronicles” (Gameloft)
• “Brothers In Arms^(R): Hour of Heroes” (Gameloft)
• “Castle of Magic” (Gameloft)
• “Deer Hunter 3D” (Glu Mobile)
• “Dungeon Hunter” (Gameloft)
• “Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)
• “Gangstar: West Coast Hustle” (Gameloft)
• “Giant Fighting Robots” (Laminar Research)
• “Guitar Hero 5 Mobile” (Glu Mobile)
• “Hero of Sparta” (Gameloft)
• “Real Soccer 2010″ (Gameloft)
• “Real Tennis” (Gameloft)
• “World Series of Poker: Hold’em Legend” (Glu Mobile)
• “X-Plane Airliner” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Carrier” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Extreme” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Glider” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Helicopter” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Racing” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Space Shuttle” (Laminar Research)

“The Palm webOS PDK is extremely powerful and far-reaching, as evidenced by the number of titles we’ve been able to bring to the webOS platform in a very short time,” said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing, Americas, Gameloft. “It’s quite difficult to make a great phone that’s also an outstanding gaming platform; Palm has been successful delivering both.”

More information about the beta PDK is available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). More information about games for Palm webOS is available at www.palm.com/applications.