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Main Stories
o Virgin Group Launches Music Download Service in U.S.
o FT: Microsoft to Argue that EU Assessment of Market "Incorrect"
o U.K. Government Approves BBC Technology Sale to Siemens
o Report: CDs to Still Dominate in 2009; Digital Music Will Be 8% of Market
o Comcast to Divest from Time Warner Cable Business
o Report: Washington Post May Acquire Microsoft Webzine Slate 
o Infinium Labs Postpones Phantom Game Console Launch Until 2005
o Electronic Arts Sells Record 1 Million Copies of "The Sims 2"in 10 Days
o Toshiba to Release First 60GB Microdrive MP3 Player in Japan Next Month
o Online Casual Games Publisher PlayFirst Launches With $5 Million
o Atlus Invests $5.6 Million in Japanese Mobile Games Firm BBMF
o Video Recorder Firm 3VR Secures $5 Million in First Round

o Briefly Noted: Akimbo Systems - TBS, Michigan - CD antitrust settlement, Verbatim LightScribe - HP, Alpine Electronics - iPod adapter, NormSoft - GlooLabs, On Command - Harrah's, US Presswire, Miami International University of Art & Design - online MFA, Nintendo - "Donkey Konga," Square Enix Webstar Network, Atari, Electronic Arts, THQ, Vivendi Universal Games, ValuSoft, Sony Online Entertainment, Aspyr Media
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London -- Virgin Group joined a growing list of companies on Monday when it launched its new Virgin Digital music download service in the U.S., offering songs at 99 cents apiece and a monthly subscription service for $7.99. The company said it would also offer streaming radio with Radio Free Virgin, as well as a range of portable device management tools. Virgin Digital said it would eventually offer the service outside of the U.S., but did not provide specific dates thereof. Virgin Digital, a unit of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, downplayed the fact that a large number of players already offer similar services in the U.S. and elsewhere. "We don't see this as crowded," said Virgin Digital president Zack Zalon. "It's not saturated at all, and there is tremendous growth potential." Zalon also said that Virgin was taking a long-term approach to the market and that it expected to be a "significant player" within five years.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D5E063369 
http://www.virgindigital.com 
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o FT: Microsoft to Argue that EU Assessment of Market "Incorrect"

Brussels -- The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Microsoft plans to argue that the European Commission's antitrust ruling against the U.S. software giant was misguided because the European market for media players is far more varied than the Commission previously claimed. In March, the EU found Microsoft in breach of European antitrust laws; Microsoft's appeal of that decision will be heard in court later this week. Microsoft told the Financial Times that "much of the evidence that the Commission presents on this issue is incorrect". What's more, Microsoft told the Financial Times that "all signs point to a growing, vibrant media player market, with neither media players nor media formats showing any signs of 'tipping' to Microsoft technologies". As proof positive of its claim, the company cited the introduction of new music services by Apple and Sony and Yahoo's recent acquisition of Musicmatch.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z3B323569 
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o U.K. Government Approves BBC Technology Sale to Siemens

London -- U.K. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has approved the sale of BBC Technology to Siemens AG, a German engineering and IT firm, for 2 billion pounds ($3.6 billion). Siemens will now provide the BBC's technology unit with a wide range of services covering IT, business systems, application development, network servers, telephony and even broadcast technology. In a letter sent to BBC Technology staff last Friday, Jowell said that she had found "no legitimate reason" to stop the sale, which the BBC claims will save it more than 30 million pounds ($54 million) a year in IT costs. Even so, local trade union BECTU, which has opposed the sale since its proposal last November, lamented Jowell's decision, saying it was "certainly not good" for the BBC in the long term. "This isn't just the BBC selling off one of its Crown Jewels," said BECTU Assistant General Secretary Gerry Morrissey in a statement. "It's a case of handing its central nervous system over to the private sector."
http://www.bectu.org.uk/news/bbc/nb0228.html
http://www.culture.gov.uk/default.htm 
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o Report: CDs to Still Dominate in 2009; Digital Music Will Be 8% of Market

London -- Compact discs will continue to dominate the recorded music market for at least the next five years, while digital music downloads will slowly increase their market share, according to a report from New York-based market research firm Jupiter Research. The firm predicted that Europeans will spend about $1 billion on digital music in 2009, including downloads and subscription services, but this will make up only 8% of the overall $12.6 billion music market there. By contrast, rival research firm Forrester predicted recently that digital music would make up 30% of the overall European market by 2009. "Digital music distribution will be an important alternative revenue channel for the music industry, but it is not about to replace the CD," said Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan. "Although Europe's digital music market has finally begun to take off after a sluggish start, it will remain a relatively niche market."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E23312669 
http://www.jupitermedia.com 
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o Comcast to Divest from Time Warner Cable Business

San Francisco -- Comcast, the nation's largest provider of cable TV and Internet services, said that it has reached a deal with Time Warner allowing the company to divest its stake in Time Warner's cable business. Comcast owns a 21% stake in Time Warner Cable, which it bought as part of its acquisition of AT&T's cable systems in 2002. Comcast hopes to sell its stake through a public offering of shares, but such a transaction will not occur before six months from now, the company announced.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040927/275540_1.html 
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o Report: Washington Post May Acquire Microsoft Webzine Slate

Washington -- The Washington Post Company is reportedly close to acquiring Microsoft online news site Slate, according to a story on the New York magazine website. Microsoft put Slate on the market in July, saying that it was seeking an owner "where the rest of their businesses are more aligned." The New York Times reportedly was interested, but has since decided to pass on the deal. New York Magazine said that the Post is attracted to Slate's talent pool, as well as its "smart-people-procrastinating-at-work readership." Both Slate and the Post declined to comment.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?F28715569 
http://www.slate.com 
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o Infinium Labs Postpones Phantom Game Console Launch Until 2005

Sarasota, Fla. -- Infinium Labs, developer of a PC-based broadband gaming console, has announced that it has postponed the release of its Phantom gaming service from November until some time in 2005. "The decision was at the request of both its retail and marketing partners, who have told Infinium that they want more time to plan merchandising activities for the new games-on-demand service," the company said in a statement. The company did not provide a new launch date for the service, which will provider gamers with free hardware in return for subscribing to the broadband game delivery service. "Retailers gear their fourth quarter holiday promotions around gift-giving opportunities," Infinium president Kevin Bachus told GamesIndustry.biz, "and they feel, as we do, that our service will not be bought primarily as a gift for someone else. It will more likely be a self-purchase."
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/040924/iflb.ob8-k.html
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=4611
http://www.infiniumlabs.com 
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o Electronic Arts Sells Record 1 Million Copies of "The Sims 2"in 10 Days

Redwood City, Calif. -- Video game publisher Electronic Arts announced that its "The Sims 2" PC game sold over one million copies worldwide in its first 10 days of release, marking the biggest PC game launch in the company's history. EA said that over half of the units were sold in Europe. "The Sims franchise has become a cultural phenomenon and The Sims 2 is a game that changes the way we think about our industry," said EA senior vice president of marketing Frank Gibeau. The game is the sequel to "The Sims," which is the top-selling PC game of all time. EA also offers a somewhat less popular online version of the game, "The Sims Online." Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts plans to release "The Urbz: Sims in the City" for PlayStation 2 in November, featuring a soundtrack produced by hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040927/275361_1.html 
http://thesims2.ea.com 
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o Toshiba to Release First 60GB Microdrive MP3 Player in Japan Next Month

Tokyo -- Japanese consumer electronics firm Toshiba has announced that it plans to release the first 60GB portable digital music player with a 1.8-inch hard disk drive, capable of holding up to 15,000 songs, in Japan at the end of November. The new models in its Gigabeat player line resemble the Apple iPod, but will feature a "plus sign"-shaped touch sensor and high-resolution 2.2-inch color displays. The 60GB player will feature a silver casing, while new 10GB and 20GB players will be available in silver, white, pink and blue. Toshiba also plans to introduce a smaller line of Gigabeat players that feature a 10GB capacity, and will be available in black or red cases.
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2004_09/pr2701.htm 
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o Online Casual Games Publisher PlayFirst Launches With $5 Million

San Francisco -- A number of former employees of AtomShockwave, Macromedia and Ubisoft have announced the formation of PlayFirst, which will publish popular mass-appeal or, "casual" online games. The company has raised $5 million in first round venture capital financing from Mayfield and Trinity Ventures. PlayFirst was created by chief executive John Welch, formerly of AtomShockwave; chief technology officer Brad Edelman, formerly with Macromedia; and Jason Rubinstein, PlayFirst's vice president of marketing and business development, who joins the company from Ubisoft. "Our management team is bringing a new model of publishing to what we see as an emerging market: popular games," said PlayFirst co-founder and CEO John Welch. "We're going beyond the hardcore gamer. We want to reach families, women, and new audiences with games that are easy to play and fun." PlayFirst plans to launch its first games online in 2004 through entertainment portals and other direct-to-consumer outlets.
http://www.playfirst.com 
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o Atlus Invests $5.6 Million in Japanese Mobile Games Firm BBMF

Tokyo -- Atlus, a Japanese developer of games for PlayStation 2 and cell phones, announced on Tuesday that it has made an equity investment of $5.6 million in Japanese mobile game developer BBMF Corporation, increasing its stake to 9.4% of the company. Under the agreement, BBMF will also purchase Atlus' Japanese mobile game distribution business for about $2.7 million, and acquired a 10-year license to use Atlus' mobile games and trademark.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040928/hktu003_1.html 
http://www.atlus.co.jp 
http://www.bbmf.net 
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o Video Recorder Firm 3VR Secures $5 Million in First Round

San Francisco -- 3VR Security, a developer of the high-tech video recorders used in the security sector, said on Monday that it has raised $5 million in its first round of funding, led by VantagePoint Venture Partners. The company, formerly known as Edison Carter Inc., said that it plans to accelerate its product integration and deployment efforts, bringing its products to market more quickly. 3VR's video recording technology is designed to transform raw, unstructured surveillance feeds into manageable, organized information that can be accessed through a user interface.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040924/245460_1.html 
http://www.3vr.com

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(Santa Monica, Calif.) Akimbo Systems, provider of a video-on-demand service for televisions that delivers content over the Internet, announced that it has signed an agreement with Time Warner's TBS, to offer programming from CNN, CNNfn, Cartoon Network, TCM, Boomerang and Adult Swim on its service. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Akimbo's $9.99 per month service requires that users have broadband access, a home network, and the company's Akimbo Player set-top box.
http://www.akimbo.com

(Lansing, Mich.) Michigan attorney general Mike Cox announced on Tuesday that the state has begun the distribution of more than 180,000 CDs to public schools, libraries, domestic violence shelters and other facilities that were awarded as part of the national antitrust settlement with the recording industry over CD price-fixing. The CDs are valued at over $2 million, and are part of the overall $143 million settlement that the recording industry reached with Michigan and 45 other states.
http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164--101264--,00.html

(Tokyo) Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM) Verbatim unit said on Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement with Hewlett-Packard to produce and market the LightScribe laser-based CD and DVD label writing technology it developed in collaboration with HP. The system uses the same laser used to burn data to a CD or DVD to create a label for the disc's opposite side. The first-generation monochrome LightScribe discs will be produced and sold by MKM/Verbatim in 2005; the company said it is currently developing discs able to accept multi-color printing.
http://www.verbatim.com

(Torrance, Calif.) Consumer audio device maker Alpine Electronics on Tuesday shipped its interface adapter for Apple's iPod, which enables users to control their iPod from a number of specially-designed Alpine automobile in-dash head units. The Alpine Interface Adapter for iPod, which also charges the device from the car's battery, will be sold from Alpine dealers for $100, while the compatible head units start at $200.
http://www.alpine-usa.com/driveyouripod

(Munich) NormSoft, a developer of consumer audio software, announced on Tuesday a partnership with mobile media service GlooLabs to allow Palm-powered PDA users to stream their home music collections to the devices while on the go. The Pocket Tunes Deluxe application will use NormSoft's audio playback software for PDAs, which also allows streaming of live Internet broadcasts, with the GlooNet service that allows remote access to personal media collections. The application is slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2004.
http://www.normsoft.com 
http://www.gloolabs.com

(Denver) On Command, a provider of in-room interactive entertainment systems for hoteliers, announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to install its video-on-demand and pay-per-view systems in properties operated by casino owner Harrah's Entertainment. The agreement covers more than 16,500 rooms in 22 Harrah's hotels.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040927/lam023_1.html 
http://www.oncommand.com 
http://www.harrahs.com

(Davie, Fla.) US Presswire on Tuesday announced the launch of its new premium sports newswire, serving newspapers, magazines and news websites with digital images of live sporting events. The service also offers an archive of sports-related content dating to the 1960s. Florida-based US Presswire said Sports Illustrated is its first customer, and added that its images will also be distributed through independent press agency and wire service Zuma Press.
http://www.uspresswire.com

(Miami) The Miami International University of Art & Design on Tuesday announced that it will offer two new online Master of Fine Arts degree programs beginning in April 2005. The school will offer online MFA degrees in Graphic Design and Computer Animation.
http://www.miu-online.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Nintendo of America on Tuesday announced the release of its "Donkey Konga" title for GameCube. The game utilizes Nintendo's new $29 bongo drums controller accessory for the GameCube, and gameplay is based on tapping the drums to move characters along with the beat of licensed songs including Devo's "Whip It" and The Romantics' "What I Like About You."
http://www.nintendo.com

(Tokyo) Japanese video game publishers Square Enix, Namco, Sega and Taito on Tuesday announced that they have partnered to distribute mobile games in China. The four companies will license their mobile games to Square Enix Webstar Network Technology, a subsidiary of Square Enix in China, which will then distribute their games through China Mobile Communications Corporation. The Square Enix Chinese unit said it is currently distributing the online game "Crossgate" to a user base of 14 million.
http://www.square-enix.com/sei/index.htm

(Beverly, Mass.) Video game publisher Atari on Tuesday shipped "Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament" for PlayStation 2 to retailers. Based on the animated children's TV series, the title was developed by Quebec-based Digital Fiction. The company also shipped "Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury" for Game Boy Advance, also based on an animated children's TV series. That game was developed by Illinois-based Webfoot Technologies. Finally, Atari said it shipped three new "Backyard Sports" titles to retailers. "Backyard Skateboarding" features Andy Macdonald as cover athlete, while "Backyard Basketball" features Tim Duncan and "Backyard Hockey" features Joe Thornton on U.S. packages and Mats Sundin in Canada. All three games were developed by Atari's Humongous Entertainment studio.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285473_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285480_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040927/275263_1.html

(Redwood City, Calif.) Electronic Arts on Tuesday announced the songs that its EA Trax initiative has licensed for its upcoming "NBA Live 2005," "NHL 2005" and "NASCAR 2005 Chase For The Cup" titles. The lineup of artists contributing tracks for the three games includes Franz Ferdinand, Foghat, Faith No More Ash, Will.I.Am and Brand New Heavies. The company also announced the release of its "NBA Live 2005" title for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Developed by EA Canada, the title features online play for PlayStation 2 and Xbox Live.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285406_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285346_1.html 
http://www.nbalive05.com

(Calabasas Hills, Calif.) Video game publisher THQ said on Tuesday that it has obtained a license from fellow publisher Midway Games to develop seven Midway arcade titles into mobile games. THQ Wireless will create mobile versions of "Defender," "Joust," "Robotron: 2084," "Spy Hunter," "Marble Madness," "Tapper" and "Mortal Kombat."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285323_1.html 
http://www.thqwireless.com 
http://www.midway.com

(Los Angeles) Vivendi Universal Games announced on Tuesday that it has siged a technology, marketing and promotional pact with graphics chipmaker ATI Technologies in support of VU Games' upcoming PC game, "Tribes: Vengeance." Slated for release on Oct. 5, the game's intensive graphics take full advantage of the latest ATI cards, the companies said. Separately, VU Games said that it shipped its "Crash Twinsanity" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to retailers. The latest installment in the 30 million unit-selling "Crash Bandicoot" franchise was developed at U.K.-based Traveller's Tales.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040927/lam083_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040928/latu055_1.html 
http://www.ati.com
http://www.tribesvengeance.com 
http://twinsanity.crashbandicoot.com

(Minneapolis) THQ's ValuSoft PC game publishing unit on Tuesday shipped its "Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball!" title for PC and Mac to retailers. The game is the second Care Bears title created under license from American Greetings and The Joester Loria Group. A new "Care Bears" DVD movie from Lions Gate Entertainment is also slated for release in October.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285121_1.html 
http://www.valusoft.com

(San Diego) Sony Online Entertainment on Tuesday announced that it will release "PlanetSide: Aftershock," a bundle that includes its "PlanetSide" massively multiplayer online game and its two expansion packs, on Oct. 18. The company said the game now counts 40,000 active players.
http://planetside.station.sony.com

(Austin) Game developer Aspyr Media on Tuesday began shipping its Mac version of Electronic Arts' "SimCity 4 Rush Hour" to retailers. The Mac conversion was completed by Aspyr Studios.
http://www.aspyr.com 
 
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