Indoctrimat

[DDV] Major European Expansion For Distinctive

Mobile Studio Opens New Post Production Facility

Sheffield UK and Gliwice, Poland. March 19th, 2007. Distinctive Developments, one of Europe's largest independent mobile game developers, is expanding with the creation of a post-production studio based in Gliwice, Poland.

The new office provides Distinctive with a dedicated post-production facility within the rapidly evolving European market.

This follows the creation of Distinctive's North American office in 2007. The US office is growing as demand for post-production services in that territory increases.

The creation of the new office is part of Distinctive's ongoing investment into it's post-production capabilities. Distinctive is an award-winning mobile games developer, but is now rapidly building a great reputation as a capable and expert porting/post-production partner.

Distinctive has committed significant resources to it's post-production and porting tools, technologies, processes and skills, to ensure the company provides the highest levels of service to companies looking for post-production.

Cometa Wireless Partners With Cashcade

Creating Mobile Gaming Service For Online Casino Leader

Sheffield, London, UK.  December 5th 2007.  Mobile gambling expert Cometa Wireless has signed a partnership agreement with Cashcade, the leading online interactive gambling provider.

The agreement will see Cometa providing Cashcade with a complete mobile gambling solution – including Cometa's patented Arcadia™ technology – and leading casino games portfolio.

The first title to be released will be a mobile version of Cashcade's hugely popular Foxy Bingo brand, which is due to hit the market in January 2008.

Cashcade is one of the world leaders in the online interactive gambling sector with over 800,000 players generating revenue of over £2M across sites including Foxy Bingo and Get Minted.  In mid 2007 the company acquired two other leading bingo sites in the UK, making Cashcade one of largest online bingo businesses in the world with over 60,000 active players per month.

“The mobile market is rapidly becoming a vital channel for online gambling providers,” says Simon Collins, the CEO of Cashcade.  “Players no longer have to be at home, in front of their computer.  The ubiquity of mobile and the convenience of the phone in the user's pocket or purse makes it a unique way for players to interact, no matter where they are.  With consumers working longer hours and commuting long distances, the attraction of having their favourite online services at their fingertips is hard to beat.”

[MXP] Make your mobile merry with mixibodz

Glasgow, UK, December 5th, 2007. This Christmas give your friends and family something more exciting than a flimsy piece of cardboard, help save trees and look fabulous - all at the same time - by creating, dressing and sending your loved ones a mobile phone Christmas card from mixibodz.

mixibodz are the latest must-have accessory for the online and mobile generation. Create your very own digital identity. Design, dress and animate your own avatar. Pick from a huge range of clothes and accessories, then pose and animate your Bod, to do anything from blowing a kiss to dancing or even standing on its head.

Once you've created your Bod, you can add a personal message and send it straight to someone's mobile phone – where they can save it as wallpaper, caller ID or a screensaver.

mixibodz cards can be sent to ANY colour mobile phone in the UK, for only 25p. That's cheaper than a first class stamp AND your friends can save it and look fondly at it on their mobile – forever and ever.

You can also use your Bod on your favourite social networking sites including MySpace and Facebook – or put it in your own blog.

[ACM] Acme Mobile Adds Two Mobile Industry Veterans to Management Team

Singapore, November 27th, 2007.  Acme Mobile, Southeast Asia’s leading mobile content distribution company, today announced the appointment of two mobile industry veterans to senior positions. Kristan Rivers becomes Acme's Chief Operating Officer, working from the company's Singapore headquarters, while Bryan Head takes over Acme's new Manila-based Philippines operations as Country Manager.

“This has been a great year of growth for us,” says Paul Meyers, Acme Mobile’s CEO. “We’ve signed many strong content partners, expanded our Amob.com channels, launched a wide range of great new products and now we’re thrilled to add two mobile industry veterans to our team. Kristan and Bryan bring to Acme an enormous amount of experience and expertise, from which we can only benefit.”

[RLN] Real Networks Launches Online Diamond Hunt

LONDON, HELSINKI — November 13th, 2007.  RealNetworks today launched Diamond Detective, a new mobile phone game based on the massively popular PC puzzle game. The game incorporates a first-for-mobile online diamond hunt, in which players can solve clues to win real diamonds.

The competition will run in Europe from the game's launch in October 2007 until mid-2008. Over €15,000 worth of diamonds are up for grabs by players.  Winners will be chosen at the end of each quarter, with three players eventually walking away with a small fortune in gemstones.

As players complete levels within the Diamond Detective mobile game, they are given hints about the locations of the stolen gems.  They can then log onto the Diamond Hunt website: www.diamond-hunt.net and use these clues in the competition. Players can even download a demo version of the game from the website, directly to their handset – free of charge.

“This is a step in a new direction,” said Wilhelm Taht, Head of Marketing, Mobile Games EMEA of RealNetworks.  “Our research has shown that there is a gap between the value consumers feel they receive compared to the steps they need to take for buying mobile games. By tying the game into an ongoing competition and giving players a reason to return and complete the game, outside the immediate fun factor, we're pushing mobile entertainment into very different territory and providing additional value for the players.  They can even try the game for free first to find out if they like it.  It's a no-risk deal for players.”

[MXP] CHeck Me Out!

Glasgow, UK, November 1^st, 2007.  mixibodz an all-new, animated avatar builder with attitude - which enables users to create, dress, pose and bring their avatar to life, launched its first public beta version today.

mixibodz lets users create, dress and accessorize their avatar and then choose from a wide range of animations to bring their fabulous creation to life. 

Once the user is happy, they can export their mixibod to social networks including FaceBook, MySpace and Blogger – or even send it to their friends and family via mobile phone.

Users can create and save multiple characters, personalities, outfits and animations and save them on their own personal page within mixibodz.com.  They can be loaded, changed, saved, sent and exported with a few mouse clicks, ensuring users can keep their mixibod as up to date as their own wardrobe, or expressing their owners emotion  - as it happens.

“User Generated Content is having a massive impact on the Internet,” says Lesley Keen, CEO and founder of mixipix, the creators of mixibodz.  “There is a huge appetite for services which allow consumers to create and customize their own content.  mixibodz allows users to create multiple versions of themselves – dressed, posed and animated differently – and then use these avatars in different locations – on their social networking sites, on their mobile phone, or on their own blog. The content posted includes a mobile sending application that allows users to download and send each others creations from their profile pages. It gives the user creative control over their online identity – and it’s a lot of fun.”

[WWD] WeeWorld Launches New WeeRoom Service

WEEWORLD LAUNCHES CUSTOMIZABLE ROOM WITH BLOGGING AND SEARCH CAPABILITIES

WeeWorld is the only online social site that provides a palette for individuals to socialize and express themselves in creative, unique and groundbreaking way

Boston, MA & London, UK, September 18, 2007 – WeeWorld, a popular online community focused on visual self-expression, today announced its newest feature, WeeRoom. Already known for its wildly popular avatar, the WeeMee – over 17 million WeeMees have been created worldwide – WeeRoom is a natural extension of the WeeWorld experience. It provides a groundbreaking way for users to connect through the objects they treasure, value and place in their rooms.

Creating and customizing a room on WeeWorld is similar to creating a WeeMee – in just a few clicks you can create something uniquely yours that expresses who you are and what you are interested in. Choosing from a variety of objects including furniture, wallpaper, flooring, lighting, art, pets, books, sporting equipment, games, music and more, users, place, move, and resize their favorite objects and build a space that is all their own. Then, with the support of blogging and search, they can describe their lives and search for and interact with people that share their interests.

[DNK] - Denki & Shrek Together Again...

...On Another Sky High Adventure!

Dundee, Scotland, September 11th 2007.  Casual games experts Denki has launched Shrek The Third on Sky Games, the company's latest title for the interactive digital TV (iDTV) gaming service.

Shrek The Third is Denki's sixth Shrek branded title for Sky Games and the fifty sixth game to be released by Denki in a little over seven years.

Shrek The Third challenges players to defeat Prince Charming's army of wicked fairy tale characters, find Princess Fiona's cousin, Artie, the final heir to the throne of Far Far Away.

Armed only with mudballs from his beloved swamp, Shrek must splatter the invading hordes, save Artie and try to avoid being crowned the King of Far Far Away himself.

“Ogres are like onions,” said Colin Anderson, Denki's Managing Director.  “They have many layers.  In our past games we've tried to show that Shrek is more than a ferocious, apparently Scottish ogre.  He's a hero with a heart too.  Shrek The Third carries on this proud tradition and gives players the chance to get even with the fairy tale villains of their childhood, with a well aimed handful of mud.”

Denki Launches Games On DIRECTV

Casual Games Expert Provides Titles For New Digital TV Game Lounge Platform

Dundee, UK, May 23rd, 2006.  Casual games company Denki today announced that it is providing games for DIRECTV's new Game Lounge digital interactive television games service.

Denki has provided nine titles for the launch of DIRECTV's new Game Lounge through a deal struck with Waterfront Entertainment: Word Crunch, Letter Box, Denki Blocks!™ Brain Teasers, Number Crunch, Polly Pocket™ SPLASH!, Barbie™ in The 12 Dancing Princesses and Barbie™: World Fashion Tour™, Tumble Fever and Hot Wheels™: Monster Truck Smashdown™.

The Game Lounge platform consists of several different categories including puzzle, word, card, educational and arcade style games that are based upon key consumer and entertainment brands.  Customers with interactive DIRECTV receivers can play these games via their televisions using a DIRECTV remote control from the comfort of any room in their home.

Customers access Game Lounge both on an all access monthly subscription basis or play-per-day basis, which is currently a distribution structure that is not available on any other gaming platform.  The all-access monthly subscription price of Game Lounge is $5.95 per month with a play-per-day price of $1.95.

Further titles developed by Denki and published by Waterfront Entertainment will be launched on DIRECTV later this year.

DIRECTV is the world's largest satellite television company, with 16 million subscribers in the United States and over 1.5 million in Latin America.  The company launched the new Game Lounge service in February 2007.

Cometa Wireless Gaming Raises £1M

Sheffield-based early-stage mobile phone gaming and communications venture announces its first public round of investment, totalling £1 million.

Cometa Wireless Gaming Systems today concluded its first external round of equity investment, totalling £1 million. The investment values the business, post money, at £2 million.

The principal investor is Mfusion, the successful mobile phone gaming and gambling enterprise. Other investors include a consortium of business angels led by Dr Tony Marchington former founder and CEO of Oxford Molecular Group PLC.  Dr Marchington now becomes chairman of the board of directors.

Alongside the investment, the company is also rebranding.  Cometa Games now becomes  Cometa Wireless Gaming Systems.

Cometa was established in 2004 by CEO Robert Anderson to exploit the rapidly developing worldwide market for casino style games offering prizes.