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Dr. Sudoku Could Save Game Boy® Advance Owners' Lives

According to a University of Edinburgh Study, Games Like Sudoku Can Reawaken 'Survival Genes' in Brains

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA January 18, 2006 Video game publisher Mastiff hopes to increase the longevity of Game Boy Advance owners' lives with their upcoming release of "Dr. Sudoku." According to a recent study conducted at the University of Edinburgh, games such as Sudoku can awaken 'survival genes' that lay dormant in the human brain. These survival genes make the brain cells live longer and resist disease, strokes and the effects of drugs. Mastiff will be releasing "Dr. Sudoku" for the Game Boy® Advance in March 2006.

"When brain cells are highly stimulated, many unused genes are suddenly reactivated. We have found that a group of these genes can make the active brain cells far healthier than lazy, inactive cells, and more likely to live a long life," said Giles Hardingham of the University of Edinburgh at the annual meeting for the Society of Neuroscience in Washington.

Dr. Sudoku for the Game Boy® Advance handheld video game system will be the first of a series of Sudoku products that Mastiff will be bringing to game systems. Sudoku is the puzzle phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. The Sudoku video game features 1,000 hand created puzzles, Original Mode, which lets you create you own Sudoku puzzles, a tutorial mode, help for those moments when you really are stuck, the ability to "pencil in" possible solutions, and a puzzle problem creation mode. BusinessWeek.com recently said that Dr. Sudoku "could be the next Tetris."

Sudoku is the international puzzle craze that shows no signs of slowing down. The New York Times remarks, "no puzzle has had such a fast introduction in newspapers since the crossword craze of 1924-25," and USA Today says Sudoku has "become the morning brain breakfast for millions of commuters." The Economist magazine calls it a "puzzling global phenomenon."

Sudoku looks like a math problem, but it's not. The rules are simple: start with a grid consisting of nine three-by-three squares in which some of the numbers are already supplied. Fill in the blank squares so that each column, row, and three-by-three grid contains a number from 1 to 9 with none repeated.

About Mastiff

Mastiff is a publisher of interactive entertainment with offices in Tokyo, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Recent titles from Mastiff include Pump It Up: Exceed, which received a "Buy or Die" award from the top PlayStation 2 publication, PSM, and La Pucelle: Tactics, which was awarded an Editor's Choice Award from leading gaming website, IGN.com. Other recent releases include Pump It Up: Exceed, Gungrave: Overdose, Technic Beat and Top Gun: Combat Zones. Please visit www.mastiff-games.com for more information.

About The Developer

Dr. Sudoku's one thousand original puzzles are hand crafted by Skynet Corporation, a leading creator of Sudoku puzzles. Success Corporation, a major Japanese developer of interactive entertainment, is responsible for sound, graphics, interface and the underlying computer code.

Editorial Contact:

Michael Meyers

Michael Meyers Public Relations

925-551-8080

michael@mmpr.com

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GamesIndustry International is the world's leading games industry website, incorporating GamesIndustry.biz and IndustryGamers.com.