CTIA: InfoSpace and Activision go hand in hand

September 13th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

We have seen Activision‘s titles pop up with several big developers, but InfoSpace seems to be on the winning side as they just inked another new deal with them. With the deal, InfoSpace has secured the rights for two Tony Hawk games (Project 8, Downhill Jam), Gun, and vintage titles Pitfall 1 & 2, Commando, Freeway, Keystone Kapers, Seaquest, Spider Fighter and more… Most of these ‘vintage’ titles will be bundled. According to the pressrelease it should be one pack, but filesize wise, we expect a few packs.

"As mobile technology continues to evolve and with the increasing availability of 3G handsets, mobile gaming now enables more powerful and dynamic gameplay experiences.,” said Stephen Davis, president, mobile & online media for InfoSpace. “We’re excited to work with Activision to develop the coveted Tony Hawk brand for mobile as well as their most popular sport and adventure titles, offering fans the chance to test their skills and enjoy their favourite games while on the go.”

“There’s no denying the market penetration of cell phones, which makes mobile games a great way to extend our console brands,” said David Anderson, senior director of business development for Activision. “InfoSpace is a leading mobile content, distribution and delivery company, and we look forward to building a successful relationship that puts some of our top titles in the hands of mobile gamers.”

Frogger hits the $ 10 million mark

September 13th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

Konami announced it’s Frogger mobile games have sold over $ 10 million in gross sales. This news comes together with the 25 year celebration of the license which started out in 1981. To celebrate, Konami will launch Frogger 25th Evolution this fall.

A lesson in licensing from Gameloft

September 11th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

Gameloft‘s CFO Alexandre de Rochefort has in a recent interview with MobileIndustry.biz warned the competition about licensing games. In the interview, he notes out that Gameloft is only doing long term licensing deals as that keeps the company safe from license holders that in the end run off with the knowledge to do it themselves. As an example, they pitched forward two of their main competitors, I-Play and Glu. I-Play is currently in the position where it had to recall all EA Mobile games as EA will enter the market themselves with I-Play’s marketing efforts as basis. Also, Alexandre pointed to Glu. With the takeover of iFone, they gained the license for Sonic the Hedgehog, but Alexandre expects they will loose it soon. For all of you who have visited Sega at the E3, you already know Sega is building up it’s distribution network rapidly which is fuelling this rumor.

PopCap selects Square Enix for Japan

September 8th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

Though in Europe, we are used to see games like Bejeweled coming from Glu, PopCap has chosen a different publisher for Japan. Square Enix is the chosen one as PopCap strongly believes in their distribution power. Read the full story at QB!

It’s mobster time

September 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

While Overloaded announced their The Untouchables some time ago (currently near it’s release date) and I-play shortly after announced their mafia themed poker game The Goodfella’s, it seems the theme is growing. Recently, the Soprano’s poker game was released by THQ Wireless and now also VU mobile is about to put Scarface in the market. Scarface is an isometric 3D game in which you are plunged into the early 80’s to rebuild Tony Montana’s crime network and silence his many enemies.

I-play’s Q4 lineup

September 6th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

I-play is preparing for a strong Q4 presence as they will start pushing a new episode of 24 into the market named Agent Down. Next to the new 24, they will also push in a new episode in their 3D Pool franchise named High Roller and Inca Quest. David Gosen, CEO of I-play stated that again the focus within the games is their one thumb gameplay strategy, keeping games accessible to everyone.

Sennari and Hasbro into skill-with-prize games

September 4th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

Sennari has signed an agreement with Hasbro to bring some of their titles to mobile on the skill-with-prize platform. The platform allows users to collect points which they can trade in for downloads or real items. The games will support product catalogues. The first titles to be released are Monopoly, Battleship and Clue.

“Partnering with Hasbro to deliver some of the best known brands in family entertainment on mobile phones will take skill-with-prize mobile gaming to the next level,” said Bill Barhydt, CEO of Sennari. “Our expertise in developing and distributing prize-based games and CRM applications for mobile phones makes this a compelling opportunity for companies, like Hasbro, that want to reach new audiences.”

“Together, with Sennari and their gaming and distribution partners, we will make these classic titles available to loyal fans of Hasbro’s games, as well as to a new generation of mobile phone users,” said Jane Ritson-Parsons, president of Hasbro Properties Group. “The ability to turn our popular games into mobile games with prizes generates a whole new level of excitement and opportunity for the company. PrizePlay games represents one of the most compelling ways to take advantage of new technology and to promote our games worldwide, that we’ve seen.”

GCDC: Infospace announces new Tomb Raider game

August 25th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

At the second last day of the GC in Leipzich, Infospace took the liberty to announce their newest Tomb Raider game which they licensed from Eidos. The game will be called Tomb Raider: Puzzle Paradox. This fourth title from Infospace follows the previous series of Tomb Raider games they released in 2002.

Vivendi launches Black Hawk Down

August 25th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | No Comments »

Following a multilicense deal with PC developer Novalogic, Vivendi’s mobile pedartment announced the launch of Delta Force – Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre. The game is inspired by the 2001 blockbuster from Ridley Scott.

Excite Japan to start selling in Europe

August 24th, 2006 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Brand Licensing | 6 Comments »

Ozura Mobile just announced they have successfully concluded a deal with Excite Japan to bring their mobile games into Europe. Ozura expects this deal to value around $20 million.

"Ozura Mobile has been chosen as the preferred international mobile game distributor due to its well established presence in the global mobile gaming industry," said Ozura Mobile’s chief executive officer, Lion Peh.

Ozura expects to be able to present their games to 150 million subscribers in their network trough their own content platform called FunlogiX.