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Main Stories
o Microsoft Denies RealNetworks' Allegations of Media Player Monopoly
o Napster Reports 5 Million Song Downloads Sold
o Sony Cancels Release of Two MP3 Player Models in Japan
o MPEG-4 Video Developer IVast Shuts Down, Lays Off 34 Employees
o Film Producer Boll KG Buys Rights to German Video Game "Far Cry"

o Briefly Noted: Atari - CFO resignation, NDS Mobile DRM, Beatnik Audio - Texas Instruments, Gametrac Europe - Samsung Semiconductor, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Square Enix U.S.A., Superscape Group - Fox's "Independence Day," Followap - Pixel Game Technologies, Unsigned Music Network, Zap2it.com - Fandango, "Walkman Busting"

San Francisco -- In a court filing submitted on Friday, Microsoft denied allegations raised by rival RealNetworks in a $1 billion antitrust suit that the company has used its monopoly over PC operating systems to discriminate against RealNetworks' media player in favor of its own Windows Media Player. The "more than 300 million unique users of RealPlayer that RealNetworks claims to have undermine any allegation of distribution foreclosure," Microsoft wrote in its filing, arguing that there is healthy competition in the digital media player market. Microsoft also points out in the filing that it has included the ability for users of its operating systems since the release of Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP to manually remove all visible means of access to Windows Media Player, and make another media player the default choice for all media types. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 1.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040221/microsoft_realnetworks_13.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-5162785.html 
http://www.realnetworks.com
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o Napster Reports 5 Million Song Downloads Sold

Los Angeles -- Napster, a division of Roxio that sells digital music downloads, announced on Monday that it has now sold a total of over 5 million tracks through its online service. Additionally, the company said that it now counts 1.5 million members combined for its basic and premium services. By contrast, rival Apple's most recent figures indicate the company has sold 30 million tracks through its iTunes Music Store, accounting for approximately 70% of the total downloaded music market.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040223/lam107_1.html 
http://www.napster.com
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o Sony Cancels Release of Two MP3 Player Models in Japan

Tokyo -- Consumer electronics firm Sony announced on Monday that it has cancelled the release of two MP3 player models in Japan due to problems with their built-in FM radios, the Associated Press reported. Part of the company's Aiwa product line, the AZ-FS256 and AZ-FS1 MP3 players are among 13 models either already released or soon to go on sale in Japan. "It is extremely regrettable that this product could not go on sale, and we are very sorry this happened about a product we had announced," Sony spokesman Daichi Yamafuji told AP.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040223/sony_music_players_1.html
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o MPEG-4 Video Developer IVast Shuts Down, Lays Off 34 Employees

San Francisco -- IVast, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based provider of MPEG-4 based digital media delivery hardware and software, has ceased operations and will see its assets sold to Singapore-based DG2L, CNET News.com reported. Around 35 iVast employees were laid off, with 22 remaining in the international unit that is expected to be part of an asset sale to DG2L, provider of an MPEG-4 based high-definition digital cinema video system. "The North America market was not there to sustain," former iVast employee Ben Silva told News.com. Silva added that the company struggled because U.S. companies were reluctant to adopt nascent MPEG-4 technologies, while 85-95% of the company's revenue came from the Asia-Pacific region.
http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5162843.html 
http://www.ivast.com 
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o Film Producer Boll KG Buys Rights to German Video Game "Far Cry"

Los Angeles -- German production firm Boll KG has purchased the film rights to yet another video game, and will give a $25 million budget to turn German developer Crytek's PC title "Far Cry" into a horror movie. While the game is slated for release by publisher Ubisoft on March 23, a free demo of the game has been downloaded over 1.5 million times in a month's time. The "Far Cry" movie will be directed by Dr. Uwe Boll and produced by Shawn Williamson's Brightlight Pictures, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Boll KG has also purchased film rights for video games including "Blood Rayne," "Alone in the Dark," "House of the Dead," "Fear Effect" and "Hunter: The Reckoning."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/new_media/video_games.jsp
http://www.boll-kg.de 
http://www.farcry.ubi.com

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(New York) Video game publisher Atari on Monday announced the resignation of its chief financial officer, David J. Fremed, who left the company to pursue other opportunities. As the company conducts a search for a successor, it said that senior vice president Harry Rubin will be overseeing its finance group.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040223/235402_1.html 
http://www.atari.com

(London) NDS, a unit of News Corporation that develops secure content delivery technology for digital television and wireless platforms, on Monday announced the release of its NDS Mobile DRM, technology designed to protect multimedia content distributed on cell phones. NDS said the technology supports both versions of the Open Mobile Alliance's digital rights management standards. London-based NDS also announced said that Alcotel, a provider of multimedia platforms and applications to mobile network operators, will use NDS Mobile DRM to protect content distributed on its new service that provides secure download and streaming of any kind of mobile content to Symbian- and Java-enabled cell phones.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040223/235055_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040223/235505_1.html
http://www.openmobilealliance.org 
http://www.acotel.com 
http://www.nds.com

(Cannes, France) Mobile digital audio developer Beatnik Audio announced on Monday that chipmaker Texas Instruments has licensed the Beatnik Audio Engine for inclusion on its TCS chipsets for mobile phones. San Mateo, Calif.-based Beatnik's technology incorporates a synthesiser, mixer, sample rate converter, linear audio player and support for MIDI, SP-MIDI, XMF, RMF, and WAV file formats.
http://www.beatnik.com/news/releases/04_02_23_ti.html
http://www.ti.com/sc/wirelesschipset

(London) Gametrac Europe, a division of U.S.-based Tiger Telematics that is developing a new handheld, multifunctional video game device, announced on Monday that the Gametrac console will feature Samsung Semiconductor's S3C2440 mobile application processor. In addition to playing video games, the Gametrac features an MP3 player, video player, multimedia messaging, GPS function and built-in camera. The device is due to launch in the U.K. later this year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040223/lnm005_1.html 
http://www.samsungsemi.de 
http://www.gametrac.com

(Foster City, Calif.) Sony Computer Entertainment America on Monday announced the slate of six game titles it intends to release through April 2004. The company last week released "Rise to Honor" for PlayStation 2, and on March 16 will release its 989 Sports studio's "MLB 2005." On March 23, the company will release "Final Fantasy XI," alongside its 40GB hard disk drive accessory for PlayStation 2. Sony also plans to release 989 Sports' "World Tour Soccer 2005" on April 13. Finally, "Siren" for PlayStation 2 will be released on April 20, along with "Eye Toy: Groove," a dance title for Sony's USB camera accessory for PlayStation 2 that features licensed tracks from artists including Madonna, Jamiroquai and Fatboy Slim.
http://www.playstation.com

(Los Angeles) Square Enix U.S.A., the U.S. distribution arm of the Japanese video game developer, on Monday announced the upcoming summer release of two new game titles. The company will release "Front Mission 4" in June, and "Star Ocean Till the End of Time" in August. The latter title is based on "Star Ocean," a roleplaying game that has seen two titles previously released in Japan.
http://www.square-enix-usa.com

(San Clemente, Calif.) Superscape Group, a developer of mobile 3D content technology, announced on Monday a licensing agreement with 20th Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising, to produce a 3D wireless game based on the movie "Independence Day." U.K.-based Superscape said the game will be available in April for BREW-based handsets and in July for Java-enabled wireless devices.
http://www.superscape.com

(London) Followap, a developer of location-based mobile technologies, and wireless game technology developer Pixel Game Technologies announced on Monday that they will integrate their solutions for wireless network operators. The combined solution will allow for multiplayer wireless games where players may see other online users who are interested in playing games, and receive alerts when one of their contacts is available for a gaming session. Other enabled features will include gaming teams that are automatically assembled based on skill level or device capabilities, and in-game push-to-talk voice service.
http://www.followap.com 
http://www.pixel-tech.com

(Los Angeles) Start-up firm Unsigned Music Network on Monday announced the launch of UMN.com, which it describes as a "distribution and marketing hub offering scalable tools and services designed to enable independent artists to self-market their music and build careers." The company was co-founded by Steve Sheiner, former executive vice president for sales and marketing at MP3.com. UMN.com will sell subscriptions for between $10 and $30 per month, offering bands home pages and MP3 hosting, e-mail fan list management and access to the company's licensing and publishing services.
http://www.umn.com

(Chicago) Zap2it.com, a unit of newspaper publisher Tribune's Media Services division, announced on Monday that it will combine its online movie showtimes with the ability to purchase advance tickets online through Hollywood-based Fandango. The service will initially be offered on the website for Calendar Live, the entertainment listings section on the website for The Los Angeles Times.
http://www.zap2it.com 
http://www.fandango.com 
http://www.calendarlive.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Monday reported on a number of radio shows whose goals are to expose radio listeners to the music that people on the street are listening to, by recording what is playing on their portable music players and then rebroadcasting that music over the airwaves. "The idea of the show is to puncture the private bubble of the personal listening device and engage listeners in a social experience," NPR reporter Gideon D'Arcangelo, who produces the "Walkman Busting" segments for a program called "The Next Big Thing," told Wired News.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,62353,00.html
http://www.nextbigthing.org 
http://www.traffic-island.co.uk ____________________________________________

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