PopCap Discounts All Games -

 - for iPhone/iPad, Donates Sales to Japan Earthquake Relief

 48-Hour Sale Starts Tomorrow; All PopCap Proceeds Go To Earthquake-Stricken Japan Via Red Cross Donation

PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual games, today announced that it is discounting the prices of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad adaptations of all of its games including Bejeweled^®, Bookworm^®, Chuzzle^®, Peggle^® and Plants vs. Zombies^™ for 48 hours to raise funds for earthquake-stricken Japan. Partnering with the Red Cross, PopCap will donate all of its revenues from the sale, which begins Saturday March 19 at 07:01 a.m. GMT and ends at 07:00 on Monday March 21. The price of each iPhone and iPod touch title is reduced to £0.59 during that time, while the iPad adaptations are reduced to £1.19. Consumers can purchase the games via the Apple App Store or by going to PopCap.com.

“We recently opened an office in Tokyo, and while our Japan-based employees are safe and uninjured, we understand countless others in Japan need food, shelter, and medical attention,” said Ellen Marett, Senior Director of Workforce Culture at PopCap. “Given that Plants vs. Zombies reached #1 on the iPhone and iPad sales charts in Japan, it seemed like the most appropriate game to feature in this fundraising campaign.”

VUE ENTERTAINMENT CONFIRMED AS EUROPE’S LARGEST EXHIBITION CIRCUIT

Vue Entertainment, one of the UK’s leading operators and developers of state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas, has signed an agreement in with Sony Europe to install 4K digital cinema projection systems across its circuit.  

With over 37 million customers every year at its 68 cinemas and 657 stadium seated screens, Vue Entertainment will become the largest cinema circuit equipped with Sony 4K digital technology in Europe which will provide audiences with the most state-of-the-art on-screen presentation available, delivering both a fully immersive 3D experience and superior 2D quality, thanks to Sony’s unique 4K technology.  

Tim Richards, CEO, Vue Entertainment, said: “We are delighted to have signed such an significant agreement with Sony Digital Cinema. The partnership between our 2 brands will deliver the very best possible cinematic big screen experience for our customers. The transition to all digital screens also heralds a new era for cinema offering greater choice not only of films but also allow us to expand our range of live and recorded 3D and 2D content covering sports, music, opera, ballet, theater, comedy gaming and other major special events.  

Over the coming weeks we will be announcing an exciting customer marketing campaign that communicates the benefits of the Vue/Sony partnership and 4K projection. This along with the many other plans we already have in the pipeline between our two companies marks the start of a very special moment in our company’s strategy moving forward” 

David McIntosh, Director, Sony Professional Solutions, Europe commented, “This is a particularly exciting partnership for Sony Digital Cinema 4K, which further demonstrates our commitment to the long-term success of the industry, heralding the next generation of digital cinema. We are very excited about working with Tim and the team at Vue as one of the most progressive cinema companies in the world and am delighted that Sony 4K is going to key role in helping Vue offer its customers a revolutionised movie-going experience” 

Vue and Sony will start the conversion process immediately and it is expected to take 18 months to complete. Vue’s cinema in Fulham has already been fully converted with Sony 4K digital projectors. 

Voddler launches iPhone app with free movies

A cinema just opened in your pocket!  Online film service Voddler just released an iPhone app, where film viewers can watch films for free from the Voddler catalog on their iPhone or iPad. This is the first app globally to offer ad-funded content from the leading studios in Hollywood and Scandinavia. Voddler opens another viewing window to let film lovers watch film when and where they want. The app also enables advertisers to finally place commercials in the mobile phone in an efficient way that consumers recognize and that doesn’t disturb the viewing experience. In just a few hours, the app rushed up to the number 1 spot on iPhone's top list of most downloaded free apps. -          We are happy and proud to open up our film service for iPhone and iPad. The app symbolizes everything we work for: film when and where you want.  And it allows seamless transitions, so you for instance can start watching a movie in your mobile on your way home and then pick up exactly where you left off on your computer or web-connected TV, says Marcus Bäcklund, Voddler’s CEO. The Voddler iPhone app is free, does not require any subscription, and movies are shown over both mobile networks and WiFi-connections. Above all, the ad funded films are free to the user. The films in the app come from Voddler’s growing catalog of soon 4 000 titles. All these titles are now being activated for mobile viewing, at a rate of about 50 titles per day. Voddler is available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, for anyone who want to see film online legally and without hassle. Close to one million registered users watch tens of thousands of films every day on Voddler.  Voddler’s social functions, where “voddlerites” can create play lists, share tips and discuss movies both on Voddler and other sites, help film lovers find the movies that suit them best in Voddler’s catalog, regardless if they are using Voddler on the mobile or in front of the computer. -          We work every day with enhancing our technology, showing film studios the benefit of new viewing platform, and getting the business models to spin faster. It’s a triple challenge we have given ourselves. Our app was evaluated by Apple for almost three months before it was approved, instead of the normal two weeks. That’s a typical dynamic when you break new ground, says Anders Sjöman, VP Communication at Voddler. The app also opens up for advertisers who want to show full-scale commercials directly in the mobile. -          Advertisers have dreamt about showing mobile commercials in a natural and non-invasive way. Our app allows just that: ads the way film consumers are used to them, just before the movie starts. You reach the consumer right in their pocket and, more importantly, when they have time, says Oskar Boding, VP Sales at Voddler. Voddler will soon release the same app for smart phones and tablets on other platforms, such as Android and Symbian.