Content Providers
Content Providers

Content Providers

Index Tuning in for Mobile Digital TV Contracts

Index Tuning in for Mobile Digital TV ContractsIndex Corp., a Japanese company specializing in creating content for mobile phones, is rounding up TV contracts aimed at specialized interactive services linking mobile handsets and television programming. A story in the Nihon Keizai business daily reported the company was on the verge of issuing around 20 billion yen in shares to four other broadcasters including Nippon Television Network, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Fuji Television Network and TV Tokyo. When asked by WWJ, Index would say only that parties concerned were in negotiations and nothing could be confirmed yet. The news, confirmed or not, drove Index shares up 9.5 percent on the JASDAQ on 25 May. Both TV Asahi and Fuji Television already own around 1-2 percent of shares in Index.

The company is currently in partnership with five broadcasters for a remote control application that displays TV listings for the whole country on mobile phones. Launched in March, TeMo Chan is free to download, works with all carriers and also provides access to official mobile sites of TV programmers. Partners are Tokyo Broadcasting, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, Nippon Broadcasting (NTV), TV Tokyo.

Mitsui Invests in Mobile Multimedia

Japanese corporate powerhouse Mitsui is making moves on international mobile markets. The company has invested US$8.2 million in Buongiorno Vitaminic’s US operations. Mitsui’s equity investment gives the Japanese trading company a minority position in Buongiorno US with shares totaling 19.9 percent. While Buongiorno Vitaminic may sound like a health drink, the company is actually a five-year old Italian multinational handling multimedia content for telephony and digital channels. The company maintains a presence in all major European markets and is pushing into the US as well.

Nintendo, IGN Join to Create a New Wi-Fi Mobile Gaming Network

Nintendo is partnering with IGN Entertainment to create an innovative network for portable video games that is not only expansive but also extremely easy for everyone to use. Set to debut later this year, the wireless service for Nintendo DST will use IGN’s GameSpy Technology to let people around the world link easily and wirelessly to play games, just as if they were playing face-to-face. The Nintendo DS service will provide an easy, seamless transition to wireless Wi-Fi gaming, the service represents the first foray by IGN’s GameSpy into portable games.

Bandai, Namco Joining Forces?

Bandai, creator of “The Power Rangers” and “Ultraman”, valued at 236.5 billion yen, may merge with Namco, who created “Pac-Man,” and has a market value of 154.9 billion yen, to create Japan’s second-biggest toy and video-game maker. The companies will combine as early as September under a holding company run by Bandai President Takeo Takasu and Namco Vice Chairman Kyushiro Takagi, according to Nihon Keizai shimbun article today. The companies may also develop content for high-speed Internet access and mobile phone users, the newspaper said.

Japan Exporting BREW Mobile Game Contents

Japan Exporting BREW Mobile Game ContentsKDDI will export BREW-based mobile game know-how to American telecoms hungry for advanced mobile content. Game producers Interactive Brains and Mobcast Inc. are KDDI’s first partners in this venture. Mobcast will initially supply two games: a quick-draw shooting game, ‘Hayauchi Gunman’ and ‘Photo Aquarium,’ which lets you decorate pictures on a mobile phone with a mobile aquarium. Interactive Brains will provide a high-speed 3-D racing game, Lightstream, available here on Vodafone and au. The content will be offered by the Japanese game makers with KDDI providing collection services and taking a cut of the action. The company also intends to localize game software itself for marketing and distribution on overseas networks. According to Interactive Brains, their game is scheduled for release in the US between late summer and autumn.

Massive Mobile Multi-Player Game Rollout Announced

Massive Mobile Multi-Player Game Rollout AnnouncedDoCoMo ruled 2004 with their 900i-series 3G phones and exclusive Final Fantasy VII spin off game ‘Before Crisis’ but spring 2005 belongs to KDDI. Japan’s leading 3G carrier has just whipped out a whole new posse of BREW-based mobile multiplayer games for their WIN CDMA 1X 3G handsets: Bandai’s Gundam (Kidousenshi Gundam 3D Meguri Ai Sora Hen); Bomberman 2 from Hudson; Armored Core; Ace Combat by Namco; Sega Rally; Street Fighter II and more. In February, KDDI launched EZ Game Street a new gaming platform powered by Square Enix; the user-friendly image-based interface and landscape of 350 games is set to become even more engaging with this boulevard of multiplayer options powered by new, fixed data rates.