IN-FUSIO AND MICROSOFT GAME STUDIOS INK SWEEPING LICENSE DEAL FOR WIRELESS GAMING
IN-FUSIO partners with Microsoft Game Studios to globally port and publish range of blockbuster games to mobile. The Global deal covers EGE*, ExEnâ, Javaä, BREWä, Windows' Mobileä And Symbianä platforms 3GSM, Cannes, France - February 23rd 2004. IN-FUSIO, a leading mobile games service provider in Europe, US, and China, today announced that it has signed with Microsoft Game Studios one of the largest license deals to date for the exclusive porting and publishing of six games to mobile devices. The world famous titles to make their debut on all major mobile platforms in 2004 are: Age of Empiresâ 2 Gold Edition, Midtown Madnessâ 3, Zoo Tycoonä, Banjo-Kazooieâ: Grunty's Revenge, Banjo Pilot, It's Mr. Pantsä and Sabre Wulfä. Cumulatively, these six franchises have been played by over 17 million players world-wide. IN-FUSIO has been chosen by Microsoft Game Studios to globally represent these titles in the wireless space due to its world-wide presence and its unique knowledge of players through ExEn, IN-FUSIO's game engine embedded in 15 million handsets and adopted by 8 million unique players. The first game to be launched under the agreement will be the classic car racing game 'Midtown Madness 3', which will make its first appearance on ExEn and EGE platforms in June 2004. An 'alpha' version of Midtown Madness 3, including 3D and multi-player capability, will be shown at 3GSM in the 'Gaming Zone', which is sponsored by IN-FUSIO (Hall 4). Commenting on the announcement, Gilles Raymond, co-CEO and President, IN-FUSIO, said: "We are delighted to join Microsoft Game Studios in this bold initiative. Microsoft's recent commitment to license some of its best-known titles for the mobile games arena is a clear indication of the industry's maturity. With our focus on gamers' fun and innovative services to operators, we look forward to making these Microsoft games on mobile a reality." "IN-FUSIO's broad platform support and legions of players made them an excellent choice for bringing some of our biggest game titles to wireless devices," said Ed Ventura, Director of the Consumer Products Group for Microsoft Game Studios. "Each of these games already has worldwide appeal, and once they're wireless, people will truly be playing them everywhere." * NOTE: EGE, ExEn Gaming Extensions, is IN-FUSIO's new gaming engine, created to run on all MIDP 2.0 handsets. It is designed for the end-user: improvement of the game play, user-friendly interface and innovative service offering. Come and see live demo Hall 4 Gaming Zone. About IN-FUSIO IN-FUSIO is the number one wireless games services provider for carriers in the US, Europe and China. As a games publisher and game service provider, IN-FUSIO provides a clear entry point for brands and game developers to effortlessly enter the mobile games market. From stand-alone Java(tm) games to a fully managed and integrated games service, IN-FUSIO has unparalleled industry experience. Customers include Vodafone D2, Orange France, SFR, Orange UK, Vodafone Omnitel, Telefonica Moviles, China Mobile and Verizon. To date, IN-FUSIO games are accessible through a range of handsets: Nokia, Motorola, Sharp, LG, Toshiba, Sagem, Panasonic, Alcatel, Philips, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Bird et Vitelcom. Already 8 million players have enjoyed IN-FUSIO's 40 games and services. In November 2003, IN-FUSIO acquired Cybiko Wireless based in the US. For more information, please visit the IN-FUSIO website at www.in-fusio.com