Media, Entertainment and Gaming
ò According to Enterbrain Inc, domestic sales of Nintendo's Wii videogame console have exceeded 3 million units since its launch in December 2006. By comparison, WiiÆs rival, Sony's PlayStation 3, has sold 1 million units since its debut in November 2006.
ò Recruit Co said it was taking a 0.4% equity stake in Fuji Television Network Inc. It bought 10,810 outstanding shares for 2.7 billion yen ($22.2 million). Market sources said the share purchase was carried out under a tie-up agreement between the two companies, which also includes Fuji TV's acquisition of a 0.5% stake in Recruit.
Internet
ò Industry sources said Yahoo Japan is taking a chance on making an investment in kizasi in a bid to increase its advertising revenue. The reports indicate that after kizasi increases its capital through an issuance of new shares, Yahoo Japan will buy 5% of them. The kizasi search engine ranks the most popular words on blogs. Under the agreement, Yahoo Japan and kizasi aim to develop a service that lists the hottest topics on Internet discussion boards, with the two partners then sharing revenue from advertising.
Mobile/Wireless
ò Canadian company Research in Motion announced that this month it would release a new Japanese language version of Blackberry in the Japanese wireless mobile market. The company said the Blackberry will be offered by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cellphone operator. Research in Motion is the market leader for mobile e-mail devices with more than nine million users worldwide of its BlackBerry, a handheld device which can access corporate email and is able to roam almost anywhere in the world. In September last year, an English language version was introduced in Japan aimed at multinational companies. Observers note that in Japan, where cellphones are able to send e-mails through their handsets, Blackberry remain low in terms of brand recognition.
ò The market for online mobile-phone services is set to reach 1 trillion yen ($8.3 billion) by the end of the year, according to a study done by the countryÆs Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. A young, mobile-phone using consumer base, improved data transmission speeds and billing plans that charge flat rates for data communication transmissions are some factors that the surveys have identified as helping the growth of the industry. The study said that, at the end of 2006, the overall market value of online mobile phone services was 928.5 billion yen ($7.6 billion), a 28.5% increase over the previous year and more than triple the 298.6 billion yen ($2.4 billion) posted in 2002.
ò KDDI Corp said it would slash the monthly basic fee for its wireless service by half in a bid to counter cheaper plans offered by smaller rival Softbank Corp. KDDI said it would offer the deal in September to customers who sign up for a two-year contract.
Hardware
ò According to Tokyo-based market research firm BCN, Nikon sold more digital single-lens reflex cameras than rival Canon in the first half of 2007. In the first five months of the year, Nikon had a 47.5% share of the domestic market, while Canon had a 36.5% market share. The report said this marks the first time that Nikon has held the top spot over a half-year term. The company has topped the market before but on a monthly basis only.
Ventures/Investments
ò NextWave Wireless, a developer of broadband wireless infrastructure, said it would acquire a 69.2% stake in IPMobile, a Japanese company that is planning to install a network based on TD-CDMA technology from one of NextWave's divisions, IPWireless. NextWave, a US-based privately held company, was set up in 2005 and has since completed several acquisitions. Some of its purchases include ISV PacketVideo, an Israeli streaming media company acquired in a deal valued at $46.6 million and GO Networks, a WiFi developer, which it bought for $39 million.
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