Developer

Game Developer Destineer Gets $12 Million Equity Investment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2006 - 9:01am.

Minneapolis, Minn. - Destineer, a developer and publisher of video games and virtual training simulations, announced this week that it has received a $12 million equity investment from The Exxel Group. Founded in 2001 by a former executive at Microsoft's Bungie games studio, Destineer has developed titles including "Close Combat," "Elite Warriors: Vietnam" and "Starship Troopers"; the company also develops virtual training simulations for government, military, and intelligence organizations around the world. "The venture capitalists of the videogame industry have traditionally been the large publishers, because they're the ones who have funded most game development until now," said Destineer CEO Paul Rinde. "But, this new trend of private-equity firms investing in the games industry gives creative companies like Destineer much more flexibility to make games the established publishers are less likely to create." The company will use the funds for several as yet unannounced titles for consoles and the PC, as well as to expand distribution and product development in Latin America.

Microsoft Acquires French Mobile Search Developer MotionBridge

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 14, 2006 - 10:31am.

Barcelona - Microsoft announced that it has acquired MotionBridge, a France-based provider of mobile search technology and navigation services, for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will obtain MotionBridge's operator partnerships (T-Mobile, Orange, Sprint and O2 Ltd., among others) and its flagship technology, which provides clustered results and "deep links" to downloadable content from multiple providers. MotionBridge was founded in 2000 and later funded by Siemens Mobile Acceleration.

Mobile TV Chip Developer Newport Media Raises $25 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 10, 2006 - 2:59am.

Lake Forest, Calif. - Newport Media, a developer of mobile TV chips for cell phones, announced this week that it has raised $25 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Oak Investment Partners led the round; previous investors Benchmark Capital, Venrock Associates, Global Catalyst Partners and Pinnacle Ventures also participated. Lake Forest, Calif.-based Newport Media's mobile TV chips are designed to work with all competing mobile TV standards, including DVB-H, DMB, ISDB-T and MediaFLO. The company will use the funds to bring its products to market, ramp volume shipments, and aid customers with early mobile TV service deployments.

tags: Mobile TV | Raise | Developer | Newport |

Mobile Graphics Developer Bitboys Gets $4.8 Million from Nokia

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2006 - 3:37am.

Espoo, Finland - Bitboys, a developer of graphics hardware for mobile devices, announced on Thursday that it has received a $4.8 million investment from Nokia Growth Partners. The investment gives Nokia Growth Partners a 14% stake in the company. Finland-based Bitboys is developing graphics processors that enable high-quality 3D and vector graphics to be displayed on cell phones, for applications like mobile games, maps and Web browsing.

French Video Compression Developer Ateme Raises $4.8 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2006 - 3:34am.

Paris - Ateme, a France-based developer of video compression technology, announced that it has raised $4.8 million in venture capital financing. France-based XAnge Private Equity and Ventech led the round. Ateme said it would use the funds to enhance its video compression technology and support international expansion. The company's next subsidiary will be opened in Silicon Valley, according to CEO Michel Artieres.

Casual Games Developer PopCap Opens Offices in Ireland

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2006 - 7:41am.

Seattle - PopCap Games, a developer and publisher of casual games, announced on Wednesday that it has opened an international office in Dublin, Ireland. Seattle-based PopCap said the new facilities will host a development studio and also serve as a hub for its European and Asian business activities. Localized versions of PopCap games are slated to launch in some foreign markets this quarter, and international versions of its website will launch in the first half of the year.

Developer Sues Electronic Arts Over Feature in "Madden NFL 06"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 5, 2005 - 9:59am.

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game publisher Electronic Arts has been sued by an independent game developer, who claims the company stole a game idea of his and incorporated it into its "Madden NFL 06" game, Reuters reported. Game developer Pernell Harris, who owns the development studio Virtual Jam, says that he met with EA in late 2003 and pitched his idea for a game -- "Heart of a Champion" -- where players control every aspect of an athlete's career, from high school through professional play. Harris, who is seeking unspecified damages, alleges that EA breached a confidentiality agreement and an "implied in fact" contract when it included similar features in "Madden NFL 2006."

tags: Electronic Arts | Developer | Madden NFL 06 |

"Call of Duty" Developer Spark Sues Activision for $10 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 1, 2005 - 6:46am.

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Video game publisher Activision has been sued for $10 million by Spark Unlimited, developer of its "Call of Duty: Finest Hour" title, over allegations Activision reneged on an agreement that would have seen Spark develop two sequels to the game. Spark says in its lawsuit that Activision withheld bridge financing due after the delivery of Finest Hour, in addition to lowering royalty payments to the developer for the title. Spark also alleges that Activision stole ideas presented by Spark for sequels to Finest Hour, which are now being implemented in a sequel being worked on by developers Grey Matter and Treyarch. "Activision refused to pay Spark the royalties owed on Finest Hour or the bridge financing due under the contract, stole Spark's idea, and then hired away Spark's own employees to develop that sequel, hoping that if Spark was sufficiently crippled, Spark would be unable to protect its rights," Spark alleges, in its lawsuit. Activision told Reuters that it is reviewing the lawsuit.

Chinese Online Games Firm Shanda Acquires Developer Digital-Red

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 8, 2004 - 5:07am.

Shanghai, China -- Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a provider of online games in China, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining interest in mobile game developer Beijing Digital-Red Mobile Software (Digital-Red) that it did not already own. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2000, Digital-Red has developed over 200 games to date. Shanda says that its online games were played by an average of 1.2 million concurrent users during the second quarter of 2004.

3D Online Community Developer There Changes Name, Raises $14 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 25, 2004 - 1:50am.

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Hoping to expand its business into new markets, There Inc., a developer of technology that enables thousands of Internet users to communicate and interact in a 3D virtual environment, said on Tuesday that it has changed its name to Forterra Systems and raised $14 million in new funding. Jerusalem Venture Partners led the round, with previous investors Sutter Hill Ventures and Chichen-Itza Ventures also participating. Forterra now plans to expand its focus from operating consumer online services to providing virtual technologies to government, industry, education and consumer entertainment companies. Forterra currently has a contract with the U.S. Army to develop a new training application based on the technology. The company has appointed Robert Gehorsam, the vice president of strategic initiatives at There, as its new CEO.

Mobile Content Developer Digital Chocolate Raises $13 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 17, 2004 - 2:35am.

San Mateo, Calif. -- Digital Chocolate, a developer of content for mobile phones, said on Monday that it has secured $13 million in its second round of funding, led by Sutter Hill Ventures. New investor Chengwei Ventures and previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Sequoia Capital also participated in the round, which raised the company's total funding to more than $21 million since its founding by gaming software pioneer Trip Hawkins in 2003. Digital Chocolate has developed entertainment, problem-solving and social networking applications for mobile phones.

tags: VC | Developer | Mobiles | Digital Chocolate |

Game Publisher Acclaim Sued by Developer, May Face Bankruptcy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 7, 2004 - 6:53am.

Reno, Nev. -- Video game developer BattleBorne Entertainment announced on Wednesday that it has won a preliminary injunction against the release of its "Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers" title by publishing partner Acclaim Entertainment, which it sued for breach of contract. Nevada-based BattleBorne claims Acclaim failed to make payments and threatened to release the title before all payments were made. The news is just the latest woe for New York-based Acclaim, whose shares have dropped nearly 20% this week after the company revealed on Friday that it may need to seek bankruptcy protection if it cannot obtain new bank financing.

tags: Games | Developer | Acclaim | Bankruptcy |

Webcasting Software Developer ON24 Lands $3.3 Million in Funding

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 11, 2004 - 2:14am.

San Francisco -- ON24, a San Francisco-based maker of webcast and multimedia communications software, said on Monday that it has secured $3.3 million in a new round of funding, co-led by U.S. Venture Partners, Canaan Partners and Rho Management. The company, which began turning a profit late last year, has now raised a total of about $40 million in private equity. ON24 said that it plans to use the capital, in part, to expand operations to support its growing customer base, as well as to develop new products. ON24 currently has more than 400 corporate clients, including Cardinal Health, Cisco Systems, Credit Suisse First Boston, Hewlett-Packard, Merrill Lynch, the NCAA, Philips and Sun Microsystems.

tags: Software | Funds | Developer | ON24 |