Artificial Life Launches Mobile Games in India with IDEA Cellular

Hong Kong-based Artificial Life, Inc. (OTC BB:ALIF.OB - News), a leading provider of award-winning mobile 3G technology, games and applications, announced today that it has partnered with IDEA Cellular to distribute its mobile games and content in India, a thriving mobile gaming market.

IDEA Cellular will soon launch mobile games such as V-girl(r), V-boyfriend(tm), Poli - the Bear(tm), V-Penguins(tm), Let Go Of My Banana(tm), Swine Dining(tm), America's Next Top Model, as well as associated wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, and video mails.

`According to a recent Pyramid Research survey of mobile phone users across the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries and the U.K., India ranked as the top mobile game market. Of the respondents in India that identified themselves as mobile data users, 32% said that they play mobile games monthly, exceeding the UK mark of 15%. Pyramid Research believes the mobile gaming market could expand 700% by 2010, to more than US$200 million annually. Mobile gaming is the latest urban craze in India. We are delighted to have IDEA Cellular support our distribution; we believe that our titles will appeal particularly to the mass market between the ages of 15 to 26,'' said Eberhard Schoneburg, CEO of Artificial Life, Inc.

About IDEA Cellular

As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to operate in 13 service areas. With over 17 million customers, IDEA Cellular has operations in the states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. IDEA Cellular's footprint currently covers approximately 45% of India's population and over 50% of the potential telecom-market. IDEA also has licenses to operate in the service areas of Mumbai and Bihar.

IDEA is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a US $24 billion corporation with a market cap. of US $23 billion and in the League of Fortune 500, anchored by an extraordinary force of 100,000 employees, belonging to 25 different nationalities. Over 50 per cent of its revenues flow from its operations across the world. In India, the Group has been adjudged ``The Best Employer in India and among the top 20 in Asia'' by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007.

More about IDEA Cellular Ltd. at http://www.IDEAcellular.com/

About Artificial Life

Artificial Life, Inc. (OTC BB:ALIF.OB - News) is a public U.S. corporation headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Berlin (EMEA headquarters) and Tokyo. We are a leading global provider of award winning mobile technology, content, games and applications (see also our Company's homepage: http://www.artificial-life.com; and our m-commerce portal: http://www.botme.com). We focus on 3G games and entertainment and our main clients and partners are: CBS, Warner Bros., Ericsson, Oxygen, SevenOne Intermedia (ProSiebenSat.1).

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our future results of operations, financial condition and business prospects. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as ``may,'' ``will,'' ``should,'' ``expect,'' ``intend,'' ``plan,'' ``anticipate,'' ``believe,'' ``estimate,'' ``predict,'' ``potential,'' ``continue,'' or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to obtain additional funding to operate and grow our business; the unproven potential of our mobile gaming business model; changing consumer preferences and uncertainty of market acceptance of our products; timely adoption and availability of 3G mobile technology; market acceptance for use of mobile handheld devices to play the interactive games; unpredictable mobile game development schedules; our reliance on a relatively small number of brands; our ability to license brands from others; our dependence upon resellers and telecommunication carriers and operators to distribute our products; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB filed on April 3, 2007. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.

Contact:

          Artificial Life, Inc.
         Sandy Yeung
         +852 3102 2800
         ir@artificial-life.com

Mobile gaming takes off in India

Analysts say India's young population is driving the demand

Gaming on the move is one of the fastest-growing activities among the tech-savvy in India, says a report.

The Indian mobile gaming market is expected to generate about $26m (£13.8m) by the end of 2004, according to market analysts In-Stat/MDR.

In October, mobile phone users grew by 1.4 million to 44.9 million, overtaking the number of landlines, said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Analysts say cheap rates and a huge youth market is driving the market.

India has a large population of under-25s, and many in urban areas are fast adopting mobiles as must-have gadgets.

The growth of this market sector has attracted publishers, developers, animators, musicians, and content providers Clint Wheelock, In-Stat/MDR

India's mobile gaming market will bring in about $336m (£178m) by 2009, according to the report.

Mobile gaming is expected to explode globally over the next few years.

Analysts predict that 220 million people will be playing games on phones by 2009, generating billions for mobile companies.

Leapfrog technology

Services other than just voice calls which are offered by mobile operators in India have, as a result of the huge rise in subscribers, grown significantly and rapidly.

"The growth of this market sector has attracted publishers, developers, animators, musicians, and content providers, and is also stimulating the development of innovative business models," said Clint Wheelock, director of In-Stat/MDR's wireless research group.

The gaming on the move craze is attracting software companies

"Mobile gaming is not just about fun; it also represents one key element of a rich mobile entertainment experience for consumers, and a lucrative market opportunity for industry players."

Currently, India has six big games developers and four mobile operators that offer games to their subscribers, said the report.

According to In-Stat/MDR, it is tipped to make up one of the most important markets in the next wave of mobile multimedia growth.

Leapfrog technology

In January 2003, there were only 10 million mobile subscribers in India.

Many choose mobiles in rural areas in order to bypass poorer telecoms infrastructure.

Despite this, the penetration rate is still much lower that other countries.

Less than 20% of India's total population own a mobile in India, compared to well over 50% in most European countries.

The trend echoes the uptake of mobiles in many developing economies, which continues to grow as people opt to leapfrog slower and more expensive state-run fixed-line operators.

Glu’s free mobile games(Demo) available

Play continues despite rain this Summer as Glu offers free trials of Transformers, Sonic Jump, My Hangman and Brain Genius

London and Manchester - 22 August 2007- Glu Mobile Inc. (Nasdaq: GLUU), a leading global publisher of mobile games, will be taking mobile gaming out to the British public this Summer. Teams of promoters will be hitting the streets of London and Manchester targeting commuters, shoppers and festival goers beginning August 21st offering free game demo downloads for some of the latest Glu games.

The promotion will run for two weeks, during which the Glu teams will be demonstrating Glu's most recent releases including Transformers, Sonic Jump, My Hangman and Brain Genius.

Patrick Mork, Glu's marketing director for EMEA commented,"Market research has continuously shown that consumers' inability to try games before buying them represents one of the key barriers to growing our industry today. Glu is committed to executing marketing campaigns that not only drive awareness of our great brands but also make trying mobile games an easy, fun and risk-free experience that drives more people to download games. The'I Love British Summer' campaign is an integral part of this philosophy and we're excited to be working with our operator partners to make this happen."

The street promotions tie in with Glu's on-deck summer games promotions with UK operators this summer. After texting GET GAMES to 83900, mobile users will receive a link from which to download free demo versions of some of Glu's most popular titles. The demo versions downloaded will allow consumers to try Glu's games for free for a limited period of time. Once the demo expires, consumers will have the option to purchase a full version of the game.

For more information, visit www.glu.com.

Game Demos

World in Conflict Demo

This demo includes a tutorial, a single-player map, and support for multiplayer domination mode.

BioShock Demo

This demo lets you sample the beginning of the game and the early portions of the underwater city Rapture.

Medal of Honor: Airborne Demo

This demo gives you a taste of the latest in the Medal of Honor series.

The Settlers: Rise of an Empire Beta

This open beta includes a single-player tutorial mission and support for online or LAN play in four multiplayer maps.

TOP RATED GAMES SO FAR...

Title	Score	Released
Diablo	9.6	Jan 23, 1997
World of Warcraft	9.5	Nov 29, 2004
Unreal Tournament	9.5	Dec 9, 1999
Command & Conquer Red Alert	9.5	Nov 26, 1996
Grand Prix II	9.5	Aug 15, 1996
Civilization IV	9.4	Oct 26, 2005
Unreal Tournament 2004	9.4	Mar 16, 2004
FreeSpace 2	9.4	Oct 15, 1999
NASCAR Racing 3	9.4	Sep 27, 1999
Half-Life	9.4	Nov 20, 1998
Battlezone	9.4	Mar 20, 1998
Chessmaster 5500	9.4	Dec 24, 1997
Chessmaster 5000	9.4	Aug 23, 1996
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	9.3	Mar 25, 2006
Battlefield 2	9.3	Jun 20, 2005
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay	9.3	Dec 10, 2004
Freedom Fighters	9.3	Sep 19, 2003
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	9.3	May 23, 2003
Rise of Nations	9.3	May 21, 2003
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way	9.3	Sep 27, 2002
Mafia	9.3	Sep 4, 2002
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos	9.3	Jul 3, 2002
Grand Theft Auto III	9.3	May 28, 2002
FIFA Soccer 2002	9.3	Nov 19, 2001
Flight Simulator 2002	9.3	Nov 7, 2001
Black & White	9.3	Mar 30, 2001
The Operative: No One Lives Forever	9.3	Nov 10, 2000
The Longest Journey	9.3	Jun 26, 2000
Rayman 2: The Great Escape	9.3	Dec 2, 1999
Myth II: Soulblighter	9.3	Dec 30, 1998
Grim Fandango	9.3	Oct 30, 1998
Sid Meier's Gettysburg!	9.3	Oct 30, 1997
Total Annihilation	9.3	Oct 1, 1997
Quake	9.3	Jun 22, 1996
Command & Conquer	9.3	May 1, 1996
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness	9.3	May 1, 1996
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade	9.2	Feb 5, 2007
Guild Wars	9.2	May 4, 2005
Half-Life 2	9.2	Nov 15, 2004
Far Cry	9.2	Mar 23, 2004
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004	9.2	Oct 13, 2003
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne	9.2	Jul 2, 2003
Age of Mythology	9.2	Nov 1, 2002
Madden NFL 2003	9.2	Aug 20, 2002
Neverwinter Nights	9.2	Jun 24, 2002
IL-2 Sturmovik	9.2	Dec 4, 2001
Return to Castle Wolfenstein	9.2	Nov 27, 2001
Civilization III	9.2	Oct 30, 2001
NHL 2002	9.2	Sep 19, 2001
Max Payne	9.2	Jul 27, 2001

Dish TV to Offer Playjam Gaming Services in India

Dish TV will be India’s first Direct-To-Home provider which will provide gaming services as a special feature on its set top boxes. The private DTH, which is promoted by Subhash Chandra owned-Essel Group, gotten into an agreement with US-based Open TV for transferring this technology for around $100 million over 5 years. Playjam is a gaming product from Open TV stable and would be unveiled by the end of this month.

Jawahar Goel, business head, Dish TV says, “We are going to launch Playjam on our platform by the end of July. By 2007, we would have another gaming package. We are also looking to have a range of interactive content in movies, music and sports too. With the parity in content, DTH players would have to compete on the basis of price, brand, quality of service and VAS. It would be like the Telecom companies, all of which provide voice and text connectivity, but still compete and VAS is a crucial parameter.”

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India have denied content exclusivity and so now providers will have to depend on Value Added Service (VAS). Gaming is catching up in India on a large scale and so this option seems to be the best.

Gaming as a Career Option in India by Jump Games

We literally ‘jumped’ with joy when we were invited to the Jump Games HQ to have a look at their workplace and more importantly, to talk to the people who make the beautiful games that you play on your mobile phones.

GameGuru.in has an exclusive interview with the Executive VP Ninad Chhaya, which we will be uploading later this week. However, most importantly we got an opportunity to speak with the heads of the graphics, game designing and the technology departments of Jump Games, who gave us valuable information that would be helpful to you if you are interested in charting a career in the gaming industry.

First up, we spoke to Ninad Chhaya who feels that the best time to get into the gaming industry is right now as it is booming in India and also clarifies the misconception that only programmers and graphic designers are welcome in the creative world of gaming. There are other departments like testing and biz-dev too.

He said, “There are other segments available in the gaming industry across various verticals where they can look at getting into the gaming space. You could look at entering the gaming industry as a tester where you would be spending time testing games or you could look at the biz-dev side on sales and marketing. You could look at overseeing, if you have good skills in project management; you could look at production side of things. If you are a creative artist or a sound designer or if you are good with graphics or animations, definitely there is an art side of it. Audio visuals and sound are another aspect; programming definitely is an option. So it is not just programming or graphics which are an option.”

Ninad is regularly approached by aspiring professionals who play games for twelve to fourteen hours a day and now want to become a part of the gaming industry. He advises that people who want to make it into the gaming industry should look where their core competency lies and accordingly just go ahead and follow their passion. Ninad also feels that passion is an important thing that aspiring gaming professionals should have. He explains, “One of the main points to be a part of the gaming industry is to be passionate about what you do. Apart from that, tools can be taught, skills are something that you need to have and passion is a must.”

After meeting Ninad Chhaya, we then went and had a little chat with Advait Goregaonkar who is the Art & Animation - Team Leader. Interestingly proving Ninad’s point, we came to know that Advait is an interior designer who had a keen interest in games and followed his passion when he joined Jump Games as a Junior Level artist three years ago and then worked his way up. His advice to people who want to come in to gaming, “You need to play a lot of games and live them. You have to study games, what are games and how do you accept the challenges and how to create graphics. If I talk about mobile gaming, it is the smallest screen ever possible you can play upon and to extract in that character, its characteristics, its essence and everything into the smallest possible size, it is a challenge in itself. Therefore, you have to study it and that is the way you get into it. The first thing is you have to play games.”

When asked about the time taken to develop games, he quipped, “It depends on what kind of game it is. Normal course of game could take around graphics team to make upon, it takes around a month or so to make one game, a normal, medium size game as such. But some games would extend to three to six months and some games, of the smallest span may come to seven days also.”

Then we headed to the conference room where we met Jaideep Hotha, Wireless Technology Manager of Jump Games. Jaideep looks after the technology department and told us that they work on three main platforms- J2ME or Java to Mobile Edition, BREW, which is the C platform by Qualcomm and also the binary runtime environment for wireless. They also work on the Symbian platform as well as on 3D games.

Hotha remarked that the most important thing is that there are no institutes or courses available that teach wireless technology. Most of the employees who start with Jump are either freshers who have their basic education with engineering, mostly computer engineers and experienced people who have been working on some other domain but on the wireless side of it, like for example, application development, banking, mobile banking.

His suggestion to the professionals who want to make a career in gaming is, “I would suggest, most important is that when you are choosing gaming as career, you must have interest, first of all, in gaming and faith that gaming is one of the most upcoming areas of careers that everyone is taking very seriously.”

Next up to enter the conference room was Jump Games’ Lead Game Designer - Jaydev Dhakan. Before joining Jump Games, this commerce graduate did a lot of odd technology jobs like programming, graphics and teaching animation. He started as a games tester and then moved to the game designing team that he now heads.

He has to basically come up with ideas and put them down in a proper organized manner so that the entire development team can handle and understand it and convert that particular idea into a final finished product. For that, he his helped by the marketing team who give inputs about the kind of games that are required by the clients. Jaydev then conceptualizes the entire idea and then sends it to marketing team, who in turn send it to the client for approval. Once the concept has been approved, they break it down into meticulous segments like characters and products. For example, what is the game going to look like or why is that character going to walk that way or why is he going to run that way or how fast or slow the character is going to be. Then there is level designing which is an important part in game designing. These are the things he has to explain to the development team.

Jaydev feels that freshers who want to make a mark in the game designing industry should first understand games. He said, “For some one who is a complete fresher, my advice would be to first understand games are. Everyone has ideas that this would make a good game that would make a good game. It is bringing down that idea to the final product; that is what skill is all about. So brush up on your skills.”

He also explained to us that a good game designer should have a lot of knowledge. Jaydev says, “A good game designer is a person who has a variety of interests, someone who understands psychologies and has passion for philosophy and understand the technical side of things like how programming and graphic designing work. He is like a know-it-all kind of a person who knows everything. He is more like a movie director. He should know a bit about everything that goes into making the game and someone who is passionate about gaming could get into testing. That’s how you learn a lot.”

So all in all, if your passion is gaming and you have the necessary skills, nothing can stop you from making your mark in the booming field of gaming.

Indiagames Partners with Reliance for Superman Game

Indiagames has collaborated with Reliance Communications to sell the content of the latest Hollywood flick, Superman Returns. Indiagames is the official distributor of Superman mobile content in India.

Reliance has a very large reach of about 4,000 cities and towns in India. A Superman zone has been designed on Reliance Mobile World. This will allow Reliance Mobile users to download Superman video clips, wallpapers and play a specially designed Superman mobile game. The game is priced at Rs. 10 and Rs. 15 per session.

“Don Kaun” Nationwide Mobile Gaming Contest Launched By Jump Games and Reliance Communications

Jump Games and Reliance Communications have stated that they will be launching an India-wide mobile gaming contest known as Don Kaun.

This contest will feature 10 mobile games developed by Jump Games including Sameera the Street Fighter, Bappi Da Disco King, Run Maddy Run, and Baichung Bhutia Pro Striker. A small number of international titles like Maradona and Van Damme Kick Boxing will also feature in Don Kaun.

Salil Bhargava, CEO, Jump Games says, “Mobile gaming is on a steady rise in India and this countrywide contest on Reliance Mobile World is an outstanding platform to reach out to our audiences. We have some of our finest games up for Don Kaun Contest and we hope that people have a good time playing them and of course, winning prizes that are up for grabs.”

Mahesh Prasad, President Application Solutions & Content Group, Reliance Communications said, “Reliance Mobile’s pioneering sachet-based pricing for mobile games has shaped a large mobile gaming community within the Reliance network. The Don Kaun contest is sure to generate excitement among our subscribers.”

Daily, weekly and monthly winners will get gifts like iPods, PS2, Xboxs along with a Plasma TV for one lucky winner. However, the Grand Winner of the “Don Kaun” Mobile Gaming Contest will get a date with the sultry Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy.

John Abraham to Play Prince of Persia?

Everyone is excited about the forthcoming film based on the video game, Prince of Persia. It is known that Michael Bay is working on the film, but the full cast of the Prince of Persia is not known as yet. However, Mumbai tabloid Mid Day is reporting that Bollywood actor John Abraham will play lead in the film.

In fact, a fan based in the United Kingdom has posted sketches of the Bollywood heartthrob on the official website. The fan, Venetia Sarll, has been rallying for John Abraham to get the role in Michael Bay’s adaptation of the Prince of Persia video game.

The webmaster of the site, Sujoy Mukherjee reveals that Venetia is one of the biggest fans of John Abraham and she was excited about starting an online campaign to get him in the movie. The Dhoom actor was also awed by the sketches. John Abraham says, “Venetia is the most dedicated member of my site. I just loved the sketches she has made. In fact, there was even an online poll on a fan site and her sketches topped the list.”

However, it is yet not confirmed whether John Abraham will play the lead. And there is no information on the female lead. But, it would be great if they take Bipasha Basu as the female lead as their on-screen chemistry would be awesome!

Bipasha Basu Jet Ski Champ to be Launched by Jump Games

After sizzling in the Beach Blaze game from Zapak, Bipasha Basu is all set to ‘jump’ from the sand on to the water. Jump Games has sent word that they have signed a two-year exclusive worldwide contract with Bipasha Basu to develop and distribute various mobile game titles based on her. The first game is ‘Bipasha Basu Jet Ski Champ’.

The Bipasha Basu game will see the actress as a master Jet Ski rider who challenges the world’s best to an adrenalin-pumping jet-ski ride across exotic circuits. Bipasha Basu Jet Ski Champ has been made especially for the sultry actress’ fans who want to play as her character.

Bipasha Basu seems to be very excited about the game. She says, “This is something really novel for me and I’m looking forward to a successful gaming association with Jump Games. They have already created some extremely popular quality titles in the past and have done a great job with the games. Through these games my fans will get to see the athletic, adventurous and skillful side of me. I am a sports fan and today it’s a conscious effort to select my films and related work accordingly, to bring out my sporty, exploratory persona… let’s hope my fans like it!”

Salil Bhargava is the chief executive officer of Jump Games. He maintained, “Bipasha is one of the most successful celebrity brands today and her personality lends itself wonderfully to games. We are quite positive that with the increasing popularity of celebrity games in the market, the titles created for Bipasha will do well. Jump as an organization is committed to constantly providing our audiences with fresh content, and with this association, we are another step closer to that.”

Bipasha Basu Jet Ski Champ will be launched on all leading networks by Jump Games in some time. Besides this game, fans can expect two more Bipasha Basu games. One is a casual title based on the popular urban sport of bowling while the other sees Bipasha playing a sci-fi princess, who is all set to save the planet from galactic enemies.

These days’ game developers are going after every Indian celebrity available to make games on them. But most of these games are either online casual games or mobile games. Agreed that these genres are popular in India, but it would be great to see game developers make next-gen games that are for the PC, Xbox 360 or the PS3.

‘Trivia Champ’, a Mobile-based Cricket Trivia Game unveiled by Cricinfo

Cricinfo Mobile has just unveiled a trivia game for mobile users to test their cricket knowledge against other cricket fans across India. The trivia game, called ‘Trivia Champ’ has been developed by Dhruva interactive is available on Airtel and Hutch at Rs.99 and Rs.50 respectively.

Trivia Champ is a multiplayer game, which requires one to be connected while playing, so we are guessing that you would have to be connected to GPRS for gameplay. But the prizes on offer, which include iPod Shuffles, DVD players, sunglasses and subscription to the Cricinfo magazine are worth trying out Trivia Champ.

Cricinfo has trivia games lined up for series featuring India over the next 12 months. They even plan to launch trivia games based on the World Cup.

This is not the usual kind of gaming that we report on, but nevertheless it’s a game to be played on your mobile especially for cricket fans that are fond of trivia and not real action.

Two Cricket Games to be Launched Around the World Cup by KrishCricket

Ok, all you cricket fans, if you can’t get enough of cricket, here is a nice piece of news for you. KrishCricket, a website, which is related to former Indian cricketer, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, is planning to release two new cricket games around the time of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

That’s a lot of cricket games, as some time ago even Zapak launched a cricket game as well as an online cricket tournament. So now, its eat cricket, sleep cricket, play online cricket all the time!