SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Continuing with their strategy of bringing Sega games to all
platforms, including non-gaming platforms, Sega of America today announced a partnership
with wireless multimedia platform provider Synovial Inc. Under this agreement, Sega
will bring its great video game content to various mobile phones and handheld devices such
as the Compaq iPAQ(tm) Pocket PCs, by utilizing Synovial's innovative development toolkit,
codenamed SYN(tm). The first product resulting from the partnership is Virtual Game
Gear, software that recreates the experience of Sega's popular hand held Sega Game
Gear(tm) system on Pocket PCs. This
alliance marks the first time Sega content will appear on a PDA in the U.S. "As we aggressively transition Sega from hardware company to third party
publisher, solid partnerships such as this one with Synovial allow us to extend the Sega
gaming experience to a vast number of new consumers," said Peter Moore, president and
COO, Sega of America. "As Sega builds towards becoming the leading publisher of
interactive entertainment worldwide, gamers can expect to see Sega content everywhere from
next generation consoles to other Internet appliances."
Synovial's Virtual Game Gear allows Pocket PCs to simulate the same great gaming
experience that consumers enjoyed on Game Gear. To play, gamers simply turn on their
device, start the Virtual Game Gear software and choose from one of three popular Sega
games that come embedded in the software. Titles include the original smash hit
"Sonic The Hedgehog(tm)," starring Sega's speedy blue mascot Sonic, and the
exciting puzzle game "Baku Baku(tm) Animal." To extend the fun, users can
download additional game packages from the Internet for a low fee.
Further demonstrating its commitment to leading the industry
in
content development and publishing worldwide, Sega Corporation continues to pursue
alliances with providers of Windows® CE devices, PalmOS devices, Java capable cellular
phones and more. Sega is currently working with Motorola, providing games for their
iDEN cell phones, available from Nextel Communications in the U.S. and from Clearnet
Communications, Inc. in Canada. The iDEN phones come pre-installed with Sega's
"Borkov" puzzle game. Similarly, Sega has ongoing deals with NTT DoCoMo, AU/KDDI
and J-Phone to
provide special ring tones downloadable for up to $3.00 per month to the iMODE, EZ Web and
J-Sky phones, respectively. Also for the iMODE and J-Sky, Sega is providing content
such as wallpaper, a fortuneteller and Java games for a monthly download fee of
approximately $3.00. Some of the Java games
include popular Sega titles such as "Space Harrier(tm)," "Nights(tm),"
"Puyo Puyo(tm)," "Samba de Amigo(tm)," and two titles from the ChuChu
Rocket!(tm) franchise.
Sega continues its previously announced partnership with
leading set-top box company, PACE Micro Technology, to provide content for their set top
boxes in the European market, and its ongoing relationship with Palm Inc. to create on and
offline games for Palm PoweredÔ hand held devices.
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