archives

o Sony PlayStation Sales Topped $2 Billion During Holiday Season
o MTV, Lan Plus to Market Line of MTV-Branded PCs
o Consumers Spent $6 Billion on DVD Rentals, Purchases in 2001
o EchoStar Offers New Personal Video Recorder, Interactive TV Features
o Study: Workers with 'Net Access Are Online More Than They Watch TV
o Briefly Noted: Sonic Solutions - Microsoft, Nintendo president, Muze -
Gracenote, SanDisk - 256MB flash, Texas Instruments - DLP TVs, CD Baby,
Fandango - General Cinema Theatres, Sonicblue Rio Riot, Pioneer Digital
Library, Memorex - flash memory, E.Digital, U.S. Formula One Radio
Network, Fullplay Media Systems, Satellite radio - return on investment?
_____________________________________________

o Sony PlayStation Sales Topped $2 Billion During Holiday Season

Foster City, Calif. -- Sony Computer Entertainment announced on Wednesday
that sales of its PlayStation line of video game consoles and games
generated over $2 billion in revenue during November and December 2001,
capturing 60 percent of the game industry market. Three million
PlayStation 2 units were sold during the holiday season, which exceeds the
total number of Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube consoles shipped to
U.S. retailers during the same period. The total number of PlayStation 2
consoles sold in North America now exceeds 8 million. Sony also sold 1.1
million of its original PlayStation consoles during the holiday season.
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=256136&detail=story
http://www.scea.com
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o MTV, Lan Plus to Market Line of MTV-Branded PCs

New York -- Cable music television network MTV has partnered with computer
manufacturer Lan Plus to market a line of MTV-branded PCs and PC-based
products. The PCs will target the college demographic, and will include
features such as a DVD/CD-RW drive, cable-ready television tuner, radio
tuner with remote and AMD's Athlon XP processor. Available in a variety of
designs and colors, the PCs will also come loaded with exclusive MTV
content. "We are always looking for new ways to enhance the entertainment
experience for our tech savvy audience," said Tony Calandra, director,
interactive products for MTV. "With this one product, college students can
convert their dorms into an up-to-the-minute entertainment center where
they can burn CDs, watch movies on DVD, catch their favorite cable shows,
and surf online."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020109/90062_1.html
http://www.lan-plus.com/
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o Consumers Spent $6 Billion on DVD Rentals, Purchases in 2001

Las Vegas -- Consumers spent $6 billion purchasing and renting DVDs in
2001, nearly 2.5 times more than they did in 2000, according to figures
released on Tuesday by trade association DVD Entertainment Group. DVD
sales topped those of VHS videotape sales for the first time, with total
sales reaching $4.6 billion, despite an installed player base of 25
million DVD households versus a VCR installed player base of 96 million.
In all, consumers spent more buying and renting DVDs and VHS tapes ($16.8
billion) than they did at the box office ($8.1 billion), or on music CDs
($11.2 billion) or books ($16.5 billion), according to DVD Entertainment
Group.
http://www.dvdinformation.com/news/press/010802.htm
_____________________________________________

o EchoStar Offers New Personal Video Recorder, Interactive TV Features

Littleton, Colo. -- EchoStar, operator of the DISH satellite TV network,
announced on Wednesday that it will begin offering subscribers a new
satellite receiver set-top box that features a personal video recorder
with 80 hours of storage capacity. The device will be able to access
interactive TV features such as localized weather reports and an
electronic program guide. Colorado-based EchoStar also announced the
addition of four new interactive TV features that will become available
later this year. The "dish home" portal will become a new channel on the
DISH Network that will lead to the new features, which include Tribune
Media Services' Zap2it TV and movie informational service, Visiware's
Playin'TV subscription-based games channel, a DISH Network customer
support channel and a daily horoscopes channel. The interactive TV
features will become available to owners of OpenTV-enabled set-top boxes
through a satellite download from EchoStar.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020109/90169_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020109/90171_1.html
http://www.zap2it.com
http://www.visiware.com/site/en/accueil_flash.htm
_____________________________________________

o Study: Workers with 'Net Access Are Online More Than They Watch TV

New York -- U.S. workers with Internet access in the workplace spend more
time online during an average workday than they do watching television,
according to a recent study conducted by Millward Brown IntelliQuest and
the Online Publishers Association (OPA). The study found that 91 percent
of online workers -- who numbered 52.8 million in 2001, according to
Jupiter Media Metrix -- also access the Internet at home. These workers
spend 34 percent of their total media minutes during a workday on the
Internet, while 30 percent are spent watching television. Use of the
Internet for email was specifically excluded for the purpose of the study.
"Busy working people now spend more time on the Internet than they spend
either watching television, listening to the radio, or reading newspapers
or magazines," said Michael Zimbalist, acting executive director of the
Online Publishers Association. "[The Internet's] value extends from
productivity enhancement to information retrieval on high-quality media
sites, making these sites a particularly compelling way for advertisers to
reach their customers."
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.010802/220082632
http://www.online-publishers.org/OPA_Media_Consumption_files/frame.htm
_____________________________________________

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Which Developers Made the Best Games in 2001?

Find out at the Game Developers Choice Awards: Nominations open now at
http://www.igda.org/awards

Presented by the International Game Developers Association at the Game
Developers Conference, the Game Developers Choice Awards celebrate games
for their innovations and artistic merit. Recognition is given to
individuals and teams responsible for groundbreaking endeavors in game
development.

All qualified game developers are eligible to make nominations by Friday,
February 9 at http://www.igda.org/awards

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_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Novato, Calif.) Sonic Solutions, a developer of DVD creation and video
editing software, announced on Wednesday that Microsoft has licensed its
DVD video authoring technology. Under the terms of the multi-year
agreement, Novato-based Sonic Solutions will provide core technology and
development expertise to Microsoft, which will implement the company's
software into its own products. Sonic Solutions' technology allows users
to edit and transfer their home movies onto discs that will play in
standard DVD players,
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020109/90117_1.html
http://www.sonic.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Nintendo of America has announced that Minoru Arakawahe
has resigned from his position after 22 years as president of the company.
Tatsumi Kimishima, formerly president of Pokemon U.S.A. and chief
financial officer for The Pokemon Company, will succeed Arakawahe.
http://www.nintendo.com/news/news_articles.jsp?articleID=5895

(New York) Muze, a provider of informational databases for music, books,
videos and games, announced a partnership with CD recognition technology
firm Gracenote to integrate the two companies' products. Under the
agreement, Berkeley-based Gracenote will incorporate Muze ID numbers into
its database that can recognize a CD when it is inserted into a PC. The
combination will offer Gracenote's information on artist, album name and
track listings with New York-based Muze's data, which includes cover art,
biographies, review excerpts, streamed sound samples and information on
related artists.
http://www.gracenote.com/press/2002010800.html
http://www.muze.com

(Las Vegas) SanDisk, a manufacturer of flash memory storage media,
announced on Wednesday a new 256MB flash memory card that doubles the
capacity of the company's current highest-capacity product. The new card
can hold up to eight hours of digital music, 80 minutes of MPEG-4 video or
250 high-resolution digital pictures, and will be available for over 100
products, such as digital cameras, MP3 players and digital camcorders.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SanDisk said the card will ship this quarter and
will be priced at $199.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020109/90192_1.html
http://www.sandisk.com

(Dallas, Texas) Texas Instruments announced at the Consumer Electronics
Show that a number of manufacturers are using the same DLP (digital light
processor) technology used in the company's digital cinema projectors to
develop a new line of large-screen televisions. Products in development
include Coretronic's 46", Hitachi's 55", Marantz America's 55", Vestel's
43", Zenith's 53" HDTV, and Samsung's 43" and 50" television models.
Dallas-based Texas Instruments' DLP technology is based on a Digital
Micromirror Device optical chip that has an array of up to 1,310,000
hinged, microscopic mirrors which operate as optical switches to create a
high resolution, full color image.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/82322_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/82326_1.html
http://www.dlp.com

(Portland, Ore.) CD Baby, an online retailer of CDs from independent
artists, announced that it has now paid over $1 million to musicians for
CDs sold. The company receives product directly from musicians and sells
them online, taking $4 from each sale while paying artists the remaining
$6-$12 on a weekly basis. "We're helping break the stereotype of
independent musicians as unsigned or amateur musicians," said CD Baby
founder Derek Sivers. "They're often just as good as the artists who have
signed over their career to a corporate label, but they've decided to
focus on making music instead of being a media star." Oregon-based CD
Baby's online store features 10,000 artists that combined sell over
100,000 CDs a year. The company also provides CD distribution for such
online sites as MP3.com, IUMA and Garageband.com.
http://www.cdbaby.com

(Hollywood) Online movie ticket retailer Fandango announced on Wednesday
that it has signed an agreement with movie theater chain General Cinema
Theatres. Chestnut Hill, Mass-based General Cinema, which operates in 19
states and the District of Columbia, said it has wired 60 of its theaters
for Fandango's service. Hollywood-based Fandango now provides online
ticketing services for over 6,000 screens at 500 theaters.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.010902/220090033
http://www.fandango.com

(Las Vegas) Consumer electronics manufacturer Sonicblue has introduced a
new portable digital audio player, the Rio Riot, which features a 20GB
hard drive capable of holding over 5,000 songs or 400 CDs. The device
comes bundled with both RealNetworks' RealJukebox and Apple's iTunes
software, making it PC and Mac compatible, and is also equipped with San
Francisco-based MoodLogic's personal music management software. The Rio
Riot will be available at the end of February for around $400.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/80092_1.html
http://www.sonicblue.com

(Las Vegas) Consumer electronics manufacturer Pioneer has introduced plans
for a Digital Library device that will let users distribute music, video,
photos and Internet content wirelessly or through wired connections
throughout the home. The product will use San Francisco-based Mediabolic's
networking software for home entertainment devices, enabling the Digital
Library to send three DVD-quality video streams or up to 21 audio streams
simultaneously to different TVs or receivers in the home. The device's
hard drive capacity is as yet undetermined, but will have enough space to
hold at least 1500 compressed audio files, according to the company.
Pioneer expects to ship the Digital Library by the end of 2002.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020107/lam058_1.html
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com

(Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) Memorex, a manufacturer of storage media,
announced that it has partnered with Ingentix to manufacture and market
flash memory cards. The Memorex MultiMediaCards will be compatible with
mobile phones, PDAs, e-book readers, digital cameras, interactive toys and
MP3 players that accept SD Memory cards. Memorex will market and
distribute the cards, which will be manufactured by Ingentix and based on
Ingentix technology. The cards will cost $30 for 16MB, $40 for 32MB and
$70 for 64MB of storage.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020108/latu008_1.html
http://www.ingentix.com
http://www.memorex.com

(Las Vegas) E.Digital, a developer of digital entertainment devices,
showcased several of its line of portable digital music players at the
Consumer Electronics Show and announced that its hard drive and voice
navigation technology will be used in a car audio product developed by
Eclipse and Fujitsu. The Eclipse MP-3 Changer will use San Diego-based
E.Digital's speech recognition interface so that drivers can select songs
without using their hands.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/80231_1.html
http://www.edig.com

(Chicago) The U.S. Formula One Radio Network announced on Wednesday that
it will syndicate Formula One car racing in the U.S. via satellite radio
and MP3 audio. The Formula One World Championship consists of 17 race
events, including the U.S. Grand Prix, the Canadian Grand Prix and the
Monaco Grand Prix. Chicago-based Creative Broadcast Consulting will
syndicate Formula One on American radio beginning in March.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.010802/220082692
http://www.formula1.com

(Las Vegas) Fullplay Media Systems, a developer of digital entertainment
products, previewed its Darwin Digital Jukebox, a digital home
entertainment center that plays DVDs, CDs and online media, and can be
connected wirelessly to other devices in the home. The jukebox can encode
high-quality digital copies from analog sources such as a cassette deck or
turntable, and features storage capacity of up to 320GB. It can also
stream media from a PC or off of the Internet. Washington-based Fullplay
did not provide pricing information or a release date for the product.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020108/80017_1.html
http://www.fullplaymedia.com

(San Francisco) CNET recently featured an article on the prospects for
satellite radio in the U.S. Two firms, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius
Satellite Radio, have each spent over $1 billion to develop their
networks. Landenburg Thalmann senior satellite analyst John Stone told
CNET he believes both firms will achieve the 4 million subscribers they
need to break even by the year 2005.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-8411281.html?tag=mn_hd
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