Digital Chocolate purchases Sumea

Digital Chocolate, the San Mateo-based mobile entertainment company headed by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, announced this morning that it has acquired Finnish mobile games developer Sumea. Digital Chocolate is planning to leverage Sumea's games catalog and European distribution contacts to boost its influence throughout the mobile gaming sphere, according to Hawkins. The merged company will retain Sumea's brand for distributing existing Sumea products.

“Acquiring Sumea provides Digital Chocolate with strong, established partnerships with major global carriers, broad geographic distribution and an entire catalog of top-rated games,” said Trip Hawkins, CEO of Digital Chocolate, in a statement. “Our mission is to enhance the everyday experience for the millions of people on the world’s most ubiquitous computing platform. Sumea’s 24 titles, great carrier relationships and industry leadership get us closer to that goal.”

Based in Helsinki, Finland, Sumea ("Fuzzy" in Finnish) is best known for its platformer-style games, such as Yo Yo Fighter, Zoy's Rescue Mission, and its mobile versions of Activision's Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. Since its founding in 1999, Sumea has distributed games through a number of prominent European and North American mobile operators, including Vodafone, O2, Orange, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, and Cingular Wireless.

Digital Chocolate was started by veteran software games businessman Trip Hawkins in late 2003 to develop and publish mobile entertainment applications, including games, social networking tools, and lifestyle applications. The company's own products are slated to appear for download on US carriers later this summer.