Shaolin Temple 'official' mobile game

[GeneChing]

Shaolin Temple may develop mobile kung fu games
2014-07-07 16:52 Ecns.cn Web Editor: Qian Ruisha

(ECNS) -- If you think "reclusive" or "relic of the past" are tags for monks, then you haven't met the kung fu monks of Shaolin.

Shaolin Temple, China's best known Buddhist monastery and the birthplace of kung fu, looks poised to develop a mobile game to educate people about Chinese martial arts.

Shaolin kung fu master Shi Yanlu attended a summit held by e-commerce giant Alibaba last week to learn about the ins and outs of mobile games.

Lin Xiaosong, chairman of a web company in charge of Shaolin's brand management, said the game would embed the famous Shaolin sword, knife and stick skills to let players learn kung fu without visiting the temple.

The plan is under deliberation, with the specifics still in the air, Lin added.

Shaolin Temple was built over 1,500 years ago in Dengfeng, Henan province, and is viewed by martial arts lovers as the "Mecca" for kung fu. But many tourists know little about the temple and the culture behind it.

The move is said to be part of a strategy to digitalize the temple and make learning easier.

Shaolin is no stranger to using technology however.

In 1995, the temple launched its website well before Jack Ma created Alibaba. Managed by its kung fu monks, the site later became a platform for promoting kung fu, Buddhism and Shaolin culture.

In 2008, Shaolin began selling merchandise on Taobao.com, such as meditation robes, incense, candleholders and books. It has also been boosting its social media presence. In March, Abbot Shi Yongxin, an avid tech lover, paid a visit to some big companies in Silicon Valley, including Google and Apple.

Apart from technology, Shaolin Temple also has investments in film production, medical care and food.

We discussed the taobao sales on the Shaolin-commercialism thread. And if you don't know Jack Ma and Alibaba, check this out: Jet-Li-s-TaijiZen-International-Cultural-Development-Company. The Google & Apple visit was earlier this year during Songshan-Shaolin-Temple-Day

[GeneChing]

July 8, 2014, 1:23 a.m. EDT
Shaolin monks to create kung fu mobile app
By Laura He, MarketWatch


Kung fu performers at the Shaolin Temple in China’s Henan province.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Fans of Chinese kung fu could soon learn the oldest form of the martial art via mobile games, thanks to some tech-savvy monks at the world-renowned Shaolin Temple.

Shaolin Temple, reputedly the birthplace of both Zen Buddhism and kung fu, is going to develop its first motion-sensing mobile game in a bid to teach the traditional Shaolin fighting style to an audience of smartphone-carrying aficionados.

Shi Yanlu, one of China’s most famous living martial artist and head coach of Shaolin Warrior Monk Team, led a group of acolytes to the first-ever “Chinese urban economy and e-commerce summit,” held by e-commerce giant Alibaba in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

Their goal: to learn the Internet and digital technologies, so as to pave the way for the thousand-year-old temple to develop an educational martial-arts mobile game, according to a 21st Century Business Herald report on Monday.

Shaolin Temple, located on Mount Song in China’s Henan province, attracts a great number of kung fu enthusiasts from all over the world, hoping to learn from the monastery’s masters. Its fame has led to a boom in private kung fu schools in neighboring areas, where more than 70,000 students are trained each year, according to an earlier report by the state-run People’s Daily.

However, once the motion-sensing game launches, fans far from Mount Song can learn directly from the Shaolin monks how to use various weapons featured in Shaolin kung fu, including sword, stick and knife techniques, according to Lin Xiaosong, whose Tiandizhizhng Web Development company handles brand management for the Shaolin Temple.

That’s right: Shaolin Temple has a brand-management firm.

Actually, it’s not the first time the Shaolin Temple has ventured into technology. In March, the temple’s Venerable Master Abbot Shi Yongxin visited the California headquarters of Google Inc. GOOG -2.62% GOOGL -2.71% and Apple Inc. AAPL -1.40% , the official Xinhua News Agency reported at the time. Shi even met with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, expressing an interest in using iTunes and other digital technologies to spread Shaolin culture.

And if the game is successful, maybe they will make a movie about it.

[GeneChing]

This is not to be confused with Tapinator's "Balance of the Shaolin", also in the news this morning.

Shaolin Monastery plans to develop mobile games
Staff Reporter 2014-07-09 11:11 (GMT+8)


Shaolin martial arts practitioners perform during a martial arts festival held in Zhenzhou, Henan, May 7. (File photo/Xinhua)

Monks at the famous Shaolin Monastery in central China's Henan province attended an e-commerce summit hosted by tech giant Alibaba last week as the home of Chinese kung fu wants to learn how to develop mobile games.

On July 3, Shi Yanlu, a 34th-generation Shaolin warrior monk, led several monks from the temple to attend the summit. Participants said Shi wanted to investigate and learn from the experience of the internet sector as Shaolin Monastery plans to realize interactive martial arts education through its kung fu mobile games.

At present, the temple has been involved in the areas of television broadcasts, medicine and food and it owns nine subsidiaries and organizations.

"Shi highly approves the concept of the internet. He led a team to Hangzhou with the aim of learning about the experience of developing mobile games," said Lin Xiaosong, chairman of the Henan Dengfeng Network Development.

The mobile game will allow users to learn Shaolin martial arts without personally visiting the temple.

The Henan Dengfeng Network Development is responsible for the business operations of the brand of Shaolin Monastery, which is located in Denfeng, Henan province.

Lin said the idea of creating a mobile game was in the initial phase and the details of the project and the amount of investment needed remain unknown.

In China's development of the internet sector, the Shaolin Monastery's awareness about the internet came earlier than other domestic tech companies.

Zhang Shuxin founded the first internet supplier in China in 1995 and the Shaolin temple had applied for its domain name the following year before Alibaba was even established.

The temple's website was officially introduced in 2001 and it revealed many of its martial arts tips on its website three years later.

In 2008 a company of the Shaolin temple opened a store on Taobao, selling meditation outfits and shoes, Zen incense and candlesticks as well as cultural creative products, such as T-shirts and watches.

The temple opened its Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo accounts in 2012 and set up a public account on WeChat in 2014. It has accumulated over 60,000 fans on Weibo and 300 subscribers for its WeChat account.

At present, the offices of the Shaolin Monastery have a Wi-Fi connection and every young monk has a smartphone.

[wenshu]

I have been toying with the idea of a 16 bit throwback Songshan based mobile fighting game. iOS first, Android soon after.

I can handle game mechanics, implementation and deployment in my sleep and I've worked up a product development specification draft, what I am missing is the art and I have no budget for a designer (going to need any discretionary funds for marketing *cough*cough*). So it's on hold indefinitely until I can find time to develop some Illustrator production expertise.

Whenever I do get around to implementing something I'll troll this space for volunteer beta testers. Hopefully one of you broke ass fools can afford an iPhone.

As a matter of fact, if anyone knows a Graphic Designer who wants to work for sweat equity let me know.

[RenDaHai]

BODY BLOWS! Can't believe I was playing this 20 years ago......

[Faux Newbie]

I have been toying with the idea of a 16 bit throwback Songshan based mobile fighting game. iOS first, Android soon after.

I can handle game mechanics, implementation and deployment in my sleep and I've worked up a product development specification draft, what I am missing is the art and I have no budget for a designer (going to need any discretionary funds for marketing *cough*cough*). So it's on hold indefinitely until I can find time to develop some Illustrator production expertise.

Whenever I do get around to implementing something I'll troll this space for volunteer beta testers. Hopefully one of you broke ass fools can afford an iPhone.

As a matter of fact, if anyone knows a Graphic Designer who wants to work for sweat equity let me know.

I don't know if anyone will bite, but my stepson (who is a painter) has a ton of illustrator friends, I'll ask him to ask around, it's not uncommon for them to jump on a sweat equity project to beef up their CV. And 16 bit is totally nostalgic to most of them.

Don't know if anything will come of it, but I will ask. He's good about getting the word out, so if any of them are open, I'll text you.

[wenshu]

I don't know if anyone will bite, but my stepson (who is a painter) has a ton of illustrator friends, I'll ask him to ask around, it's not uncommon for them to jump on a sweat equity project to beef up their CV. And 16 bit is totally nostalgic to most of them.

Don't know if anything will come of it, but I will ask. He's good about getting the word out, so if any of them are open, I'll text you.

If you're actually going to be asking around I should clarify. I'm not looking for a 16 bit rasterized art style, I meant specifically a throwback to the game mechanics of 16 bit platformers/brawlers. I want the sprites to have a high resolution, hand drawn, anime like style. The sprites would be pretty small on the screen (actual individual sprite size would be around 500px x 500px) so they don't need too much detail, at the same time that simplicity will help expedite the animation frame production workflow.

In any case, thanks for asking!

[wenshu]

BODY BLOWS! Can't believe I was playing this 20 years ago......

AmigaCD32? That's quality offbrand, knockoff shit right there. You're determined to make me respect you aren't you?

http://www.gog.com/game/ultimate_body_blows

[Faux Newbie]

If you're actually going to be asking around I should clarify. I'm not looking for a 16 bit rasterized art style, I meant specifically a throwback to the game mechanics of 16 bit platformers/brawlers. I want the sprites to have a high resolution, hand drawn, anime like style. The sprites would be pretty small on the screen (actual individual sprite size would be around 500px x 500px) so they don't need too much detail, at the same time that simplicity will help expedite the animation frame production workflow.

In any case, thanks for asking!

Cool, I'll ask him to look around when he gets home tonight.

[GeneChing]

Shaolin plans kung fu on call
Jul 17,2014

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The ancient martial art of kung fu might become as easy as a tap on the screen of your smart phone soon.

China's 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is looking to develop a game app to teach users martial arts on cell phones.

Monks from the temple attended a summit held by e-commerce giant Alibaba this month to learn about app development.

"Shaolin might use its warrior monks as the main characters of the mobile phone game," says Lin Xiaosong, chairman of Dengfeng Tiandizhizhong Network Development Corporation, which manages the Shaolin brand.

"The game would integrate kung fu with swords and sticks to teach martial arts interactively, so that users won't have to climb the Song Mountain (in central China's Henan Province) to learn Shaolin kung fu."

Lin says Shaolin is still researching the app and has no concrete plans for investment or project details yet.

The reputation of Shaolin kung fu was set during the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907). In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it became a unique school of wushu (Chinese martial arts) and established itself as a school of excellence.

Shaolin was the first temple in China to digitalize its business and now has nine subsidiary companies including martial arts studies, calligraphy, medicine, food and movies.

The temple first applied for its own domain name in 1996, before even Alibaba. In 2001 it had a website on which it published Shaolin kung fu secrets for the first time.

It then started its e-commerce business on Taobao, a popular retail platform, where it sells meditation costumes, candles, tee-shirts, watches, and the controversial Shaolin Medical Book for 9,999 yuan (1,600 U.S. dollars).

In 2012, it opened accounts on the Weibo social media website, where it has 60,000 followers.

The whole office area of the temple has wifi, and almost all the young monks use smart phones.

"The era of sitting in meditation by the light of an oil lamp has gone. We need to keep pace with the times," says Master Yanzheng, a monk in his 20s, iPhone in hand.

Transmission of the lamp - there's an app for that

[GeneChing]

...a press release though, not actual WSJ coverage.

August 4, 2014, 7:31 a.m. ET
CMGE Obtained Rights to Develop Mobile Games on Shaolin Theme

HONG KONG, Aug. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group Limited ("CMGE" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CMGE), the largest publisher and a leading developer of mobile games in China, today announced that it has signed cooperation agreement with Shaolin Intangible Assets Management Co. Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Shaolin Temple to develop mobile games including TV-targeted games on Shaolin theme.

Shaolin Temple has special and well respected standing in Chinese religious and traditions. In 2006, Shaolin Kung Fu was included in the first batch of Intangible Cultural Heritage announced by PRC State Council. The core mission of Shaolin Intangible Assets Management Co. Ltd is to protect and promote the prestige brand of Shaolin and Shaolin Temple and make sure that the value is well preserved and appreciated.

"Mobile phone has become the most important communication tool in people's life. People spend a lot of time during a day in browsing news, communication and playing games. Mobile game has become a major segment of entertainment for young people." said the person in charge of Shaolin Intangible Assets Management Co. Ltd. "We have reached strategic corporation with CMGE, dedicating to promote, protect and preserve the Shaolin culture in the world through mobile games including TV-targeted games."

"CMGE is the first mobile game company listed on Nasdaq with great game development and publish capability. We had the largest market share of game publisher in 2013. Shaolin Temple as the origin of Zen Buddhism and Kung Fu is well-known by all Chinese." said Xiao Jian, CEO of CMGE. "We are delighted to cooperate with Shaolin temple and dedicated to produce mobile games that let players experience, immerse, and be associated with Shaolin culture."

About CMGE

CMGE is the largest publisher and a leading developer of mobile games in China with integrated capabilities across the mobile game value chain. Its fully integrated capabilities include the development, licensing, publishing, distribution and operation of mobile games, primarily in China. Its social games are mainly developed for Android and iOS-based smartphones. CMGE's extensive distribution network includes its proprietary Game Center application, handset pre-installations, application stores and web platforms and mobile network operators. The offices are in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Company's stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol CMGE. For more corporate and product information, please visit CMGE's website at http://www.cmge.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. CMGE may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about CMGE's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: CMGE's growth strategies as well as business plans; its future development, results of operations and financial condition; its ability to continue to develop new and attractive products and services; its ability to continue to develop new technologies or upgrade its existing technologies; its ability to attract and retain users and customers and further enhance its brand recognition; the expected growth of and trends in the mobile game industry in China; PRC governmental policies and regulations relating to the mobile game industry in China; and competition in the mobile game industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in CMGE's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2013 and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and CMGE undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

CONTACT: For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group Limited
Tel: +852 2700 6168
E-mail: ir@cmge.com
The Wall Street Journal news department was not involved in the creation of this content.

Plus here's some People Daily coverage:

Shaolin develops kung fu games to attract youngsters
(Xinhua) 15:35, August 05, 2014

ZHENGZHOU, Aug. 5 -- China's Shaolin Temple will develop a new line of kung fu themed video games to expand its influence among younger audiences, the temple's management company announced Tuesday.
The Henan Shaolin Intangible Assets Management Co.,LTD, owned by the temple, has signed a cooperation agreement with China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group (CMGE) allowing the latter to use Shaolin's brand to develop games for both mobile devices and television.
The cooperation aims to encourage more young people to take interest in Shaolin's Buddhist zen culture and the ancient martial art of kung fu, said an official at the management company, which is responsible for the Shaolin brand.
Located in Dengfeng City of central China's Henan Province, the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is regarded as the cradle of Chinese kung fu.
Shi Yongxin, monastery head of the Shaolin Temple, believes that the temple needs to keep pace with technology to attract new audiences and expand its influence.
Shaolin was the first temple in China to digitalize its business and now has nine subsidiary companies, which include martial arts studies, calligraphy, medicine, food and movies.
The temple first applied for its own internet domain name in 1996. In 2001 it launched its website, publishing Shaolin kung fu secrets for the first time.
It then started its e-commerce business on Taobao, a popular online retail platform, in 2008 to sell meditation costumes, candles, tee-shirts, watches, and the controversial Shaolin Medical Book for 9,999 yuan (1,600 U.S. dollars).
In 2012, it opened accounts on social media website Weibo, where it now has 70,000 followers.
(Editoru Mingming、Huang Jin)

[GeneChing]

CMGE Reports Third Quarter 2014 Unaudited Financial Results
BY GlobeNewswire |11/17/14 - 06:00 AM EST |Stocks in this article: CMGE

In the area of animation and classic games, CMGE has established partnerships relating to One-Piece and Ikkyu San from Toei Animation, Naruto from GREE, Uncharted Water s 5 from Tecmo Koei, and Samurai Spirits from SNK Playmore, etc. We have also obtained the publishing rights in China for the Android version of King of Fighters' 97, Samurai Spirits II and Metal Slug 2 from SNK Playmore. We have also obtained the publishing rights in China for 5 classic games from IGS, including San Guo Zhan Ji Feng Yun Zai Qi , San Guo Zhan Ji 2 Qun Xiong Zheng Ba , Xi You Shi E Zhuan , Xing Yi Quan and Ao Jian Kuang Dao.

Recently, CMGE has been granted the mobile game adaptation rights to twelve well-known cartoon IPs, including Hello Kitty, from the Japanese company, Sanrio. CMGE has also been authorized to develop and publish, in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, mobile game based on twelve Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Bad Badtz-Maru, Ker o ker o ker o ppi, My Melody, Kuromi, Sugarbunnies, Pompo m purin, Little Twin Stars, Cinnamoroll, U-Sa-Ha-Na, Patty & Jimmy and Charmmy Kitty.

In the area of television, CMGE has obtained the exclusive right to produce mobile games based on the TV series Feng Zhong Qi Yuan, which is produced by top TV producer Tang Ren Ying Shi in mainland China. Closed beta testing of this self-developed mobile game of the same title will start in late November.

In the area of online fiction, CMGE, together with Wuxi Manhuang Internet Technology Company Limited, obtained the rights from Tencent to develop an MMOARPG game based on the famous online fiction Ze Tian Ji, which is expected to be launched by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

In addition, we have also obtained rights from the Shaolin Temple to develop mobile games with themes based on the Shaolin Temple.

I'm not a videogamer. I'll have to find some Shaolin videogamer to follow up on this.

[DAW]

I'm not a videogamer. I'll have to find some Shaolin videogamer to follow up on this.

From what I read of this thread. It appears to be an interactive instructional app rather than a game. Educational as opposed to being for enjoyment. It would be nice if they also provided some Cha'an knowledge and information along with the app. That would be a good way to transmit and spread Buddhism.
I'm by no means a fan of Abbot YongXin, but this project actually seems pretty interesting.

[GeneChing]

Zero interest in Shaolin Temple's no-phone event(1/5)
2015-08-25 14:53 Ecns.cn Editor:Yao Lan


Kung fu monks from Shaolin Temple sit on the ground during a 'No-Cellphone' event at an office building in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, Aug 25, 2015. The event encouraged white collar workers to give up their cellphones and place them in a box from 10am to 6pm in exchange for free ticket to a Shaolin concert. Nobody took up the invitation. (Photo: China News Service/Wang Zhongju)

I love that all the passer-bys are taking pix with their cell phones...

[GeneChing]

‘Grasshopper, turn off the mobile’: Chinese Shaolin monk and the temptation of cell phones
PUBLISHED : Friday, 28 August, 2015, 3:56pm
UPDATED : Friday, 28 August, 2015, 3:56pm

Laura Zhou laura.zhou@scmp.com


The monk and novices at the office building in Zhengzhou. Photos: 163.com

A Shaolin monk has sat in the lotus position in the lobby of an office building in central China for several hours, urging passers-by to turn off their mobile phones and hand them in for the day.

The aim was to raise awareness of people’s addiction to using cell phones, according to the news website 163.com.

The monk was accompanied by four young novices and a sign behind them in the building in Zhengzhou in Henan province said, “Let it go”.

The exercise in passing on Buddhist enlightenment also provided a useful promotional opportunity, the report suggested.

People putting their phones in a locker between 10am and 6pm on Tuesday were rewarded with a ticket worth 198 yuan (HK$240) to watch a music and kung fu show at a nearby Shaolin temple.

The offer appeared to find few takers, the article said.

Nobody wanted to give up their phones, according to the report, but the monk and his novices did attract a lot of people taking photographs - some with their mobiles.

The Shaolin news since the present Abbot Scandal went viral has been distracting.