Archives

Report: Microsoft to Become Major League Baseball Streaming Partner

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2004 - 4:54am.
San Francisco -- CNET News.com reported on Monday that sources say Microsoft is expected to sign a two-year, $40 million agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) to encode and stream the league's games on the Internet. The prospective deal comes after MLB and former streaming partner RealNetworks were unable to renegotiate their contract; RealNetworks has since filed a breach of contract suit against the league, arguing it must still at least offer games in RealNetworks' streaming format. News.com also reported that America Online will soon announce its own two-year, $9 million deal with MLB to offer live audio streams and 20-minute video clips for each game.
tags: Deals | Reports | Baseball | Microsoft | Major League |

Report: McDonald's to Promote Sony's Music Download Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2004 - 4:53am.
Los Angeles -- The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that Sony is looking to partner with fast food chain McDonald's to market its new music download store, Sony Connect. McDonald's customers would receive free song downloads from Sony Connect, while Sony would benefit from an estimated $30 million campaign from McDonald's to promote the service and giveaway, sources told The Times. Sony also has a deal in place with United Airlines to allow frequent fliers to exchange their miles for song downloads when Connect launches in the spring. The McDonald's deal parallels an ongoing partnership between Apple's iTunes Store and Pepsi, which is offering free iTunes downloads on soft drink bottle caps.
tags: Downloads | Music | Sony | Reports | McDonald |

Survey: Majority of Mobile Gamers Young, Single, Verizon or Sprint Customers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2004 - 4:52am.
Atlanta -- Sixty percent of those who play games on their cell phones play at least once a day, and 50% are either Sprint or Verizon customers, according to a survey of mobile gamers conducted by U30 Group on behalf of mobile entertainment publisher Sorrent. The Web-based survey of 742 respondents also found that 60% of mobile gamers are between 18-26 and single, more than 60% play at home, and 70% play for more than 10 minutes at a time. "The market is made up of casual gamers, like those that frequent AOL Games; youth who play games together socially; as well as the early adopters and core-gamers who are looking for more serious titles," said Sorrent CEO Greg Ballard. The survey was released at the 2004 CTIA Wireless (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) trade show taking place this week in Atlanta.
tags: Mobile Games | Verizon | Survey | Young | Single | Sprint Customers |

Electronic Arts Funds USC Video Game Master's Degree Program

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2004 - 4:51am.
Redwood City, Calif. -- Video game developer Electronic Arts announced on Monday that it has made a multi-million dollar donation to the USC School of Cinema-Television to advance interactive media education. The donation will enable both The Electronic Arts Interactive Entertainment Program, a 3-year Master of Fine Arts degree program, and the Electronic Arts Endowed Faculty Chair. "Melding storytelling, art, music, game design, and technology has become so complex that it is imperative for tomorrow's designers and producers to acquire an education with both depth and breadth in order to achieve success in our ever-growing industry," said Rusty Rueff, EA's executive vice president of human resources. Separately, Electronic Arts on Monday announced publishing agreements with Kirkland, Wash.-based Gas Powered Games ("Dungeon Siege") and Redwood City, Calif.-based Castaway Entertainment ("Diablo").
tags: USC | Video Game | Electronic Arts | Degree Program |

Multiplayer Gaming Developer Butterfly.net Raises $10 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2004 - 4:51am.
Martinsburg, W.Va. -- Butterfly.net, a provider of infrastructure services to support massively multi-player online games, said on Monday that it has raised $10 million in its third round of funding, co-led by JVP and Worldview Technology Partners. Networking giant Cisco Systems also participated, as did previous investors Adena Ventures and Walker Ventures. The company has created a network grid designed to allocate computing and network resources to the most popular games. The technology helps reduce the costs associated with developing, launching and operating large-scale online games that connect players on PCs, consoles and mobile devices.
tags: Games | VC | Multiplayer | Butterfly.net |

Game Developer Square Enix Buys Wireless Technology Firm UIEvolution

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 22, 2004 - 4:46am.
Tokyo -- Japanese video game developer Square Enix, known for its "Final Fantasy" game franchise, announced on Monday its acquisition of Bellevue, Wash.-based UIEvolution, a developer of wireless game publishing technology. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Tokyo-based Square Enix invested $4 million in UIEvolution in December 2003 as part of its initiative to expand its mobile content business in the U.S. "Our industry is going through fundamental changes due to the network infrastructure and globalization trends," said Square Enix president Yoichi Wada. "The acquisition of UIEvolution provides a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of content delivery and will facilitate a breakthrough in terms of both technology and people for Square Enix."
tags: Games | Square Enix | Wireless Technology | UIEvolution |