Microsoft to Release Kinect in Europe on Nov. 10

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cologne, Germany – Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) on Tuesday announced that it
will launch its Kinect for Xbox 360 motion-sensing controller system in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa on Nov. 10, four days after its launch in the U.S.

In Europe, the Kinect will sell for 149 euros ($192.10), compared with the U.S.
price tag of $149.

Microsoft also said it will release the first of its new roster
of Xbox Live games for Windows Phone 7-based handsets in the fall.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/24y3a6x

Social Games Publisher Zynga Acquires Conduit Labs

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – Social games publisher Zynga announced on
Tuesday that it has acquired game studio Conduit Labs.

Financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2007, Boston-based Conduit Labs has
to date raised more than $8.5 million in venture capital, from backers
including Charles River Ventures and Prism VentureWorks.

The company has
developed social game titles including "Music Pets" and "Super
Dance."

The deal marks Zynga’s seventh game studio acquisition.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/22t6luw
(Conduit Labs blog)

http://www.zynga.com

Patch.com

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

AOL's Patch.com Launches 100th Site, Plans 500 Hires This Year

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – AOL (NYSE:  AOL) on Tuesday said that it has launched its
100th Patch.com hyperlocal news and information site in Morristown, N.J., and
outlined plans to hire more than 500 additional journalists in 20 states by
year’s end. The company, which began with three Patch sites in Feb. 2009, said
that it now expects to be the largest hirer of full-time journalists in the
U.S. this year.

"We believe Patch is a revolutionary and efficient
approach to producing relevant, quality local journalism at scale," said
Warren Webster, the president of Patch Media.

Every Patch site is run by one
full-time local editor who, along with freelancers, produces original news and
information for a specific community.

The sites also let community members
comment on stories, share opinions, post photos and announcements and add
events to a community calendar.

Sites are currently live in California, Connecticut,
Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and
Virginia.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2fwmth5

http://www.patch.com

Mobile Marketing Firm ArX Acquires Distributive Networks

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

McLean, Va. – ArX Mobile, a mobile marketing firm, said on
Tuesday that it has acquired D.C.-based counterpart Distributive Networks, as
well as its Tusk Mobile and Constituent Mobile units.

Financial terms of the
deal were not disclosed.

Phil Sweatman, the president and CEO of McLean, Va.-based
ArX Mobile, said the acquisition provides his company with "a proven
technical infrastructure and a dedicated, experienced staff" to take
better advantage of the fast-growing smartphone space.

ArX’s platform includes
marketing campaign tools to interact with users through text alerts, reminders,
voting, real-time polling, coupons, quizzes and sweepstakes.

The company
manages text-based mobile campaigns and provides mobile website development
services for clients such as AT&T, Cable & Wireless, CBS, Disney,
Johnson & Johnson and Viacom.

 

Related Links:
http://www.arxmobile.com

http://www.distributivenetworks.com

Grooveshark

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Apple Pulls Grooveshark App Over Universal Music Complaint

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Gainesville, Fla. – Apple (NASD:  AAPL) has pulled online music service
Grooveshark’s iPhone application from its App Store, citing a copyright
complaint from Universal Music U.K. "Earlier this afternoon, Apple sent us
a letter notifying us that, due to a complaint they received from Universal
Music Group UK, Grooveshark for iPhone has been, strangely, pulled from the App
Store," the company wrote in a post on its blog.

"This comes as an
absolute surprise to us, and we are not sleeping until we figure out exactly
how to fix this — and get Grooveshark for iPhone back in the App Store."

Universal
Music Group sued Grooveshark in January, alleging the company was offering
pre-1972 Universal recordings for free, and using the lure of free access to
drive traffic and ad revenues.

Billboard notes that the two issues are likely
related.

The company was previously sued by EMI, and eventually reached a
settlement and licensed the major label’s tracks for its service — but has not reached deals to date with any of the other majors.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2ezjfk2
(Grooveshark blog)

http://tinyurl.com/29evn92
(Billboard)

http://tinyurl.com/y9l4za7
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.grooveshark.com

Pink Floyd Albums Pulled From Digital Retailers

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Los Angeles – Many of veteran rock band Pink Floyd’s classic
albums have been pulled from digital retailers, after a distribution contract
with EMI expired on June 30, Billboard reported.

The takedown affects albums
including "The Wall" and "Animals," but not earlier
material — "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" through "Dark Side
of the Moon" are still available, as are CD versions of the later albums.

Sources told Billboard the band’s management has been
seeking a new distribution deal, but asking prices were too high.

Billboard
notes that EMI has sold nearly 1.5 million copies of "The Wall" in
the U.S. since 2000, when it took over distribution, 107,000 of which were
digital downloads.

During the two months preceding the expiration of EMI’s deal
on June 30, 41% of sales of that album were in digital format.

Separately, the
band has been embroiled in litigation in the U.K. over the unbundling of its
albums for digital single sales, with the High Court there ruling in March that
EMI could not sell individual tracks from the band.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/28m6y6d
(Billboard)

Nielsen Raises IPO Goal to $2.01 Billion

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Ratings firm Nielsen has increased the amount it
hopes to raise in its initial public offering (IPO) to $2.01 billion, up from
the $1.75 billion it planned to raise two months ago, PaidContent reported,
citing a regulatory filing.

In the interim, Demand Media filed to raise up to
$125 million in an IPO, and Hulu reportedly entered talks for an IPO that would
value it at $2 billion.

Nielsen was acquired for roughly $10 billion four years
ago by a group of private equity firms.

The company plans to use some of the proceeds
from an IPO to pay down its $8.42 billion in debt.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2daa599
(PaidContent)

http://tinyurl.com/33b6gzv
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.nielsen.com

IAC Game Studio Debuts "Instant Jam" Online Music Game

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Las Vegas – IAC’s (NASD: IACI) InstantAction game development studio on
Monday launched "Instant Jam," an online music-rhythm game that is
free to play and can be embedded on third-party sites. The game relies on songs
in users’ own music libraries, and supports USB guitar controllers. It is
currently available in a Facebook Beta Profram, and will soon also be available
in beta from the game’s website and embedded versions elsewhere.


 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/23j3x2t

http://www.instantjam.com

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