|
|
by
Daniel Huebner and Jennifer Olsen
Want
to submit news stories for the Gamasutra Newswire?
Send them to us.
|
|
 News
Week
of May 15-May 21, 2000
[Thursday,
May 18, 2000]
3dfx
Settles
3dfx has agreed to the settlement of a numbers of shareholder lawsuits
brought against STB and some of its directors. The suits against STB Systems
emerged as part of 3dfx's acquisition of the company last May. The settle
does not include any admission of liability by STB, but does call for
the establishment of $4.7 million settlement fund to be paid by insurance.
"Although we were prepared to defend the litigation vigorously, we concluded
that it was in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders
to resolve the litigation," said 3dfx General Counsel Brian Keyes.
Pokemon
Singer Sues
Jason Paige, the singer of the immensely catchy Pokemon jingle, doesn't
feel that he's been adequately paid. The Gotta Catch 'Em All singer
has filed suit against a group of companies including Nintendo of America.
The suit alleges that Paige was contracted for just a single ad, but that
the song has since been used repeatedly in promotional activities throughout
North America. Paige and his lawyer estimate that the singing is owed
$450 thousand in back payment, and with damages are seeking $120 million
for his work.
[Wednesday,
May 17, 2000]
Connectix
Decisions
Connectix has won a partial victory in its ongoing legal battle with Sony.
In February a judge overturned an injunction blocking the sale of the
Connectix Virtual Game Station, and now a federal court judge has thrown
out seven of the nine counts brought by Sony alleging Playstation copyright
violations. The court will make a decision regarding the two remaining
counts, trade secret and unfair competition claims, within the next 90
days. "We hope that this decisive outcome will allow both parties to quickly
close this matter and find ways to mutually benefit from our innovative
cross-platform technology," said Connectix CEO Roy McDonald. A separate
patent infringement suit filed by Sony is still pending.
New
Kid Co Results
Children's game making New Kid Co is showing a 72 percent drop in revenue
in the first quarter. The company reports revenues of $1.9 million for
the period, a decrease of 72 percent from revenues of $6.8 million in
the first quarter one year ago. These revenues translated to a net loss
for the quarter of $3.7 million, while New Kid Co was able to post net
income of $1.3 million in the same period last year. Much of the fall,
according to the company, is due to its shipping of just one new product
in the first quarter of 2000. New Kid Co shipped five titles in the first
quarter last year. The company plans to erase much of the loss with the
release of 11 new products and the start of international sales during
the remainder of the year.
[Tuesday,
May 16, 2000]
Nvidia
Reports Record
Nvidia's revenues for the first quarter are a record. The company reports
revenues of $148.5 million for the first quarter of its 2001 fiscal year,
an increase of 109 percent on last year's $71.0 million. Operating income
for the quarter increased from $9 million last year to $25.6 million this
time around. "As our results demonstrate, we continue to raise the competitive
barriers with our new products and remain extremely focused on execution
as we build a sustainable and successful franchise," said Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun
Huang, "With our Tier One OEM and add-in card partners, we reached a new
industry milestone by delivering GeForce2 GTS-based products to market
only three days after its introduction." Nvidia's board of directors marked
the occasion by authorizing a 2 for 1 stock split to be affected through
a 100 percent dividend.
Havas
Eyes Mattel
Havas is taking a serious look at acquiring Mattel Interactive. French
newspaper Les Echos ran an interview in which Havas Interactive CEO Hubert
Joly explained the company's interest in Mattel Interactive. "We are indeed
studying the issue. We cannot take a backseat when other groups like Microsoft
or Time Warner are also watching," said Joly, "However, we are not ready
to pay any price for it."
E3
Attendance
This year's E3 attracted 62,000 attendees. The show's owner, the Interactive
Digital Software Association, reports that the gathered masses were treated
to 430 exhibitors showing 1,250 first look products over 550,000 square
feet of display space. All of this has led the IDSA to bestow upon E3
the cumbersome title of largest western interactive entertainment trade
event in the world. E3 2001 will attempt to retain the title from May
17-19 in Los Angeles.
Past
News
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
