Author Archive

Playboy Announces Deal to Distribute Wireless Entertainment Within North America

December 3rd, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Games | No Comments »

New Agreement With Dwango(R) Wireless Will Expand Playboy’s Mobile Offering

Playboy Enterprises, Inc. today announced a deal to expand content distribution via wireless within the United States. With the addition of the U.S., Playboy is now offering wireless entertainment services through licensees in 17 territories around the globe including Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil. More …

Dude, Ring Me Up A Game

December 3rd, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

Forget the PlayStation Portable and ditch that GameBoy. Kids might be pining for those hot portable gaming systems now, but the real future of mobile gaming could already be in their pocket.

Today’s kids are mobile experts, utterly comfortable with tiny screens and capable of typing with their thumbs faster than many adults can on a keyboard. They’re also huge consumers of wireless phone service, the fastest growing group of cellular users and the heaviest users of minutes and data. Pair those characteristics with today’s handsets–big, bright color screens, on-board memory and high-speed data connections–and you’ve got a recipe for gaming nirvana. Mobile gaming is taking off, and thanks in part to the influence of kids, promises to be a boon to wireless vendors. More …

Turbo Squid Announces Forum for Mobile Game Developers

December 2nd, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Other news | No Comments »

Initial Partners include Hybrid Graphics, Face2Face, and Versaly

Turbo Squid, home of the world’s largest collection of royalty-free 3D products available for download, today launched a new discussion forum for mobile game developers. The Mobile Developer’s Forum, or MDF, was designed primarily for developers creating 3D content for Java M3G (JSR 184). The MDF was created with support from graphics technology developer Hybrid Graphics, whose M3G implementation is used in Discreet’s 3ds max 7

Macrospace: Java games developer sell out

December 2nd, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

Sorrent, a creator and global publisher of mobile entertainment, has announced an agreement to acquire Macrospace, an award-winning mobile games publisher based in London. Like Sorrent, Macrospace has built a reputation on creating innovative, high quality mobile entertainment titles, including Fatal Force: Earth Assault, winner of the 2004 Mobile Consumer Choice award for best game.

"Macrospace is one of the most highly regarded mobile gaming companies in Europe and is a true culture fit with Sorrent," said Greg Ballard, chief executive officer, Sorrent. "The company has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to quality. Their exceptional management team, innovative portfolio of games, and extraordinary technology and distribution significantly enhances our position in Europe and will be a substantial asset to Sorrent as we seek to become the leading mobile entertainment publisher in the world." More …

InfoSpace Announces Acquisition of European Mobile Games Publisher IOMO

December 1st, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

InfoSpace, Inc. today announced its acquisition of U.K.-based IOMO Limited, an award-winning developer and publisher of mobile games. The consideration is approximately $15 million, payable in cash.

"We are excited to build our presence in Europe and to expand our role in the mobile games space by acquiring IOMO," said Jim Voelker, chairman and chief executive officer of InfoSpace, Inc. "With IOMO’s great team, strong publishing capabilities and broad distribution relationships, we will extend our reach by offering high quality mobile games to subscribers across the world." More …

How the toy industry is being outplayed by video games this holiday season

November 30th, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

Left unfettered, Anthony Konieczka, 9, would happily thumb away at his Game Boy Advance or PlayStation2 from the minute he gets up to the moment he crawls into bed, 14 bleary-eyed hours later.

Anthony’s basement in Naperville, Illinois, is stocked with traditional toys

Hackers find cell phones next weak link to exploit

November 30th, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

Early this month, several Web sites began offering software promising ring tones and screen savers for certain cell phones.

But those who downloaded the software found that it turned every icon on their cell phone’s screens into a skull-and-crossbones and disabled their phones, so they could no longer send or receive text messages or access contact lists or calendars. More …

Wee Wireless Warriors

November 30th, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

In the past, telecom for kids didn’t get much more complex than two tin cans connected by a length of string.

But, times have changed. Children have become voracious consumers of cellular communication and today are the fastest growing and most profitable segment of the mobile telephone world. As the overall cellular marketplace nears saturation, young consumers are bringing new blood–and new bucks–to service providers. More …

Mobile Gaming: Latest Wireless Cash Cow

November 30th, 2004 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Trends | No Comments »

Online gaming has become possible because of recent technical advances in cell phones, such as the advent of high-resolution graphics, multiplayer features, Bluetooth connectivity, and color screens. However, the quality of the gaming experience is not as rich as that found with current game consoles, but instead is comparable to 1980s video games.

Wireless carriers are finding online gaming via use of cell phones to be the latest cash cow to boost revenues. "Carriers have been surprised that wireless gaming is even more lucrative than ringtones," Ken Hyers, a senior analyst with market research firm In-Stat/MDR, told TechNewsWorld. Online gaming, where users download video games onto their cell phones and then test their skills, is helping wireless carriers raise revenue in two ways. More …