Content Providers
Content Providers

Content Providers

Hudson Adopts Tira Jump Suite

Tira Wireless have just announced that mobile gaming giant Hudson Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of Hudson Soft, has licensed their Tira Jump Product Suite. The agreement builds on a long-standing relationship in which Hudson has been using Tira Wireless’ professional services to adapt its content for global consumption. Hudson’s mobile division is a major publisher on Verizon Wireless and Cingular, offering a broad selection of popular titles, including Bomberman, Burger Time, Lode Runner, and Adventure Island.

Virtual Girlfriend for Your Mobile

Hong Kong-based Artificial Life, Inc., a provider of mobile 3G technology and applications, have just announced that its flagship and award-winning 3G product: V-Girl – "Your Virtual Girlfriend" – will launch with 3 in Hong Kong today. WWJ has been following the roll-out of Artificial Life products over the last few months and we expect to see them in Japan very soon as the company is in negotiations with the major carriers here.

Yahoo Japan Launches Mobile Content

Yahoo Japan announced it will launch a mobile content distribution service in which cell-phone users can buy games, ring tones, news and other services in 17 categories from 59 content providers including Cybird and game-maker Taito Corp. A full breakdown of their new offerings after the jump.

KDDI's EZ Channel at CEATEC

KDDI's EZ Channel at CEATECCEATEC, otherwise known as ‘Disneyland for mobi-keeners,’ is possibly planet Earth’s most intense concentration of mobile goodies. KDDI’s “EZ Channel” system, launched together with flat-rate data billing and the high-speed 1X EV-DO “WIN” 3G network in late 2003, is one of the few content services optimised for the network’s 2.4-Mbps nominal speed. WWJ went to CEATEC to grab the details on EZ Channel, which includes a unique overnight download feature that makes use of the quietest time of the day to deliver up to 3 megabytes of video programming to subscribers’ handsets while the network snoozes.

The EZ Channel service allows subscribers to select 3 programs from a menu of 53 channels (by end-October 2005), including news, weather, sports and entertainment favorites such as “Chaku Uta Ranking” (Label Mobile), “Sponge Bob Mobile” (Viacom) and Disney Mobile Wave. A single channel typically runs up to 1MB, and is refreshed 1-3 times per week (some, like weather, are new daily).

Manga Publishers Moving to Mobile

Cartoon-strip publishers, whose printed-matter sales have been losing steam, are actively embracing mobile media because cell phones are what young people are spending their time and money on. Cell phone sites for cartoon strips are booming, as is demand for popular titles. But at the same time, some famous “manga” artists are bypassing publishing houses to offer their works to “keitai” (cell phone) sites directly. (See WWJ’s initial video report on this topic — from Sept. 2003!! — Ed.)

You Say You Want a Revolution

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of this year’s Tokyo Game Show was the first apperance in the event’s 15-year history by a Nintendo company president; Satoru Iwata made a keynote speech to introduce their Revolution wireless game controller [.jpg image] and if you have not seen the .mov trailer for that yet, surf over to 3yen.com and check it out. See Gail Nakada’s video report from TGS.. 🙂