Endemol USA appoints casual games director

'Web games based on Deal or No Deal and 1 vs 100 in development
The US division of Endemol - creator of the likes of Big Brotherand and Deal or No Deal - is targetting casual games development.The firm has opened a division to produce web games based on the US versions of Deal or No Deal and 1 vs 100.Eric LaVanchy, previously founder and vice president of creative development for New York-based Bottle Rocket, has been named as director of gaming for Endemol USA.LaVancy will be looking after the games strategy as part of Endemol's Digital Media division and will develop casual games for new and existing Endemol programming, and also create original games. Although focusing only on the North America market, where he will be appointing a core group of technical, creative and business development staff, he will also work closely with Endemol's London-based games group."Our view is that TV and videogames are coming closer and closer together, and the casual games group will be right in that sweet spot," digital media and branded entertainment Jon Vlassopulos told Variety.In the official announcement Valssopulos added: "With the formation of a casual games group, we have an opportunity to expand our digital media business into a new and exciting growth area where we will create engaging entertainment experiences for fans worldwide." ' Develop Feb 08

Kabillion and uWink

"Taffy Entertainment's Kabillion, the multi-platform kids' entertainment service, has launched a new cross-promotion with uWink - a new interactive restaurant that allows customers to order food, drinks, games and other digital media through proprietary touch screen terminals.
Under the new agreement, uWink will offer new Kabillion-branded video games for kids, in addition to kids' meals featuring characters from Kabillion series, as well as toys and plush from Taffy. The new promotion kicks off at uWink's first outlet, located in Woodland Hills, California and will be integrated into two new uWinks slated to open this spring in Hollywood and Mountain View, California." Kidscreen Feb 08 www.uwink.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufSy00U8LS0

More people playing mobile games than ever before

'...but the percentage of people downloading games has not increased over the past year, says M:Metrics. Three quarters of the 98.4 million people in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US that played a mobile game in December played a game that was found natively on the device.Meanwhile, M:Metrics says 38.5 million (8.8 per cent of mobile subscribers) played a game they had downloaded and stored on their phone, but that number has been relatively flat from the year before, when 35.3 million (8.7 per cent) played a downloaded game.Only 14.4 million (3.3 per cent) of mobile subscribers in the US and Western Europe downloaded a game in the month, compared to 14.6 million (3.6 per cent) in December 2006. At 12.7 per cent, Spain has the highest penetration of those playing a downloaded game, and the highest rate of mobile games downloads, at 5.6 per cent. France lags all other markets, at 3.5 per cent playing a downloaded game and 1.3 per cent downloading a new game in the month.Seamus McAteer, chief product architect and senior analyst at M:Metrics, said: "To succeed in such a market game publishers will have to foster new models that may include subscriptions to online gaming communities, ad-funded or subsidized gaming, and physical distribution." ' ME Feb 08

Afterworld multi platform show

'Sony Pictures Television International will kick off a new multi-platform strategy with content from Afterworld, which it has licensed from Stan Rogow Productions. The licence marks SPTI’s first acquisition of third party IP for exploitation across mobile, web and TV, and involves SPTI’s distribution, international networks and digital business divisions. The company has acquired 130 two-minute episodes of the futuristic Afterworld 2.5D animated series, which will also be made available as 13 half-hour episodes for broadcast.The series was created by Emmy Award nominated producer Stan Rogow (Lizzie McGuire, All I Want for Christmas) and multi-platform writer Brent Friedman (Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars video game, Dark Skies, Mortal Kombat 2). Dedicated web content will be housed on Afterworld.tv, as will archived back episodes, daily journal entries, community blogs, interactive content applications and online games. Marie Jacobson, SVP of programming and production, international networks, SPTI said: “Afterworld is just the property SPTI is actively seeking out to propel our mobile and digital content efforts around the world. It’s fresh and relevant and exactly what our global partners expect from Sony. This is an excellent opportunity for SPTI to cross-stream content across our international mobile, digital and cable outlets and an ideal multi-platform offering for global and regional sponsors.” ' Mobile Entertainment February 2008

Senior TV exec says future is digital

"Fred Seibert, president of Channel Frederator, did not mince words when he described today's animation landscape during his headlining Q & A session at KidScreen Summit 2008. "It's dull as dishwater," he told Rita Street, president of Radar Cartoons, and the crowd in the Hilton's West Ballroom. Seibert, former president of Hanna-Barbera, and famously MTV's first employee, described what he believes to be a five-year lull in the animation industry after titles such as Fairly Odd Parents hit the small screen. The downswing, as Seibert sees it, is a perfect time to try something new, and that is exactly what he set out to do when he joined partners to form Next New Networks in late 2006, with the bold goal to create, brand and distribute 101 micro-niche television offerings. While Next New Networks is, as the name indicates, new, Seibert still looks to the past to find inspiration on how to launch a successful property. "The first Bugs Bunny wasn't a pilot," he said. "Pilots get loaded up with all the things that execs think you have to have. I just want to make a film that's good and works, and see if works again and again."
The short that he is most excited about now is Adventure Time, created by Aussie Pendelton Ward. The surrealistic short that aired as one of Seibert' produced Nickelodeon's Random! Cartoons last January and has since become a www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVYWJOEy9AYouTube sensation. "I know that it will get picked up before the end of the year," he said. "I have nothing to base that on, but I just know it." Never one to shy away from risk, the man that helped make MTV the symbol of a generation is blazing his way through more uncharted territory. This time, it's digital and he readily admits there is no real business model yet. "I hope I won't be the pioneer with arrows in his back," he laughed." Kidscreen February 2008

Mobile games companies going from stength to strength

"The mobile games industry it seems is not the volatile climate of start-ups and shut-downs that it once was. More mobile games companies are staying in the black and keeping their doors open for business for longer than ever before. According to The Multimedia Research Consultancy's data, about 53 per cent of all mobile games companies have now been trading for at least five years, with almost 20 per cent laying claim to more than seven years' worth of successful business. Interestingly, despite the fact that the industry is in apparent good health, the number of new start-up mobile games companies is down drastically from 451 new entrants in 2003 to a mere 78 last year. Still, it is quality not quantity that counts and the fact that fewer studios are opening can be seen as a reflection that the standards are higher and the market more competitive." Pocket Gamer, February 2008