Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. has released an updated mobile adaptation of classic Contra 4 for the old school gaming aficionado.

Now available for purchase through major carriers such as AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, Contra 4 was released as part of Konami Mobile's strategy to target a growing demographic of mobile game users over 35.

"Game downloads are increasing monthly and we're finding that franchise games are more popular," said Chad McNeill, marketing manager for Konami, Los Angeles.

"Part of the reason that franchise games are popular is that there are very few abilities to show someone a physical package from a mobile phone, so they have to rely on the popularity of the brand,"
he said.

Konami is a developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Published titles include Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania.

The company's updated game features a whole new linear storyline that follows the main character Bill. It also features a new character Solomon Caesar and the first user-generated character to be included in a Konami game, stemming from a fan's winning entry in a Contra character design contest.

Classic users will also be surprised by a new grappling hook feature.

"As opposed to just jumping up and down on the different ledges to reach the enemies, there are various different grappling hook posts and the player can just shoot their grappling up to quickly attack the enemy," Mr. McNeill said.

AT&T and T-Mobile users can download the game by texting contra4 to 566264 or find instructions on how to download the game to a mobile device via shortcode at www.konamimobile.com.

Verizon Wireless users access the content on-deck, or within its walled garden.

"Verizon has a closed network, but they allow people to text into our shortcode for SMS promotions like the one we are running for Contra. Unfortunately it's not possible for a WAP push link to be sent to a Verizon handset just yet, but users can still get the game from their "Get It Now" portal on their devices," Mr. McNeill said.

Konami is marking the 20th anniversary of the Contra franchise by launching a month-long sweepstakes. From now through December, users can text c4 to 566264 to be entered to win a Nintendo Wii, mobile phone or Konami console title.

"Anyone on any carrier can text to the shortcode and they will get a series of seven questions and upon completing they are entered to win," Mr. McNeill said. "And they can play as many times as they want over the course of the month."

On Verizon, the questions are text-based. The AT&T and T-Mobile version of the questionnaire includes screen shots from the game.

The Konami Mobile site features mobile game emulators as well as art and video, so consumers can sample the new games before purchasing them.

"For mobile we're re-releasing the classic metal gear as a prerelease to the new metal gear solid mobile, which is a new game designed for the mobile platform," Mr. McNeill said. "We also have a new Frogger being released soon."