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Old phones stifle new mobile games

Less than two years ago, carriers were blaming publishers for stifling mobile gaming by churning out a surfeit of high-profile, licensed games that made for a rotten user experience. Now it's the game makers' that are pointing fingers. Handsets are quickly evolving into mini-videogame...

Yahoo, Mforma spar over 7 new hires: Complaint includes instant-messaging conversations

Yahoo Inc. filed a lawsuit against Mforma Group Inc., claiming the mobile game-maker is stealing company secrets as it hires seven former Yahoo employees. The Internet giant is suing both Mforma and the former workers, saying it will seek an injunction in a California...

Yahoo garners victory in legal battle with Mforma

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. scored an early victory in its latest legal battle, securing a temporary restraining order barring Mforma Group Inc.’s new employees from accessing or using Yahoo’s proprietary technology. Yahoo filed suit against the mobile game-maker earlier this week, claiming Mforma was...

Yahoo sues Mforma over recent hires

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—Yahoo Inc. filed suit against Mforma Group Inc., claiming the mobile game-maker is stealing company secrets as it hires seven former Yahoo employees. The Internet giant is suing both Mforma and the former workers, saying it will seek an injunction in a Santa...

Content players coming to America

With U.S. operators in the midst of building out 3G networks, wireless firms from around the world are heeding the words of Neil Diamond: They're coming to America. But, like George Harrison, they're finding that it don't come easy.Wireless marketing efforts and high-tech applications...

Mforma unleashes Spider-Man game

SAN FRANCISCO-Mobile game-maker Mforma Group Inc. unveiled its latest licensed title from Marvel, launching Ultimate Spider-Man in the United States and Europe. The two-dimensional platform game is based on Activision Inc.'s console game of the same name, and allows gamers to play as the...

Mforma unleashes Spider-Man game

SAN FRANCISCO-Mobile game-maker Mforma Group Inc. unveiled its latest licensed title from Marvel, launching Ultimate Spider-Man in the United States and Europe.The two-dimensional platform game is based on Activision Inc.'s console game of the same name, and allows gamers to play as the web-slinging...

Operators still prime place to buy games

SEATTLE-Mobile gamers continue to rely on carrier decks for their wireless entertainment even as off-deck businesses continue to gain traction, according to the latest figures from M:Metrics.The firm's most recent monthly survey found that 90 percent of wireless game consumers discover and purchase titles...

Mforma gains $30M in third financing round

SAN FRANCISCO-Mforma Group Inc. said it raised $30 million in a third round of institutional financing.The round was led by venture-capital firm Institutional Venture Partners. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and General Catalyst Partners also participated.The funds will be used to...

Mforma, Glu Mobile update sports content

SEATTLE-Entertainment publishers Mforma Group Inc. and Glu Mobile are using tomorrow's NFL season opener to tout their latest sports-themed wares.Mforma has teamed with CBS SportsLine.com and the NFL on an updated offering that allows fantasy football players to manage their rosters from their handsets....

As head of Sprint gaming, Ford is a wanted man

Jason Ford can walk through any mall in the United States without eliciting a second glance. But in the tiny universe that is wireless gaming, he may as well be Brad Pitt. As the general manager of games for Sprint PCS, Ford's attention is...

Lousy games

Developers, publishers and carriers are bringing new titles to market every day in their haste to cash in on the exploding mobile-game industry. But the crush of new games includes far too many mediocre offerings, some say. "My fear is that we have games...

Carriers back Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ marketing effort

BELLEVUE, Wash.-Mforma Group Inc. unveiled the latest offerings under its agreement with Marvel International comics, launching a suite of content based on the feature film "Fantastic Four."Carriers will pony up advertising dollars to push "Fantastic Four" content as well. Cingular Wireless is launching its...

Games, games, games

LOS ANGELES-With mobile gaming looking to explode from niche to mass market, game-makers are targeting consumers with everything from casual poker games to arcade classics to high-tech 3-D first-person shooters. And it was all on display here at E3. The wireless industry had more...

Wireless gamers announce new releases at E3 show

LOS ANGELES-The wireless industry came out in force for the E3 video game convention, with a variety of gaming players making news.Jamdat Mobile Inc. announced it reached a deal with Id Software to bring the company's popular computer game Doom to mobile phones. Jamdat...

People

Sierra WirelessSierra Wireless Inc.' board of directors said it is separating the roles of chair and chief executive officer and replacing the lead independent director position with a non-executive chair position. Peter Ciceri, the company's lead independent director since 2002, has been selected as...

RealNetworks buys way into mobile gaming medium

RealNetworks Inc. announced plans to join the crowded mobile gaming playground, acquiring European publisher Mr. Goodliving for $15 million in cash. A 40-person company based in Helsinki, Finland, Mr. Goodliving has enjoyed success with mobile titles like "Trivial Pursuit," "MetalSmash Pinball" and the "Playman"...

Wireless gaming investments continue with Sorrent raising $20M in new funding

Venture capital continued to flood mobile gaming Tuesday as publisher Sorrent Inc. announced it raised $20 million in its latest round of funding.Granite Global Ventures led the Series D round, with current investors BA Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Globespan Capital Partners and Sienna...

Mforma names Sacks new president, COO

BELLEVUE, Wash.-Mobile entertainment publisher Mforma shook up its front office, naming former AOL Interactive Services head Jonathan Sacks as its new president and chief operating officer.Sacks' resume includes stints as president of the Hub, a joint venture between AOL and New Line Cinema; and...

Digital Bridges sports new name to increase consumer recognition

Once satisfied to quietly grab some shelf space for their titles on a carrier's deck of wireless offerings, mobile game publishers are now trying to make a little more noise. While they may be big in the world of wireless entertainment, game developers and...

Gaming giant EA makes wireless play

Video-game behemoth Electronic Arts signaled its long-awaited-and perhaps long-feared-entry onto the mobile gaming playground earlier this month at GDC Mobile in San Francisco, unveiling plans to release as many as 20 titles for mobile phones this year. The world's biggest third-party game publisher began...

Mforma, Melodeo check out wireless music scene

Mforma Group Inc. is branching out from the wireless gaming arena and waltzing onto the crowded dance floor of mobile music. The Bellevue, Wash.-based entertainment publisher this week is expected to unveil a licensing deal with music-industry magazine Billboard to provide news, artist information...

Mobile gaming field shrinks, Kayak, Synergenix merge

The mobile gaming field continues to shrink as California-based start-up Kayak Interactive announced it is joining forces with Swedish publisher Synergenix Interactive.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Kayak launched early last year as a mobile connected gaming services provider. The company has since morphed...

Mobile gaming field shrinks as Kayak, Synergenix merge

The mobile gaming field continued to shrink this week as California-based start-up Kayak Interactive announced it is joining forces with Swedish publisher Synergenix Interactive. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Kayak launched early last year as a mobile connected gaming services provider. The company...