Beatnik, Inc. - Enhanced Audio Solutions

BEATNIK AND MACROSPACE: A BIG NOISE IN MOBILE GAMING

Beatnik Audio Engine powers sound effects and music on Macrospace's breakthrough mobile game "Fatal Force: Earth Assault"

London, UK – May 21, 2004 -- Beatnik, Inc., the leading provider of structured audio software solutions for mobile devices today showed once again the power and versatility of the Beatnik Audio Engine (BAE) with the release of the latest hit mobile game from UK publisher Macrospace Ltd. The game, 'Fatal Force: Earth Assault', includes a number of technological firsts for a mobile Java game including greatly enhanced audio thanks to the advanced capabilities of the Beatnik Audio Engine, found in many of today's most popular mobile handsets.

Mobile gaming has rapidly evolved from simple sprite-based games like snake to hugely complex, immersive games offering hours of gameplay. As one of the industry's leading developers and publishers Macrospace has made full use of the high quality audio synthesis provided by the BAE in its' latest title. Previously mobile game audio was either not possible or limited to simple sounds. However the BAE supports the playback of high-fidelity MIDI based audio as well as digital samples. This dramatically enhances the mobile gaming experience as developers can now add both high quality atmospheric background music and realistic sound effects without requiring a large content data set, meaning that advanced games can be delivered to devices over the air.

"Sound plays an important part in the overall gaming experience, and in 'Fatal Force' we have really pushed what is possible on today's handsets," ssaid Kristian Segerstrale, head of products and services at Macrospace. "Thanks to Beatnik's technology we have been able to integrate multiple layers of high quality MIDI audio throughout the game, giving the player the best experience possible. At Macrospace we pride ourselves on the quality and innovation of our games, and audio is an essential part of that approach."

"Consumers expect the same level of rich audio from mobile phone based games as they experience on other dedicated gaming platforms," said Jeremy Copp chief sales officer of Beatnik. " Macrospace is a company helping to redefine what mobile games can be and we are delighted that Beatnik's products are playing a central role. This game is a great achievement, and Beatnik looks forward to continuing to define the standard for mobile audio in future mobile games."

"Fatal Force: Earth Assault" brings arcade quality action to the mobile handset. It is the first ever Java game to include short and long range connected features with, Bluetooth® multiplayer modes, online scores and player rankings and even downloadable skirmish maps. Further information including screenshots and a demo version are available from www.macrospace.com.

Beatnik's small footprint, scaleable software engine supports the real time synthesis of high quality polyphonic audio. As a complete audio subsystem, the BAE incorporates a synthesiser, mixer, sample rate converter, linear audio player and support for MIDI, SP-MIDI, XMF, DLS, RMF, and WAV file formats. This gives users full control over all sounds produced by their mobile phone, allowing full audio personalisation. Beatnik has licensed its BAE technology to industry-leading wireless handset manufacturers including Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Siemens, Samsung, Panasonic and Sendo.

Fatal Force Screenshots

About Macrospace
Macrospace develops and publishes mobile games and provides mobile gaming solutions for network operators, service providers, handset manufacturers, media companies and brand owners around the world. With expertise in single and multiplayer gaming, web emulation and content provisioning, Macrospace is uniquely positioned to offer complete end-to-end solutions ranging from content development through to final delivery and billing. ProvisionX™, the company's fully managed provisioning solution, is the most widely deployed Java download service worldwide. For further information, please visit www.macrospace.com.

For more information on Beatnik, Inc., go to: www.beatnik.com or contact:sales@beatnik.com or .

About Beatnik, Inc.
Beatnik licenses scalable, standards-based structured audio software solutions for mobile devices, which enable rich multimedia content delivery and an enhanced user experience for games and device interaction. Beatnik markets its core software technology and audio content development tools to mobile device manufacturers and a community of creative professionals. Incorporated in 1996, Beatnik was founded by musician and composer Thomas Dolby Robertson.