NAMCO Relaunches European i-mode Service

[Tami]

PRESS RELEASE
NAMCO Relaunches European i-mode Service

July 27th. Namco's Web & Mobile Content division, today launched its newly re-designed 'PAC-MAN ARCADE' i-mode mobile entertainment subscription service across a number of key European mobile network operators including Bouygues in France, Cosmote in Greece, KPN in the Netherlands and e-Plus in Germany.

The re-design is the first stage in a radical re-development of Namco's i-mode services. The company's re-launched i-mode site has been designed from the ground up to be easy to use, visually appealing and offers users an even broader range of content. PAC-MAN ARCADE subscribers can now pick from games and entertainment, through to personalisation services such as ringtones and wallpapers, featuring some of Namco's most famous characters, from PAC-MAN through to Tekken

Jessica Gwyther, Namco Europe's i-mode Manager, said, "Namco's i-mode channel has been incredibly popular with users since it was first launched in 2003. It has given users some of Namco's most popular games and allowed them to play many of the top titles from our very broad catalogue of content from Japan. The new re-design and extended range of services has been undertaken to ensure Namco remains at the forefront of the European i-mode market as it continues to grow and attract new users. We've worked very hard with the networks to ensure we cater for all of their users and provide them with the best mobile entertainment service in Europe."

i-mode was first introduced in Japan in 1999 and is the most widely used mobile entertainment service in the advanced Japanese market, with over 43,000,000 users. It differs from the WAP and Java standards found in Europe both technically and in terms of business model. i-mode allows content providers to create their own 'channels' for consumers, where the provider can choose the services available. Users pay a low-cost monthly subscription for access to all of the content on their chosen channel. i-mode was introduced to Europe in 2002 where it has grown rapidly. Seven operators now offer i-mode services from leading content providers, such as Namco, to over 5,000,000 users.

Pramesh Chauhan, the Head of Business Development for Namco Europe's Web & Mobile Content division, said, "The i-mode market in Europe is very important to Namco, and one which offers a compelling model for the future of mobile entertainment. It provides publishers with the ability to create dedicated, feature-rich channels for consumers and due to the commercial model, provides them with the incentive to actively market and promote the channel. This creates a closed and far more dynamic relationship between the publisher and the consumer and benefits both. Namco has had a great deal of experience with i-mode and has supported the standard since it was first introduced into the European market. Alongside the re-design, we have a number of major titles, new promotions and exciting new services to be announced over the next several months, and we're confident they will set a new standard for i-mode services, not just in Europe, but worldwide."