ket for pocket-sized games! According to BusinessWeek, with nearly 2 billion cell phones capable of playing games by the year 2010, this emerging industry may reach as high as $18 billion, making it bigger than music ringtones or text messaging. New trends in mobile gaming are turning reality TV fans into active participants. The multibillion-dollar gaming industry is exploding in part because creative gaming companies like Artificial Life, Inc., have developed innovative ways to extend people’s fa- vorite entertainment experiences into interactive, on-the-go fun. These mobile games makeit possible not just to watch your favorite reality TV program, but join the action; not just listen to a favorite band’s music, but experience life on the road with it in a “virtual” tour bus. Mobile games from this company include ones based on popular reality TV shows such as “America’s Next Top Model,” “Big Brother All-Stars” and “Bad Girls Club.” Several of these games synchronize in real time with the TV shows on whichthey’re based. For example, when a contestant is voted off “America’s Next Top Model” each week, a user playing the mobile game version of the show will see the corresponding avatar disappear from his or her handheld device. The games also incorporate voice technologies that allow for prerecorded voice Get Real! New types of mobile games link players to popular reality shows. calls, text messages, and updates from the real participants of the show. Branching out into the music world, the company has recently signed an exclusive worldwide deal to produce mobile games for European sensation Tokio Hotel. Other titles include: “Poli—the Bear,” a game with a strong environmental message, with proceeds benefiting the World Wildlife Fund; and “V-Boy” and “V-Girl,” games that invite players to take virtual dates to the hottest clubs and restaurants and impressideal boyfriend and girlfriend avatars with their charms. With a world of entertainment options just a cell phone ring away, this company is turning television dreams into entertainmentreality. For more information on the games or the company, visit www.artificial-life.com.
