A patent filed by World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment seems to indicate the company's desire to integrate their gaming properties with the convenience of mobile phones.
The patent is for a system called "Battlechat" and refers to "virtual network telecommunications services,
namely, providing an interface for the electronic transmission of
messages and data including voice, text, and message transmission."
While the patent doesn't expressly guarantee that you'll be able to slay dragons from your iPhone, it does point towards at least a desire by the company to somehow merge its PC properties with the ubiquitous cellular phone market.
If I had to speculate based purely on
the description, I'm thinking "Battlechat" could be an extension of
Blizzard's Battle.net online matchmaking and communication service
currently in use in the firm's Diablo, StarCraft and non-MMO WarCraft titles.
In the interest of full disclosure, it also seems that the patent is no
longer accessible via the USPTO site. While I have no reason to doubt
the veracity of Blizzplanet's claims, especially since they have a
photographic copy of the patent on their site, I leave it to you to
take this with as much salt as you'd like.
BattleChat -- World of Warcraft Mobile? [Blizzplanet]
