archives

o Microsoft Slashes Price of Xbox Console 40% in Europe, U.K.
o U.K. Broadband Service BTopenworld Launches Online Gambling Service
o Game Developer Sega Launches Mobile Games Division
o Report: New York New Media Assoc. Sold to D.C.-based SIIA
> Digital Media Wire Panel: Interactive TV | April 25 | NYC
o Briefly Noted: Concurrent - EverStream, CinemaNow - Cflix, M-Wise -
Omnitel Vodafone, TDK Mediactive - the Muppets, Knight Ridder Digital,
Kazaa Lite, Battle.net vs. bnetd
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o Microsoft Slashes Price of Xbox Console 40% in Europe, U.K.

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft on Thursday cut the price of its Xbox video
game console in Europe by 40 percent, from about $419 to around $266. The
company also reduced the game's price in Great Britain, where it is now
available for $288 instead of the original price of $434. "This is a
long-term strategic move that will benefit our retail partners, our
third-party publishing partners and ultimately the gamer," Microsoft said
in a statement. Game developers including THQ had urged the company to
decrease the Xbox's price in order to spur sales, which would in turn help
game sales as well. Those in Europe and in the U.K. who purchased the Xbox
at its original price will be given the chance to offset the difference by
applying to receive free games and a free game controller.
http://www.xbox.com/uk/news/0025.htm
http://biz.yahoo.com/ri/020418/tech_xbox_1.html
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o U.K. Broadband Service BTopenworld Launches Online Gambling Service

London -- BTopenworld, the broadband service provider unit of British
Telecom, announced on Thursday the launch of an online gambling site for
its subscribers. The company partnered with Las Vegas local casino
operators Station Casinos and international casino operators Sun
International Hotels' online division to develop the gambling site, which
will offer downloadable and online casino games. BTopenworld partnered
with UKbetting.com for the sports betting element of the site. "This is
just the first step for us in the sports betting sector," said John
Raczka, BTopenworld senior vice president of content. "In the near future,
we plan to launch an exclusive broadband sports subscription service that
will offer even greater value to bookmakers seeking to turn sports fans
into punters."
http://www.btopenworld.com/sport
http://www.ukbetting.com
_____________________________________________

o Game Developer Sega Launches Mobile Games Division

San Francisco -- Sega.com, the online games unit of game developer Sega,
announced on Thursday the launch of Sega Mobile, a new division that will
focus on the development of games for cell phones and other wireless
devices in North America. The new division will feature publishing,
content delivery, and marketing teams that will bring Sega game titles
such as "Pengo," "Flicky," "Puyo Puyo" and "Monaco GP" to wireless
devices. Ryoichi Shiratsuchi, CEO of Sega.com and general manager of Sega
Mobile Japan, will head the new Sega Mobile North American division.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/221080075&ticker=
http://www.sega.com/mobile
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o Report: New York New Media Assoc. Sold to D.C.-based SIIA

New York -- AtNewYork.com reports that the Washington, D.C.-based Software
and Information Industry Association is acquiring the New York New Media
Association, a technology trade association. Sources told AtNewYork.com
that the two associations will merge internal operations while keeping
their names and current boards. The New York New Media Association is a
group of individual dues-paying members that holds conferences and
networking events for the city's new media community. The membership of
the Software and Information Industry Association is corporate-based, and
was formed when two software-oriented associations came together.
http://www.atnewyork.com/news/article/0,1471,8471_1011031,00.html
http://www.siia.net/
http://www.nynma.org/
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STREAMING MEDIA WEST 2002 - April 23-26, Los Angeles Convention Center

**FREE EXHIBITION*** (last day to pre-register online is April 19)
Experience the tricks behind the trade and find today's business
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Or contact register@streamingmedia.com or 888 301-8890

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o Briefly Noted:

(Atlanta) Concurrent Computer Corp., a provider of video-on-demand
systems, said on Thursday that it has licensed and will co-market
EverStream's digital TV ad insertion software with the products it offers
cable TV operators. As part of the agreement, Atlanta-based Concurrent has
made a $500,000 equity investment in Cleveland-based EverStream, whose
software can manage and deliver advertising campaigns for technologies
including video-on-demand, interactive program guides, personal video
recorders and middleware.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020418/182141_1.html
http://www.everstream.com
http://www.ccur.com

(Marina del Rey, Calif.) CinemaNow, a provider of Internet-based
video-on-demand services, said on Thursday that it has partnered with
broadband entertainment network provider Cflix to offer CinemaNow films to
Duke University students. The films will be delivered on Cflix's system,
which transmits content on Duke's closed network at speeds up to 700kbps.
CinemaNow and Cflix also plan to examine the online behavior of the
college student demographic as well as their demand for downloadable and
streaming Internet-based film content. Marina del Rey-based CinemaNow said
that additional college campuses are expected to roll out in fall of 2002.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/221080126&ticker=lgf|lgf.to
http://www.cinemanow.com
http://www.cflix.com 

(London) M-Wise, a provider of wireless entertainment delivery technology,
announced on Thursday that it will supply Italian wireless network
operator Omnitel Vodafone with a premium mobile application platform,
including hosting, content management, reporting, user analysis and
customer service tools. London-based M-Wise also said that it has launched
its wireless game "MasterMind" to Omnitel's subscribes.
http://www.m-wise.com
http://www.omnitelvodafone.it/

(Calabasas, Calif.) TDK Mediactive, a publisher of video games based on
entertainment properties, announced on Thursday an exclusive, worldwide
three-year licensing agreement with The Jim Henson Company to create
titles based on "The Muppets." Calabasas-based TDK Mediactive will develop
Muppets-themed games for Sony's PSOne and PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox,
Nintendo's GameCube and Game Boy Advance, and the PC.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020418/180019_1.html
http://www.tdk-mediactive.com
http://www.henson.com

(San Jose, Calif.) Newspaper publisher Knight Ridder has announced the
appointment of Hilary Schneider as president and CEO of Knight Ridder
Digital and as a vice president of Knight Ridder. Schneider was formerly
CEO of Red Herring Communications, publisher of technology business
magazine Red Herring. Schneider will oversee Knight Ridder's family of
websites, which includes online versions of the 32 daily newspapers it
publishes.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020416/sftu036_1.html
http://www.knightridderdigital.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Thursday reported on Kazaa Lite, a new
file-sharing software that connects to the Fast Track file-sharing network
using an interface similar to that of Sharman Networks' Kazaa software.
Where Kazaa Lite differs is that it does not install third party software
or serve banner ads to its users. Australia-based Sharman Networks created
some controversy when it was reported that the company was including third
party software with its Kazaa file-sharing software from Los Angeles-based
Brilliant Digital that would create a new network among Kazaa users that
Brilliant could use for its own purposes.
http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,51916,00.html
http://www.kazaalite.com
http://www.kazaa.com

(San Francisco) Online magazine Salon.com on Thursday featured an article
on the pending lawsuit between Vivendi Universal's Blizzard Entertainment
games unit and the creators of online game software that parallels
Blizzard's Battle.net. The bnetd software offers players of online games
such as "Starcraft" and "Diablo" -- both offered on Battle.net -- the
option to create their own game servers and play one another in private
battles, rather than having to log on to Battle.net's often taxed servers.
Vivendi has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against the ISP hosting
the bnetd software as well as one of the program's developers, Tim Jung.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has agreed to represent the bnetd
developers in the case.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/04/18/bnetd/index.html
http://www.bnetd.org/
http://www.blizzard.com/
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> DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PANEL DISCUSSION SERIES:
"iTV: New Interactive Services Fuel Big Expectations
Slow Market Penetration Raises Questions: How Big is iTV Going to Be?"

=========================================================
NEW YORK: Thursday, April 25, 2002, Cornell Club of New York City
=========================================================
Moderator: Art Cohen, SVP, Advertising, ACTV
Patrick Donoghue, VP, Interactive Television, Cablevision
Malia Flynn, Director of Product Management, WorldGate
Christopher S. Lucas, VP & Exec. Producer, Digital Media Group, Showtime
Networks
Rod A. Nenner, Director, TV & Entertainment Solutions Group, America
Online
Carla Sinatra, Vice President of Business Development, NBC
Todd Krieger, Senior Manager, Business Development, Microsoft TV

Sponsored by: WorldGate, iTV Marketer (http://www.itvmarketer.com)
For more information and to register for the New York event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCitv2.html

Sponsorships and Inquiries:
Ned Sherman at 323.464.0793 or esherman@digitalmediawire.com
Paul Sherman at psherman@digitalmediawire.com

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