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Game

Game

Namco Offers SEGA Video Gametones

Through a licensing agreement with SEGA of America, Namco America today announced the availability of SEGA’s classic game sounds as ringtones. SEGA’s game tones will be available initially through Namco’s PAC-MAN’s Arcade Corner, an interactive ringtone application with a colorful, retro feel and a source for exclusive video game ringtones. The game tones are available now on BREW carriers, including Verizon Wireless, Alltel and Western Wireless, and will be available on other carriers in the future.

Tokyo Game Show 2005

Tokyo Game Show 2005

Packed with international game and console makers out to show the press and public just what they can do, the Tokyo Game Show opened yesterday for a three-day run at Chiba’s Makuhari Messe Convention Center. Eager to showcase their mobile gaming platforms, DoCoMo set up a giant booth splashed in black paint over yellow for a "street style" look. Multiple mobile play stations circling the entire area had event goers lined up ten deep to try out mobile games like Monster Hunter, Sonic, Gundam, and many more. Everyone who plays a game receives different free collectible badges that fit into a DoCoMo badge folder — also free — guaranteeing big crowds here. Last year DoCoMo enjoyed great success with a similar system that handed out collectible cards for each game.

Many handsets come with games already pre-loaded. The new DoCoMo N901iS, for example, has Dragonquest II (from Enix) pre-installed and ready to play. One of the most popular games was a mobile version of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog in playable demo form. Sonic will come bundled with one FOMA 901i-series phone starting this winter. An engaging game even on mobile, the movements and execution on the FOMA were reminiscent of the old Sega Genesis edition of Sonic. Capcom’s Monster Hunter, another popular game, will be exclusively on DoCoMo phones for a short time this winter but will soon migrate to other carriers’ game platforms according to a DoCoMo spokesman.

Japan Hosts International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing

Japan Hosts International Conference on Ubiquitous ComputingThe Seventh International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, UbiComp 2005, was held September 11-14 in Tokyo, Japan. This annual conference provides the premier forum in which to present research results in all areas relating to the design, implementation, application and evaluation of ubiquitous computing technologies, bringing together leading researchers from a variety of disciplines and geographical areas who are exploring the frontiers of computing as it moves beyond the desktop and becomes increasingly interwoven into our mobile lives.

Organized to provide a productive forum in which international researchers and members of the industry can discuss key issues and future uses of ubiquitous computing that create compelling, and socially beneficial experiences, and to facilitate an exchange of ideas that will allow ubiquitous applications to break out of their current “niche” and into the mainstream.

Ticket Guru Pia Goes For 3G Gaming

Japanese ticket and entertainment publishing powerhouse Pia has made its first tentative foray into mobile gaming in a tie-up with DoCoMo. Pet simulation game AquaZone swam onto i-mode screens a few days ago through Pia’s partnership with Frontier Group and its subsidiary Pia Digital Communications [press release in Japanese]. The PC version of AquaZone’s virtual Aquarium is already a hit with fish fanciers here and even on the small screen DoCoMo’s Foma 3G graphics keep the colors bright and clear. Subscriptions cost 315 yen per month (US$2.87).

Jazelle for New DoCoMo 3G Phones

ARM has announced that their Jazelle technology will be deployed in a new line of FOMA handsets by NTT DoCoMo. Emerging applications such as mobile games and business tools place increased performance and power demands on Java technology-enabled handsets. Through ARM’s partnership with Aplix Corporation, a global leader in deploying Java technology in mobile phones, ARM Jazelle technology is being adopted in the DoJa/Java platform for FOMA handsets, which is being jointly developed by Aplix and NTT DoCoMo.

Official Nintendo Mobile Service

A recent report from the Nikkei reveals that Nintendo has licensed its properties for use as mobile phone content. According to this official Nintendo site [ in Japanese ], the service will be named Nintendo Mobile, and will begin on Japanese service provider NTT DoCoMo on October 17th, KDDI(au) on October 20th, and Vodafone on November 1st.