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MFORMA Closes Second Institutional Round of Financing; New Round of Funding Closely Follows $44 Million First Round Announced in June

August 18th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

MFORMA Group Inc., a leading global provider of wireless entertainment media, announced today a new round of institutional financing on the heels of closing a $44 million round in June. The new round will total up to $40 million based on the company’s needs in pending acquisitions being reviewed. The company announced a first close on $19 million in the new round, led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and including participation by existing investors General Catalyst Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.

“The market for interactive mobile media is accelerating,” said Daniel Kranzler, MFORMA CEO. “At the same time a land grab of consolidation is underway with companies jockeying for market position. With MFORMA now reaching over 500 million mobile users through more than 100 wireless operators, we are perfectly positioned to be the leader in market consolidation. This round plus our previous funding gives us as much capital as if we had gone public, yet we still have the flexibility of a private company to innovate in our business. We were approached by one of the strongest and most experienced venture teams in the world, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and their managing director, John Fisher, is now joining our board, giving us over 20 years of experience and insight in rapidly growing a business on a global scale.” More …

Digital Bridges: 1st 3D Pool game to launch on mobile

August 18th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Games | No Comments »

Mobile games publisher Digital Bridges and specialist developer Distinctive Developments, today announced the launch of 3D Pool, the world’s first full 3D mobile pool game.

For the first time, Distinctive Developments’ sophisticated graphics engine displays the entire game in 3 dimensions, giving players the ability to rotate and spin the camera to show the table from every possible angle. This huge advance over the common ‘top down’ view of the table provides a more engaging, realistic and accurate gameplay experience. 3D Pool is the only pool game for mobile phones that allows players to see the table exactly as players would in the real game. More …

Digital Chocolate Intros First Games

August 18th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Games | No Comments »

After simmering in the planning stages, Digital Chocolate is ready to sweeten the mobile gaming pot with the introduction of its first two games. The products initially will be available on BREW-enabled handsets.

The first two games out of the gate are Baseball Heroes of the MLBPAA and DChoc Bubble Ducky. Both games, according to company President and CEO Trip Hawkins, are designed for mobile phone users who want to enjoy a game in a short period of time. “The vast majority of mobile games available today are video games coming from the video game industry — the culture is to make them for hard-core gamers,” says Hawkins. “But that way of thinking doesn’t work for the mobile environment.” Digital Chocolate’s games are designed to let players play until they win, not lose, like most games. “It is a different way of looking at the industry,” Hawkins says. More …

Atari: Mobile Civilization III coming

August 17th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Games | No Comments »

Atari licenses the PC strategy game to Korea-based Com2uS, which will release the game worldwide.

Atari today announced that it has licensed Civilization III to Com2uS, a Korea-based mobile games developer. Under the three-year licensing deal, the company will create mobile games based on the PC strategy game for all major mobile devices and providers worldwide. More ..

Cell phone gaming gathers momentum

August 17th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Other news | No Comments »

Wireless gaming is a match made in venture capital heaven: The mobile carriers need new ways to hold on to its customers; the gamers need ways to find new ones. Small wonder, then, that financing is flooding in to the handful of companies looking to become the Electronic Arts of the wireless gaming market. More …

THQ Wireless Unleashes a Triple Threat of Racing Games With MotoGP 2, MX Unleashed and Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild

August 13th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Games | No Comments »

THQ Wireless Inc. today announced MotoGP 2, MX Unleashed, and Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild for mobile devices. The games will be available for download from leading carriers worldwide.

All three games are based on best-selling and critically-acclaimed console titles from THQ. MotoGP 2 is the sequel to the award-winning wireless game that has been played by millions worldwide. These games offer amazing graphics and intense gameplay to racing fans and gamers alike.

“The excitement of racing in all three games proves that it’s possible to deliver quality and depth in the wireless environment,” said Tim Walsh, president of THQ Wireless. “These games will satisfy the need for speed racing action, a variety of challenging water and terrain courses, full sound effects and realistic handling that require both skill and fast reaction.” More …

Fox: Alien vs Predator Go Wireless

August 13th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Games | 1 Comment »

Twentieth Century Fox is teaming up with the nation’s leading wireless carriers to create an ambitious and innovative wireless campaign for the studio’s highly anticipated ALIEN VS. PREDATOR.

All of the major U.S. carriers are joining Fox to bring users an unprecedented amount of content, promotions, and contests in the far-reaching campaign. By texting “AVP” to 20369 (20FOX), people can access the following: More …

Summer Games Madness: Four track & field games land on handsets in time for Athens.

August 13th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Games | No Comments »

This Friday, the entire world will be watching as the 2004 Summer Olympics gets underway in Athens, Greece. And because no piece of consumable entertainment — either movie, television show, or sporting event — can call itself complete without a video game, three major wireless publishers have released a series of track and field handset games to capitalize on the sport’s heightened awareness. Olympic fever — catch it! Then spend money on it! More …

Digital Chocolate secures new funding, again

August 12th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

Mobile developer Digital Chocolate, the company of industry veteran Trip Hawkins and co founded by EA, has raised a new $13 million in funds by issuing shares of Series B convertible preferred stock to 23 investors according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

This will be the third time the company has made such an endeavor, with the company already having raised $8.4 million in December of 2003. Found here…

Elkware: The biggest stars and most beautiful celebrities will be going mobile

August 10th, 2004 by Ashu Mathura Posted in Companies & M&A | No Comments »

The biggest stars and most beautiful celebrities will be going mobile as elkware GmbH, Europe’s leading mobile games developer, today announced an agreement with the marketing company iModel Music, enabling elkware to globally publish mobile games with a host of celebrities, effective immediately.

elkware is launching a dedicated new range entitled “CellEb”, combining “celebrity” and “cell phone.” The “CellEb” games’ glamorous design will appeal to a wide range of consumers, in particular the fans of the celebrities concerned. The games are easy to understand and easy to play through their simple controls, optimised for mobile phones. More …

Disclaimer:

Arjan Olsder is the Vice President of Pixalon Studios. Opinions expressed on this publication do not have to represent those of Pixalon Studios.