HI Corporation and Bandai Networks announced that the companies began supplying the popular Japanese Java game series “3D Appli Selection” on September 22 to “Super i-style”, the mobile internet service instituted by Taiwan’s mobile phone carrier, Far EasTone Telecommunications. These are the first 3D games to debut on Super i-style. The initial lineup of three 3D mobile games, “3D Darts,” “3D Bass Fishing,” and “3D Boxing” will be supplied.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan’s equivalent of The Financial Times or The Wall Street Journal, reported on Sunday September 7 that Japan will introduce number portability to keitai from 2005. If you’re not familiar with this system, it allows you tokeep your cell phone number when you switch between carriers and thus removes one of the significant barriers to jumping ship and signing up with a rival provider. Now call me a cynic if you like, but doesn’t it seem a little too convenient that this system is being introduced just as it is becoming difficult to sign up new subscribers?
On Sept. 4th WWJ attended the Otemachi Corporate News Room for a press conference hosted by DoCoMo President and CEO Dr. Keiji Tachikawa. He covered a wide range of topics including; a new carry-over billing plan and upgraded service offerings for FOMA, brisk sales – 2.7 million units – of the recently launched 505 series handsets and the new ‘Hearty Style’ campaign package for handicapped users. He also took questions regarding their current and upcoming 3G activities in China and Taiwan, and offered his personal thoughts on the differing strategies between DoCoMo and Vodafone. If you need the full-skinny, in English, we’re the only game in town! Full Program Run-time 21:19
Conventional wisdom teaches that Japan’s mobile industry is at least 18 months in front of Europe (and years ahead of the US). That truism is no more, however, as Europe’s cellular carriers, handset makers, and wireless Internet content providers have sweated blood to catch up – and catch up they have indeed. Daniel Scuka is in Germany this fall where he’s helping WWJpartner
Taito Corp, a Japanese game software developer, and Finland’s mobile communications company, Nokia Corp, announced on Aug 28 a plan for joint presentation of a karaoke application to be used on cell phones in Asia. Taito will offer an application using its karaoke data format, “Sequential Display Object Format” (SDOF) for Nokia’s GSM-compatible mobile phone “Nokia 3300.”
iFone Ltd, the leading global wireless entertainment publisher, today announced the creation of content based on QUALCOMM’s Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) platform. The company plans to roll out an extensive catalog of BREW- based titles such as classic Atari favorites Centipede, Asteroids and Breakout. iFone is also creating BREW-based content that takes advantage of the company’s exclusive global wireless rights to Hasbro brands and is planning to offer BREW-based versions of family favorites, including Monopoly, Clue and Battleship.
