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Report: Number of U.K. Film/TV Downloaders Triples in 2003

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:36am.
London -- The number of U.K. Internet users downloading films and TV programs has tripled over the past year to 1.67 million, compared with the 570,000 people reported last year, according to figures from the British Video Association (BVA). The report said that the average U.K. film and TV downloader is a male (67%) under 35 who lives in the South, where broadband access is more widespread. "The potential threat to the video industry from downloading is clearly enormous and there is no complacency about that," said BVA director general Lavinia Carey. "The film, TV and video industries are working closely to pre-empt the threat from online piracy. As long as we can continue to make our traditional product attractive and future online offers affordable and easy, we hope to avoid the worst of the damage." In other U.K. industry news, the BVA reported a 61% increase in DVD sales for 2003, and noted that the format now commands 70% of the U.K. home video market.
tags: TV | Reports | U.K | Downloades | Triples |

HP to Sell Custom-Built Video Gaming PCs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:33am.
Los Angeles -- Looking to capitalize on the burgeoning video game market, PC maker HP on Monday announced that it will begin selling custom-built PCs for video game enthusiasts, with the most heavily-equipped models selling for over $3,000. The company's Compaq "X Gaming" machines will go on sale in June or July both online and via custom configuration kiosks located in retail stores, starting at around $1,599.
tags: HP | Video Games | PCs | Custom-Built |

Report: Video Game Accessories Sales Flat in 2003 at $1.2 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:29am.
Port Washington, N.Y. -- Total U.S. sales of accessories for console and portable video games in 2003 were flat over the previous year with $1.2 billion in sales, while the first quarter of 2004 has seen a 10% sales increase over the same period last year, according to data from New York-based market research firm NPD Group. Products included in the video game accessories category include specialty controllers, modems and DVD remotes. NPD noted that the greatest increase in dollar sales occurred among network adaptors and modems -- devices that connect game consoles to the Internet for online gaming -- which rose 155% in 2003. "Online gaming provides consumers with the ability to experience entirely new ways of playing video games, while the industry continues to see increased revenues through this alternative to off-line gaming," said NPD senior analyst Richard Ow.
tags: Reports | Accessories | Video Game |

CNET Re-Launches MP3.com As Digital Music Information Resource

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:28am.
San Francisco -- CNET Networks, a publisher of technology news and information, announced on Monday the re-launch of MP3.com, a site that once housed millions of MP3s from unsigned artists but will now serve as a digital music discovery and content resource. The site will offer a directory of legal digital music downloads and streams across the major services, including 30-second clips of millions of songs; an archive of artist and album information; a "music discovery engine"; and a technology guide covering the different available services, portable players and software. "Consumers have never before had such an easy, intuitive way to navigate the rich, diverse world of legal music content, technologies, and services," said Vince Broady, senior vice president of CNET Networks' games and entertainment business. The new MP3.com also plans to add community and personalization features later this year.
tags: CNET | Website | Digital Music | MP3.com | Resource |

Infinium Plans Nov. 18 Launch for Broadband PC Gaming Console

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:27am.
Sarasota, Fla. -- Infinium Labs, which has been stealthily developing a PC-based broadband video game console, announced on Monday for the first time that its Phantom gaming console will go on sale Nov. 18. The Phantom will cost $199 on its own, but will be offered for free if consumers purchase a two-year subscription to the $29.95 per month broadband gaming service. The device -- which comes with a gamepad, a mouse and a custom keyboard -- will allow subscribers to play a selection of free PC games included with their subscription on any TV, as well as rent or purchase other game titles. Florida-based Infinium said the device will be manufactured in Taiwan by Biostar, and will feature a 40GB hard drive, an AMD Athlon CPU, and Nvidia graphics processing units and platform processors. Infinium Labs also said that its recently announced first round of venture capital financing increased from $44 million to $46 million following an additional commitment from Reich Capital.
tags: Games | Broadband | PC | Infinium |

Sprint: 3.5 Million Mobile Games Sold So Far in 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:26am.
Overland Park, Kan. -- Wireless network operator Sprint announced on Monday that it has so far this year sold over 3.5 million mobile games to its subscribers, bringing the total number of games the company has sold since launching its Sprint PCS wireless division to 9.5 million. At the end of the first quarter, Sprint reported 4.2 million subscribers for its Sprint PCS Vision wireless content service. "In 2002, Sprint announced its strategy to lead in the mobile-gaming market. Last year, we announced more than 120 titles and 17 partners, proving our success to that point," said Jeff Hallock, vice president of consumer product marketing for Sprint. "In 2003, Sprint had more than 5 million game purchases. We're on track to exceed that number this year with more than 3.5 million purchases in the first 4 months and the promise of more innovations to come in the form of 3D games."
tags: Mobile Games | Sprint | Sold |

Report: Mobile Phones Add $26.6 Billion to U.K. Coffers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:25am.
London -- According to a new report conducted by the U.K. Centre for Economic and Business Research and commissioned by local mobile operator mmO2, England's mobile phone sector now contributes more than $26.6 billion to the U.K. economy every year, putting the industry on equal footing with oil and gas extraction in terms of tax income (2.3%). "No one should underestimate the impact of the mobile (sector) on economic prosperity," said mmO2 CEO Peter Erskine in a statement. "This is a significant industry making a major contribution to the economy and, given the right conditions, it is set to increase its impact." The report also found that the U.K. mobile industry employs more than 200,000 people who each account for about $212,800 of revenue per year. Erskine said the mobile industry in the U.K. had grown over the last 20 years from zero to "something bigger than the whole of the print, paper and publishing sector."
tags: Reports | U.K | Mobile Phones | Coffers |

DVD Software Maker InterVideo to Repurchase $10 Million in Shares

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:24am.
Fremont, Calif. -- InterVideo, a developer of DVD creation and editing software, announced on Monday that its board of directors has approved a $10 million stock repurchase program, which many companies do when they believe their shares are currently being undervalued on the market. Fremont, Calif.-based InterVideo recently reported $71 million in cash and short term investments, and 13.5 million shares of common stock outstanding.
tags: DVD | Software | Shares | InterVideo | Repurchase |

Disney's Buena Vista Interactive Announces E3 Expo Game Titles

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:22am.
Los Angeles -- Buena Vista Interactive, the video games unit of The Walt Disney Company, announced on Monday the roster of new titles it will display at this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles. The company will showcase a number of titles based on Disney films, including "Chicken Little," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," "TRON 2.0: Killer App," "Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles," "King Arthur," "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge" and "Power Rangers Dino Thunder." Buena Vista will also target the "tween" market with titles based on Disney Channel TV properties, such as "Disney's Kim Possible 2: Drakken's Demise," "Disney's Lizzie McGuire 2" and "Disney's That's So Raven."
tags: Games | Disney | E3 | Titles | Buena Vista Interactive |

Discreet Acquires Character Animation Software Firm Unreal Pictures

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 10, 2004 - 2:22am.
Montreal -- Discreet, a division of Autodesk that develops animation and other digital media creation software, announced on Monday that it has acquired Unreal Pictures, developers of character animation software. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Unreal's Character Studio software is the most widely used character animation application, with over 100,000 installs, the company said. "Ground-breaking character animation technology is core to the future successes of stunning high-end 3D animations in films, games and even visualizations," said Paul Lypaczewski, general manager of Montreal-based Discreet. "This acquisition positions Discreet to deliver unmatched value to our customers with intuitive workflow, ease of use, and unmatched motion-picture quality.
tags: Software | Discreet | Unreal Pictures |