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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 13, 2002
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o European Union Approves "Download Tax"
o Game Developer Acclaim Entertainment Raises $21.5 Million
o Sony Picks ISP Partners for Online PlayStation 2 Gaming in Japan
o Apple Holds Release of QuickTime 6 Amid MPEG-4 Licensing Issues
o Immersion Sues Microsoft, Sony Over Patents On Vibrating Game Joysticks
o Apple, Ericsson, Sun Partner on Wireless Multimedia Delivery
o Sony Lays Off 30% of Staff At Screenblast Entertainment Website
> Digital Media Wire Panel: Interactive Games | Los Angeles | Feb. 27
o Briefly Noted: XM Satellite Radio - DirecTV, "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon,"
Comcast - video-on-demand, SecureMedia - Equator Technologies, THQ -
Nickelodeon, Olympics telecasts - 'Simulcam' visual effect
_____________________________________________

o European Union Approves "Download Tax"

Brussels, Belgium -- The European Union has approved taxes that will be
placed on software, music and other items downloaded over the Internet by
its member country citizens from non-EU companies, the Associated Press
reported. The new law will apply the "Value Added Tax" (VAT) that
Europeans and visitors pay on other goods in the region to "virtual goods"
purchased online. Under the law, non-EU companies will be compelled to
charge EU customers the sales tax rate based on the country in which the
customer lives -- rates that differ from country to country. The U.S. has
lobbied against the new law, arguing for a moratorium on any Internet
taxes until a "global consensus" could be reached.
http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,50380,00.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/24033.html
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174435.html
_____________________________________________

o Game Developer Acclaim Entertainment Raises $21.5 Million

Glen Cove, N.Y. -- Acclaim Entertainment, a developer and publisher of
video games, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $21.5 million
through a private placement of its stock. The company will issue
approximately 7.2 million shares of its common stock to a small group of
private investors. "We are pleased to announce this strategic corporate
initiative, which will enable the company to increase its current release
schedule for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 through the expansion of its
internal studios and the acquisition of key titles from selected external
development studios," said Acclaim CEO Gregory Fischbach. "In addition, it
will enable the company to deliver integrated national marketing campaigns
to support the launches of our key franchises, including "All-Star
Baseball 2003," "Aggressive Inline," "Turok: Evolution" and "Vexx."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020213/132464_1.html
http://www.acclaim.com
_____________________________________________

o Sony Picks ISP Partners for Online PlayStation 2 Gaming in Japan

Tokyo -- Sony announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with four
Internet service providers in Japan for the April launch of online gaming
services for its PlayStation 2 console, Reuters reported. Sony partnered
with Fujitsu's Nifty and NEC Corp's Biglobe -- Japan's two biggest ISPs --
as well as two others operated by Japanese telco NTT. One of the ISPs said
it plans to charge Japanese users about $11 per month to access online
gaming and general ISP services, as well as a one-time fee of $135 for
broadband tools that let them download games onto a PlayStation 2.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/706272.asp#BODY
http://www.ntt-bb.com/NTT-BBe/news/11_12_01/sony.html
_____________________________________________

o Apple Holds Release of QuickTime 6 Amid MPEG-4 Licensing Issues

Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple on Wednesday announced that it has completed
the latest version of its QuickTime video playback and streaming
application, which includes full support for the new MPEG-4 video
standard. The company, however, is delaying the release of the product
until royalty payment rates derived from a recently announced bulk license
for the technology behind MPEG-4 are improved. "Apple agrees with paying a
reasonable royalty for including MPEG-4 codecs in QuickTime, but does not
believe that MPEG-4 can be successful in the marketplace if content owners
must also pay royalties in order to deliver their content using MPEG-4,"
the company said, in a statement. The new licensing scheme developed by
MPEG LA, a group representing companies holding 18 patents related to
MPEG-4, includes a fee paid by content owners to stream MPEG-4 video.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020212/sftu107_1.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-835740.html
http://www.apple.com/quicktime
http://www.mpegla.com
_____________________________________________

o Immersion Sues Microsoft, Sony Over Patents On Vibrating Game Joysticks

San Jose, Calif. -- Immersion Corp., a developer and licensor of haptic
feedback technology, has filed patent infringement suits against Microsoft
and Sony, for their use of touch-sensor technology with the Xbox,
PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game consoles and related accessories.
San Jose-based Immersion has licensed its technology to game controller
makers such as MadCatz and Saitek, which manufacture controllers that
vibrate in players' hands along with the action of the game. "After
extensive attempts to settle this infringement issue through negotiations,
we decided to file the suit today to enforce our intellectual property
rights," said Immersion CEO Bob O'Malley. The company did not say what
relief it is seeking from Microsoft or Sony.
http://www.immersion.com/corporate/pressreleases/2002/020211b.shtml
http://www.immersion.com/products/ce/gamingjoystick.shtml
_____________________________________________

o Apple, Ericsson, Sun Partner on Wireless Multimedia Delivery

Los Angeles -- Apple announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with
cell phone maker Ericsson and Sun Microsystems on technology that will let
wireless network operators deliver standardized multimedia content to a
variety of wireless devices, like cell phones and PDAs. The standard for
video delivery includes Apple's QuickTime program for content creation and
encoding, Sun's software and systems to enable content distribution, and
Ericsson's ability to provide wireless network operators with
infrastructure and other services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020212/sftu106_1.html
_____________________________________________

o Sony Lays Off 30% of Staff At Screenblast Entertainment Website

San Francisco -- Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment has laid off 30
percent of the staff at its Screenblast consumer video entertainment site,
leaving 44 employees at the company, CNET reported. "The reasoning is that
the original level of content production was predicated in part on
advertiser support," Don Levy, vice president of marketing communications
for Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, told CNET. "It is a
well-established fact that the advertising market is not such today to
sustain the original levels of production." Sony's Screenblast site allows
visitors interested in creating their own films and animations to edit
them online using Sony's software, incorporating audio and video elements
from Sony properties, and share them with the Screenblast community of
users.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-835695.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.screenblast.com
_____________________________________________

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Make better games.

Game Developers Conference 2002
March 19-23
San Jose, California
Learn about successful game creation from the world's leading developers.
At the Game Developers Conference, industry experts lead more than 300
lectures, tutorials and roundtables. Visual Arts track sessions cover
non-linear animation, blended animations, modeling, texturing and
lighting. Those interested in interactivity or in broadening their skill
set are encouraged to attend.

http://www.gdconf.com

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STREAMING MEDIA WEST 2002: April 23-26, Los Angeles Convention Center

Streaming Media West 2002 is the World’s Largest Digital Media Technology
Event, featuring an extensive exhibition floor and an intensive four-day
Conference program. Co-located with Internet World Spring, Streaming Media
West is the premier event for business and technology professionals to
conduct business, discover the latest advancements in streaming and
digital media and forge valuable relationships.

Join us in Los Angeles and discover for yourself the business and
technology of streaming and digital media!

For your FREE Exhibition pass or to save $200 on your full Conference pass
visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/west
Or contact register@streamingmedia.com or 888 301-8890

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THE CARMEL GROUP’S CONVERGENCE 2002 SERIES - Get in the Game!
A Video Game Industry Focus

The Carmel Group predicts that by year-end 2002, 40% of U.S. homes will be
equipped with a video game system, increasing to 51% by 2005. Attend this
informative event on Tuesday, February 19, from 6-10pm at the Crowne Plaza
Cabana in Palo Alto, CA, to find out how and why the industry is
flourishing in the current economy. Participants include, Canal+
Technologies, Vivendi Universal, Stormfront Studios, DirecTV, IGDA, CTAM,
NATPE and GAMEproducer.com. Digital Media Wire subscribers attend for only
$50 – use promotional code DMW.

For more info or to pre-register visit:
http://www.carmelgroup.com/conferences/conferences.cfm
Or contact info@carmelgroup.com or 831-643-2222.

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_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Washington, D.C.) XM Satellite Radio, a nationwide provider of
satellite-delivered radio programming, said on Wednesday that it has
signed a joint marketing agreement with satellite TV provider DirecTV.
Specifics of the agreement were not disclosed, but the deal is aimed at
increasing XM's subscribers by offering DirecTV customers "value-added
offers" for subscribing to XM.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020213/dcw015_1.html
http://www.xmradio.com

(San Francisco) PC Gamer magazine has named Ubi Soft Entertainment's "Tom
Clancy's Ghost Recon" as PC Game of the Year. The game was developed by
North Carolina-based Red Storm Entertainment, a company founded by author
Tom Clancy.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220440194&ticker=
http://www.redstorm.com

(Eatontown, N.J.) Comcast Corp., the third-largest cable TV provider in
the U.S., announced on Wednesday that it will launch video-on-demand
services on the company's Monmouth and Ocean, New Jersey cable systems.
Movies will cost $3.95 for new releases, $2.95 for older titles, and
$0.95-$1.95 for children's programming, TV shows, concerts and specials.
Viewers will be able to pause, fast-forward and rewind as they would if
watching on a VCR. Philadelphia-based Comcast says it currently has three
million video-on-demand-ready homes within its 26-state service area.
http://www.comcast.com

(Boston, Mass.) Massachusetts-based SecureMedia, a developer of media
security technology, said on Wednesday that its encryption and digital
rights management technology will be available for use on Campbell,
Calif.-based Equator Technologies' broadband video-on-demand platform.
http://www.securemedia.com
http://www.equator.com

(New York) The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported on game developer
THQ's recent announcement of a deal with Viacom-owned children's network
Nickelodeon. Under the agreement, THQ will become the exclusive developer
of children's video games for the network through 2005. The two companies
will collaborate on entirely new brands, some based on original video
games rather than Nickelodeon programs, which Nickelodeon could then
develop into TV shows or movies.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/706226.asp?0si=-
http://www.thq.com

(San Francisco) Wired News reported on Wednesday on the 'Simulcam' video
effect NBC is using during its Olympics telecasts. The effect, developed
by Switzerland-based Dartfish, allows for two skiers racing individually
to be shown superimposed in a virtual head-to-head race in the same frame
on viewers' screens. The U.S. Olympic Committee Sports and Science
Division has created a new "performance technology" department to
integrate the Dartfish video and software technology into training for all
43 Olympic sports.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,50376,00.html
http://www.dartfish.com
______________________

> Digital Media Wire Panel Discussion: Interactive Games on the Internet
Recent Developments and New Business Opportunities

Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Location: Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills

MODERATOR:
- Victor Hwang, COO of LARTA (the regional technology alliance for
Southern California)

PANELISTS:
- Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of YaYa
- Tracy Fullerton, President of Spiderdance
- Chris Kantrowitz, Co-Founder of The Groove Alliance and
President of 7ate9 Productions
- Mark Kapczynski, Principal Consultant, Microsoft
- Mark Surfas, Founder, Chairman and CEO, GameSpy
*Other panelists to be announced.