Archive - Aug 1, 2005

Australia Bans "Grand Theft Auto" Game Over Hidden Sexual Content

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2005 - 7:05am.
Sydney -- The Australian government's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has withdrawn the 15+ rating it gave to Take-Two Interactive's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" -- effectively banning the video game in Australia -- after it was revealed that the title shipped with sexually explicit content hidden in the source code. The content can be unlocked from the game's disc by downloading a modification called "Hot Coffee" off of the Internet. "Businesses that sell or hire computer games should remove existing stocks of this game from their shelves immediately," said OFLC director Des Clark. "Parents are strongly advised to exercise caution in allowing children continued access to the game, particularly if they might have access to the 'Hot Coffee' modification." The OFLC has also in the past banned Take-Two's "Grand Theft Auto III" and "Manhunt" titles in Australia, in addition to games from other publishers, including "BMX XXX," "NARC" and "Postal 2".
tags: Games | Australia | Grand Theft Auto | Sexual Content |

ArtistDirect Buys Anti-Piracy Firm MediaDefender for $42.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2005 - 7:03am.
Los Angeles -- ArtistDirect, an independent online music site that claims 13 million visitors per month, announced on Monday that it has acquired Internet anti-piracy software developer MediaDefender, for $42.5 million. Marina del Rey, Calif.-based MediaDefender seeds popular peer-to-peer file-sharing networks with "spoofed" versions of copyrighted songs and other media files, frustrating prospective downloaders with bogus files, on behalf of the major record labels and movie studios. "We believe that MediaDefender holds enormous potential to become the ubiquitous gold standard for the customized protection on the Internet of all forms of digital content," said ArtistDirect CEO Jon Diamond. Los Angeles-based ArtistDirect foresees expanding the use of MediaDefender's technology to protect straight-to-DVD movies, video games, software and e-books.
tags: Deals | ArtistDirect | Anti-Piracy Firm | MediaDefender |

Report: 95% of Mobile Users too Afraid to Download Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2005 - 7:00am.
London -- According to a new survey by mobile game publisher I-Play, about 95% of "virgin" mobile phone users are too afraid to download video games on their handsets. The survey of more than 2,500 mobile users in Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.S. and the U.K. found that 33% of respondents did not even know whether their handsets could play games, while about 17.5% admitted to not even knowing how to download a game. Only 5% of the survey's respondents said have ever downloaded a game. "The mobile games market is essentially only five percent penetrated," said I-Play COO David Gosen. "The good news is that we now know what's limiting market growth -- the industry must improve accessibility to mobile games and, more importantly, educate consumers on how and where to obtain mobile games."
tags: Games | Downloads | Reports | Mobile Users | Download Games |

Nokia Names Kallasvuo as New CEO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2005 - 6:58am.
Helsinki -- Finland-based Nokia, the largest mobile-handset maker in the world, announced on Monday that Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who currently heads the company's mobile phone business unit, will be appointed as its next president and chief operating officer on Oct. 1, and as chief executive officer next June. Nokia said acting CEO Jorma Ollila, who has served as CEO for 13 years and chairman for six years, would continue as chairman and CEO until June 1, 2006, at which time he will become non-executive chairman of Nokia's board. "We are pleased that (Ollila) has agreed to remain as the chairman of the board," said Nokia Vice Chairman Paul Collins. "This will provide for an orderly transition while giving the company access to his understanding of our business, our industry and its challenges and opportunities."
tags: Nokia | New CEO | Kallasvuo |

3D Graphics Developer Lucid Raises $4 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2005 - 6:56am.
Tel Aviv -- Lucid, an Israel-based developer of advanced processing for 3D graphics, announced that it has raised $4 million in venture capital financing. Genesis Partners and Giza Venture Capital led the round. "In a world of high-definition, flat screens and photo-realistic games, the performance demands from the graphic processors increase immensely," said Giza Vice President Eyal Niv. "The technology developed by Lucid will enable linear improvement through usage of several graphic processors simultaneously, thus facilitating a dramatic breakthrough in computer graphic performance." Lucid also announced that it has appointed as Moshe Steiner, former co-general manager of Marvell Israel, as its new chief executive officer and hired George Haber, founder and CEO of Giga Pixel, as its new chairman.
tags: Deals | VC | Lucid | 3D Graphics Developer |

Report: TV Viewing Losing Appeal Among Tweens, Young Teens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 1, 2005 - 6:54am.
New York -- As they get older, American kids ages 8-14 become increasingly disinterested in watching television, and more and more distracted when they do watch it, according to a new report from Packaged Facts. While nearly 80% of younger "tweens" say that they "love" watching television, according to research conducted by Simmons
tags: Reports | TV Viewing | Tweens | Young Teens |