Author Archive

Game Wars: Who will win your entertainment dollar, Hollywood or Silicon Valley?

February 28th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

This unusual "premiere" had the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood film debut. On Feb. 10, in New York City’s Little Italy, Il Cortile, a restaurant decorated lavishly with faux alabaster statuary, was jammed with journalists, producers, corporate executives, and assorted hangers-on. Actors James Caan and Robert Duvall worked the red carpet, chatted with fawning TV folk, and posed for the paparazzi. The event: a sneak peek at the next installment of The Godfather. More …

Epyx Returns to Gaming

February 26th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Games | No Comments »

Well, with a little help from Ironstone Partners. Commodore 64 gaming lives!

If you played Commodore 64 back in the proverbial day, then you’re likely familiar with Epyx. The company was responsible for string of huge hits, including Summer Games, California Games< Pitstop, Gateway to Apshai — and do we even need to mention Impossible Mission? ("Stay a while. Stay forever!" Good times.) More …

JAMDAT Mobile Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2004 Results

February 24th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

— Fourth quarter 2004 revenues of $11.6 million marked JAMDAT’s twelfth consecutive quarter of double-digit sequential revenue growth (up 22% over third quarter 2004 and a 122% increase over fourth quarter 2003). Fiscal year 2004 revenues of $36.6 million represented JAMDAT’s third consecutive year of triple digit revenue growth with a 171% increase over 2003.

— Fourth quarter 2004 GAAP net income of $0.6 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.8 million in the prior year period. Fiscal year 2004 GAAP net income of $1.8 million, compared to a net loss of $7.1 million in 2003.

— Fourth quarter 2004 adjusted net income of $1.2 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $1.2 million in the prior year period. 2004 adjusted net income of $5.1 million compared to an adjusted net loss of $2.8 million in 2003. More …

Two visions for cell phone games: To brand, or not to brand?

February 24th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

LEADERS COMPETE FOR WHAT MAY BECOME $1.5 BILLION INDUSTRY

Two San Mateo companies are wrestling with that question as they battle to entice people to play video games on their cell phones. Are consumers more likely to be attracted to games associated with titles they’re accustomed to playing or do they want original games designed specifically for the small screen? The winner could take the lead in what is expected to be a $1.5 billion industry in the United States by 2008. More …

Digital Bridges brings shuriken-hurling action to mobile phones with the release of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven

February 23rd, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Games | No Comments »

Digital Bridges, a world leader in the creation and distribution of mobile entertainment solutions, together with mobile games developer TKO Software, Inc, today announced the launch of the highly anticipated action title Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven^(TM) on leading wireless network operators and portals across Europe. More …

Indiagames develops mobile game show

February 23rd, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Games | No Comments »

Game shows won’t be the television’s forte anymore as Indiagames, a mobile content developer, has come up with the first interactive mobile game show.

Vishal Gondal, chief executive officer of Indiagames told Business Standard, “This will be the first original content ever developed for the wireless platform. It will be a 24X7 online mobile game, across all platforms and can be played on SMS, WAP or JAVA.” Mandira Bedi has been roped in to host this show. More …

Mobile Games: Entrance of Girls and the Advancement of Location

February 23rd, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

Amid the usual onslaught of big brands, sequels and movie tie-ins, mobile game developers brought a few interesting concepts to this year’s show. There is, for example, a growing recognition that girls own phones and might be interested in downloading games.

US company Mforma revealed Little Miss Naughty, a cute, highly stylised platform game based around the Mr Men characters, which looked quaintly out of place next to the company’s generous line-up of Marvel titles – Blade Trinity, Elektra, Fantastic Four and Ultimate Spider-Man are all out this year. More …

BBMF Signs Definitive 5-Year Exclusive Agreement with TV Tokyo Broadband Entertainment Inc.

February 18th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

Agreement Allows Creation and Management of a Dozen New Mobile Game Channels Based on Japanese Animations, TV Dramas and Other Licensed Mobile Contents.

BBMF Corporation announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement with TV Tokyo Broadband Entertainment Inc., a majority owned subsidiary of TV Tokyo, the leading TV broadcaster in Japan, to create and manage new mobile game channels, based on the existing licensed mobile contents of TXBB. More …

Calling all gamers: Mobile gaming matures from a time killer to a killer app

February 17th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

In the mid-1990s, a cell phone game meant one thing

Living Mobile launches Dungeon Warrior 3D phone game

February 17th, 2005 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Games | No Comments »

Living Mobile has announced the launch of ‘Dungeon Warrior 3D’, a 3D game to expand their Java games portfolio. The game runs on most Java handsets, including the Nokia Series 40 MIDP 1.0 range, and was developed in-house by Living Mobile’s development team, based in Munich and Prague. More …