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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- April 17, 2003
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Sega and Namco in Talks Concerning Possible Merger
o Apple Denies Making Offer For Vivendi Universal's Music Division
o Vivendi Says USA Interactive Lawsuit Is "Without Merit"
o Liquid Audio Announces Board Changes; Will Pursue New Line of Business
o Survey: Internet Penetration in U.S. Flattens
> DMW Publications: March Law and Policy Report
> DMW Events: Games & Mobile Forum, April 28 (NYC)
> Featured Section: Discreet cleaner XL
o Briefly Noted: Latitude Communications - Wanadu acquisition, O2 - mobile
video services, IPWireless - Jack Scanlon, Sega.com - Palm, Sony Online
Entertainment - Rapid Eye Entertainment
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> Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28 | NYC
> Marketplace: HP Workstation for a PC Price, Game Industry Report,
iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
Full Classifieds located beneath "Briefly Noted" section below.
To post a Classified Ad:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/mainpostingpage.html
or contact Tinzar Than at tinzar@digitalmediawire.com
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o Sega and Rival Namco in Talks Concerning Possible Merger
Tokyo -- Japanese game maker Sega Corp. and rival Namco Ltd. announced on
Thursday that they are in discussions concerning a possible merger that
would create Japan's biggest game software company. Namco, known for its
"Tekken" fighting games, has reportedly presented Sega with a proposal,
which calls for a merger as early as the beginning of 2004, with Sega
being the surviving entity. Sega, which abandoned its Dreamcast console
two years ago to focus on making games, said the offer was being studied
along with a proposal announced in February to integrate its operations
with Sammy Corp., a Japanese company that makes pachinko, a popular
pinball game in Japan. Sega would not say when a decision can be expected.
In trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, Sega's shares soared
15% and Namco's shares climbed 1.3%.
http://www.sega.jp/IR/en/
http://www.namco.co.jp/home/index-e.html
http://www.sammy.co.jp/english/index.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/030417/sega_namco_1.html
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o Apple Denies Making Offer For Vivendi Universal's Music Division
Paris -- Refuting various media reports, Apple Computer's CEO Steve Jobs
said that his company has made no offer to invest or acquire Vivendi
Universal's music division. However, Jobs did not deny that the two
companies were currently in talks, or that an offer could be made within
the next few weeks. Jobs' comments come in the wake of intense media
speculation this week, sparked by comments by Vivendi board member Claude
Bebear, who said that Apple would "probably" make a $6 billion bid for the
music division. Vivendi later denied that Bebear had revealed negotiations
with Apple.
http://www.apple.com
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu2/en/_home/home.cfm
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o Vivendi Says USA Interactive Lawsuit Is "Without Merit"
Paris -- Vivendi Universal said on Thursday that a lawsuit filed earlier
this week by USA Interactive is "without merit". In a statement, Vivendi
said that the USA Interactive lawsuit was filed to gain leverage in the
negotiations regarding Vivendi's ongoing asset disposal program, but that
the lawsuit will not interfere with the program. "Vivendi Universal
continues to focus on returning to an investment grade credit profile
during the first half of 2004 by continuing to reduce the company's
leverage," the company said.
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/030417/183/dxzah.html
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o Liquid Audio Announces Board Changes; Will Pursue New Line of Business
Redwood City, Calif. -- Liquid Audio, which effectively ceased operation
in January after agreeing to sell its assets and pay shareholders a cash
distribution, announced on Thursday that Seymour Holtzman and James
Mitarotonda have been named co-chairmen and co-chief executives. Holtzman
and Mitarotonda, who joined the board in early November, replace CEO
Raymond Doig and President Stephen Imbler, who handed in their
resignations in early April. The Redwood City-based digital media company
also announced that William Fox, Michael McManus Jr. and Jesse Choper will
join the board; Mel Brunt was named chief financial officer and corporate
secretary. Dow Jones reported that Brunt said Liquid Audio is "regrouping,
and plans to pursue a different, yet to be determined line of business."
The company's stock recently traded on Nasdaq at 30 cents.
http://www.liquidaudio.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030417/1458000932_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030417/media_liquidaudio_1.html
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o Survey: Internet Penetration in U.S. Flattens
Washington, DC -- According to a new survey, the rate of Internet
penetration in America has stayed roughly the same since late 2001,
hovering between 57-61%. Though the numbers had climbed steadily in prior
years, the DC-based Pew Internet & American Life Project said that there
are several possible explanations for the trend, including the number of
people dropping offline roughly equaling the number of newcomers and
financial concerns due to the sluggish economy. The organization also
offers another explanation: "It may be that we have reached a point where
the adoption curve has peaked and the market is no longer working to bring
online new groups of Internet users." Roughly 42% of Americans say they
currently do not use the Internet.
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Shifting_Net_Pop_Report.pdf
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==========================================
DMW Publications: March Law & Policy Report
==========================================
Contact tinzar@digitalmediawire.com or call 323-464-0793 to order your
copies.
To purchase directly, go to:
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.php
Digital Media Law & Policy Report - New Issue
Must-read publication on legal and policy matters related to digital
media. Thirty-two pages of case summaries, news and analysis, policy
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Published monthly. March issue on sale now!
**Special Reduced Rates available for a limited time**
Price: $19.00 Per Issue | $195.00 Annual Subscription
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.php
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DMW Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28, New York City
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Join us, leading professionals and members of the press for a cutting-edge
executive forum examining recent developments in games and mobile
entertainment. The 1-day event at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC
features 3 keynotes from leading game industry CEOs, 4 discussion panels,
exhibits and tech demos, followed by an evening of cocktails, appetizers,
networking and fun at Sansung's web2zone.com Cyber & Gaming Center in the
heart of downtown Manhattan. Early Bird registration is only $200
(includes full-day pass and after-party) until April 25:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events/Games&MobileForum_04282003.htm
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==================
FEATURED SECTION
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Featured Section posting at:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/featuredpostingpage.htm
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Briefly Noted:
(Santa Clara, Calif.) Santa Clara-based Latitude Communications, a
developer of rich-media conferencing technologies, said on Thursday that
it will acquire the assets of Los Altos-based Wanadu, a developer of
Flash-based content creation, management and delivery products, for an
undisclosed amount of cash and a percentage of future sales.
Latitude said that the acquisition is a key step in its quest to build a
conferencing system that incorporates voice, web, video and instant
messaging. Upon closing of the deal in May, Latitude will gain 22
employees, including 15 web development engineers outside the U.S.
http://shorterlink.com/?I27C83
(London) British mobile operator O2 announced that it will begin to offer
video services for mobile phones, with a trial service for 350 of its
customers to be launched at the end of this month. Notwithstanding the
fact that the company has spent billions of dollars on its 3G network, O2
has chosen to provide the video service using its existing network. The
trial run will include Sky TV news clips, weather, entertainment and
post-match highlights of Arsenal soccer matches.
http://www.o2.co.uk/
(San Bruno, Calif.) San Bruno-based IPWireless, a provider of mobile
broadband services, on Thursday named industry veteran Jack Scanlon to its
board of directors. Scanlon most recently served as the vice chairman and
CEO of Asia Global Crossing, and also is an advisor to L.A.-based Clarity
Partners, a private equity firm.
http://www.ipwireless.com/press_041703.html
(San Francisco) Network entertainment company Sega.com Inc. and handheld
computer maker Palm Inc. announced a new initiative to bring a series of
classic Sega games to Palm handhelds. The first titles to launch include
"Sonic the Hedgehog," "Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine," "Shinobi,"
"Super Columns," and "Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya." Demo versions
are available for all titles, and full versions can be purchased for
$19.95 each.
http://shorterlink.com/?JL8434
http://www.sega.com/index.jhtml
http://www.palm.com/software/sega/segamobile.html
(San Diego) Sony Online Entertainment Inc. announced that its first
offline PC gaming product -- Lords of EverQuest -- is expected to be out
by this fall. The real-time strategy game, which is being developed by San
Diego-based Rapid Eye Entertainment, transports players to the land of
Antonica and allows them to control one of 15 Lords in a bid for control
of the land across 36 single player missions. The game also includes a
free online multiplayer mode that will allow up to a dozen players to
compete with each other over the Internet.
http://lordsofeverquest.station.sony.com
http://www.soe.sony.com/
http://www.rapideyeentertainment.com
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CLASSIFIEDS - JOBS
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====================
CLASSIFIEDS - EVENTS
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To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/eventpostingpage.htm
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==========================
CLASSIFIEDS - MARKETPLACE
==========================
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Copyright 2003 Digital Media Wire, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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