Oberon Media's I-play mobile publishing division has won the license to develop, publish and distribute a mobile game based on NBC's game show, "Deal or No Deal."

The North American licensing agreement was signed with Endemol USA, a leading independent production company which owns television programming franchises such as Deal or No Deal, "Big Brother" and "1 vs. 100."

"The challenge in the current mobile marketplace is that we are seeing carriers being more selective about which games and products they feature," said Will Emrick, manager of mobile products and licensing at Endemol USA, Los Angeles.

"Our strategy is to work closer with top publishers that have better marketing and better all-around distribution," he said. "With I-play, we expect a top product and more opportunities for Deal or No Deal fans to find and discover one of the top mobile games and brands in the marketplace."

Just like in the show, gamers will be challenged to select a briefcase that holds a random monetary amount between one cent and $1 million.

During each round, players can either stay with their original briefcase or make a "deal or no deal" by either accepting the banker's offer or gambling by opening remaining cases. Once a participant decides to accept or decline the bank's offer, the game is over.

Prior to this deal, Endemol worked with another mobile gaming company called Mobliss to release a different Deal or No Deal game which garnered more than 1.5 million downloads.

When asked about the challenges, Mike Breslin, vice president of marketing at I-play, said, "How do we integrate one of the highest-rated game shows on television into a mobile phone game and still deliver a unique and fresh experience?

"I-play is working directly with the Deal or No Deal show creators to ensure we capture the essence of the show and bring something new to the Deal or No Deal fans in the mobile game," he said.