Bandai S.A. and Bandai Networks Announce Joint Launch of i-mode(TM)
Tokyo, Japan, Jan 10, 2003 (JCN Newswire via COMTEX) -- Bandai S.A. (France;
President: Masayuki Matsuo), the focal point for Bandai Co. Ltd.'s European
operations, and Bandai Networks Co., Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO:
Satoshi Ohshita; hereafter referred to as'Bandai Networks') announce the launch
of "Charappa", our first content service for the European mobile phone market.
As of January 8th, the joint service "Charappa" will be available as an official
i-mode(TM) content service through the German telecommunications provider E-Plus
Mobilfunk GmbH (Dusseldorf, Germany; CEO: Uwe Bergheim; hereafter referred to as
'E-Plus').
"Charappa" is a download service for character-themed standby screen images,
developed from the enormously popular Japanese content service series of the
same name. The service features content carefully tailored to the European
market, and will debut with 5 different characters.
E-Plus launched its i-mode(TM) network in Germany on March 16th, 2002.
Currently, its 100,000 subscribers have access to approximately 100 official
sites and 7,000 independent sites, indicating that i-mode(TM) is making its mark
on the German population.
Outside of Germany, i-mode(TM) services are available in the Netherlands through
KPN Mobile (launched April 2002), in Belgium through BASE (launched October
2002), in France through Bouygues Telecom (launched November 2002).
It is expected that the convenience and entertainment value of i-mode(TM)
services will cause them to become an indispensable part of European life, as
they have in Japan, thus creating further demand for mobile content services.
The E-Plus launch heralds the entry of Bandai Networks and Bandai S.A.into this
promising marketplace, with Bandai services already in development for KPN
Mobile, BASE, and Bouygues Telecom.
*E-Plus, KPN Mobile, BASE, and Bouygues Telecom are licensed partners of NTT
DoCoMo, Inc.
*i-mode is a trademark or registered trademark of NTT DoCoMo, Inc. in Japan and
other countries.
*Other products and companies mentioned in this release are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective companies.
The respective roles of the three companies are outlined below:
Bandai S.A. : Content provider.
Bandai Networks : Design and development of content services.
Description of Service
"Charappa"
Subscribers are sure to be kept entertained with 7 new standby screen images of
their favorite character available for download every week. Every image is
different, and rendered in full color. To set an image as the standby screen for
a mobile phone, subscribers simply need access the site and download the image.
They can also access up to 2 weeks' worth of screens (14 images) through the
archives, so there is no fear of missing a picture.
Service type: Standby screen image download
Launch date: January 8th, 2003
Monthly fee: 2 Euros per character (approximately 240 JPY)
Characters available (at launch): Go Nagai, Mobile Suit Gundam, Tamagotchi,
Shige Shige Shigeo, Barbie
E-Plus Corporate Profile
With round 7.1 million customers (end of September 2002) E-Plus is the
third-largest mobile phone provider in Germany. E-Plus business is based on
profitable growth and its activities are guided strictly by operating results.
Therefore E-Plus focuses on business and private target groups with a high
turnover.
E-Plus is one of the pioneers in mobile multimedia in Germany and with i-modeTM
E-Plus offers access to mobile services at a quality previously unheard of in
Europe. i-mode(TM) is fast and colourful and offers a comprehensive range of
information, services and entertainment. Thanks to i-mode(TM) mail multimedia
messaging with E-Plus has already become a reality.
The choice of E-Plus services will become even greater with the start of UMTS
(Universal Mobile Telecommunication System). E-Plus is one of the companies that
will roll out and run a modern UMTS network in Germany in the next few years.
E-Plus' shareholders are KPN Mobile N.V. with 77.49 per cent and Royal KPN N.V.
with 22.51 per cent.
Bandai Networks Corporate Profile
Established as a subsidiary of Bandai Co., Ltd. in September of 2000, Bandai
Networks builds on its parent company's strength in character merchandising and
adds an expertise in server management and applications, innovative concepts,
and strategic business partnering to operate a wide variety of mobile phone and
Internet content services. Bandai Networks currently boasts 4 million
subscribers to its domestic pay mobile phone services.
Established: September 2000
Capital: 586 million yen
President and CEO: Satoshi Ohshita
About Bandai Co Ltd.
The head of the twenty-nine company Bandai Group, Bandai Co., Ltd. (TSE: 7967)
is Japan's leading toy maker and is engaged in all aspects of the
branded-character business, including toys, apparel, candy toys, hobby items,
stationery, video gameand software, network content, digital images,amusement
equipment, and life-style products. Since 1950, Bandai has had hundreds of hit
toy products including characters such as Power Rangers, Digimon, Ultraman and
Mobile Suit Gundam, and products such as WonderSwan color game consoles. Bandai
now operates in eight countries world-wide.
Source: Bandai Co Ltd.
Contact:
Bandai
Akiko Tagami
Public Relations Section
Bandai Co., Ltd.
Phone +81-3847-5005
Bandai Networks
Mari Chuganji
Administration & PR Dept.
Bandai Networks Co., Ltd.
Phone +81-3-3865-3605
E-mail: press@net.bandai.co.jp
Copyright (C) 2003 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network KK.
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(Wall Street)
Daniel Nieves
AI
