As Tom Brokaw from the NBC Nightly News once said “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” and Artificial Life, Inc. is doing just that. With over 100 titles in the mobile applications industry, 7 existing in the iPhone market, and achieving over 3 million downloads in the first quarter of 2009, Artificial Life, Inc. continues to make a difference across all mobile platforms. You may be familiar with their most popular titles, iSoccer Backstreet, iDroids Mania, Red Bull Air Race World Championship, and more.

We sat down with Eberhard Schoneburg, CEO of Artificial Life, Inc. to discuss the influences of the iPhone across the mobile phone industry, how it relates to their company, and their experiences developing over 100 titles.

Company Name: Artificial Life, Inc.
Name: Eberhard Schoneburg
Title: CEO
Company URL: www.artificial-life.com

Q: How do you think the iPhone has revolutionized the mobile phone industry?

The iPhone has made mobile gaming far more interesting and entertaining than ever before. The unique features of the device allow for multi-game controls which provide greater flexibility in game design. The iTunes App Store, to which all iPhones worldwide are connected, is definitely revolutionary as it has centralized all transactions onto just one platform.

Q: How do you think the iPhone has revolutionized the portable gaming industry with contenders such as Sony and Nintendo?

The most significant revolution is actually the business connection between the iTunes App Store and the iPhone. The App Store makes the purchase of any application as simple as a few touches on the device, instead of going to retail stores for copies. The ease of purchase is one of the main factors boosting the rise of iPhone applications.

Q: What is your company background, size (employees, developers, etc), and company inspirations?

We are a U.S. listed company (OTC BB: ALIF) with about 80 employees worldwide. Our Los Angeles office is the global headquarters and creative center; the Hong Kong office is our production center; the Berlin office is our EMEA headquarter; and the Tokyo office is our sales hub. We aim for the highest quality for every title, and always strive to push the limits in graphics, audio, AI and originality. We strive to maintain our reputation as a top quality developer and as you can see from our track record, we have been doing a good job so far as most of our products made it into the TOP 10 in many countries.

Q: What do you think of the iPhone Operating System in comparison to other mobile platforms? Are Apple’s competitors finally producing a comparable product or has the iPhone already monopolized the niche market?

Actually, there is still plenty of room for improvement for the iPhone OS in terms of capability and stability. Nevertheless, what the iPhone OS can achieve already separates itself from the other platforms. Especially the latest version 3.0 has some nice features. We look forward to the continued development of the OS so that the iPhone can compete with consoles, as it has already begun doing.

Q: Is your company currently developing for other mobile platforms, if so, which ones and why?

Yes, we also develop titles for both the Java and Brew platforms as they are the most commonly used platforms for mobile devices in China, which is one of our target territories for expansion. We foresee a very prosperous future for the China 3G MVAS market and hope that our games will be welcomed by Chinese gamers. As well we also develop titles for Android.

Recently, we have made our first move working with China Telecom as a sub-contractor developing their 3G content portal.

Q: Marketing an application can be a very difficult task. With so many applications being developed and released on a daily basis, capturing user attention in an App Store is challenging. What have you found to be an effective way to market your products to users?

First of all, I believe it is very important to maintain good relationships with the media in order to get more exposure for our games. Being featured on iTunes’ “What’s Hot / What’s New / Staff Pick sections” is definitely another effective marketing channel. We’ve established good relationships with Apple and we keep tabs on current trends so we can develop applications that have the best chance of being well received by gamers and then have a higher chance of being featured. Of course, having a good app in hand is always the ace for being reviewed and featured, and this is what we have been working on diligently. We also listen closely to user feedback and constantly try to improve our products.

Q: Do you outsource any projects or development, if so, how much?

No, all game productions are done in house.

Q: How many applications has your company planned, developed, or created at any given time?

We have released over 100 titles since we started the mobile content business. We plan to publish 20 iPhone game titles by the end of 2009 and we have just published our 7th title and achieved over 3 million downloads in just the first few months of 2009.

Q: Advancements in graphics and animations in the mobile phone industry have astronomically grown within the past couple of years. How much time does your company devote to graphical, animation, and sound production for mobile applications? Are there areas that you focus on?

It’s really hard to say which specific area we focus on. We pay careful attention to all details. A top quality game comes from a combination of creative concepts, exquisite visuals, dynamic sounds and comprehensive programming. On top of all of these, our production team also takes into careful consideration such aspects as the replay-ability of the game, the overall presentation, loading times, file size, frame rate, etc. We take all these details into account as we develop the game keeping in mind how the final product will appear to the end users, the players.

Thank you Eberhard Schoneburg of Artificial Life, Inc. for your time!

Please post your comments, tips, and your own reviews below in the comments area!

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