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I-Play and First Star Software Sign Global Deal for Boulder Dash® M.E.™ 2
San Mateo, CA & London, UK – 16th December 2005:
Mobile gamers the world over will soon have a chance to renew their love affair
with Boulder Dash®, First Star Software’s multi-million unit selling, timeless
and much-loved classic action-puzzle game, thanks to a global, exclusive
co-publishing deal announced today between First Star and I-play, the mobile
games company.
Rockford™, the game’s key character, thus makes a long-awaited return to mobile
phones following a very successful debut in the first mobile version of the
title, which launched in Spring of 2003. The original Boulder Dash-M.E. was
released in 11 languages and was featured by leading carriers and portals
thorough out the world having met with both critical acclaim and commercial
success receiving a Number One Mobile Game ranking by international mobile games
review website Midlet-Review as well as their coveted TIP/Star award.
The universally loved Boulder Dash franchise -- first released in 1984 for home
computers, and the subject of a wide range of coin-op arcade, console, hand-held
and PC games ever since – now will be available to a wider audience than ever
before thanks to I-play’s distribution to over 100 mobile network operators
serving over a billion mobile phone subscribers. The simple-to-play but
difficult-to-master game, boasting 3 difficulty settings and an incredible 90
caves but true to I-play’s philosophy of accessible one-thumb games delivering
instant fun, will be launching across a wide range of handsets on six continents
in the Spring of 2006.
The familiar game play has been updated with new graphics, features (such as the
ability to rotate the screen 90° at a time, kick objects, smash boulders with
hammers and collect and use bombs) and puzzle challenges, requiring players to
guide Rockford around scrolling caves of boulders, diamonds and animated
enemies. The goal is to collect a set quota of diamonds and then find the
previously concealed exit in order to advance to the next cave before time runs
out. Boulders can be pushed or dropped by digging through the earth that
supports them, but one must be careful and avoid being hit by a falling boulder,
caught by one of the enemies, missing out on necessary diamonds, or burying the
exit under an avalanche: a winning formula that has captivated gamers for over
two decades.
Paul Maglione, I-play’s Senior Vice President of Publishing and Marketing
commented, “Boulder Dash M.E. 2 is a welcome addition to our 2006 portfolio, and
we are delighted to be able to bring this updated version to the market in
association with First Star Software. Arcade classics have proven themselves
beyond a doubt in the mobile gaming space, and Boulder Dash has the added
advantage of having already done very well on mobiles. Welcome back Rockford!”
Richard M. Spitalny, President of First Star Software, Inc., commented, “We’re
delighted to be working again with both our development partners at InstantCom
and with I-play. Digital Bridges, as they were known back then, was one of our
first distributors when we initially released Boulder Dash-M.E.; now, several
hundreds of thousands of units later, we’re looking forward to partnering with
them exclusively as we prepare to launch Boulder Dash®-M.E.™ 2 throughout the
world.”
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