Sony Settles Suit With Kevin Butler Actor

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Sony Computer Entertainment has settled the breach of contract court fight with the actor Jerry Lambert over his appearance in a Bridgestone ad. In the ad, he was shown enthusiastically watching people playing the Wii console, which Sony contends violated their contract with the actor that stated he was forbidden from promoting any competing game system.

In the settlement Lambert, acknowledged the contract issue precluded him from promoting or endorsing competing game systems and that confusion might have occurred from his appearance in the Bridgestone ad. As part of the settlement, he agreed not to appear in any ad or promotion that features or even mentions “any other video game or computer entertainment system or video game company” for a period of two years and for two years after that will have to seek Sony’s permission on all further ads.

The Kevin Butler character remains the property of Sony and Lambert can’t play the character without Sony’s permission. Meanwhile, the suit between Sony and Bridgestone in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California continues over this issue.

Source: MediaPost.com

Curt Schilling Putting Bloody Sock Up For Auction

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Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is selling the infamous blood-stained sock he wore during the 2004 World Series. Schilling invested many of his personal resources in 38 Studios, which is still in the process of bankruptcy.

Schilling had been loaning the sock to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, though now it will go to a private collector and is expected to bring in at least $100,000. 38 Studios is still on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to its creditors, the biggest being the state of Rhode Island.

Source: FoxSports.com

Fire Emblem Awakening Gets Limited Edition 3DS

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Nintendo has announced that they will be releasing a Limited Edition Fire Emblem Awakening 3DS. This system will be standard 3DS model, with a blue casing adorned with Fire Emblem-themed insignias.

The 3DS console will come with a digital copy of Fire Emblem Awakening pre-installed, and a 4GB SD memory card. The Fire Emblem Awakening 3DS will be released alongside the game itself in on February 4 for $199.99.

 

Reddit Script Concept Being Developed

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Warner Bros. has brought in Brian Miller (writer for Apollo 18) to do work on Rome, Sweet Rome. The unique thing about this movie script is its origins from the website Reddit.com.

The script originated in 2011, where James Erwin asked users in Reddit about U.S. Marines facing the Roman legions, which Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner saw and asked Erwin to develop. While Erwin wrote the original draft, WB brought in Miller to refine the concept, making tweaks such as making the Marines into Special Forces.

Kolbrenner and Madhouse will produce with Gianni Nunnari of Hollywood Gang and Safe House Pictures’ Tory Tunnell and Joby Harold, the latter of whom was instrumental in saying how the concept can work for WB. Madhouse’s Robyn Meisinger will executive produce.

Source: Variety.com

Advertising Potential Of Facebook Graph Search Weighed

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Facebook Graph Search will offer a chance for users to search and see what their friends like. This is a competitive move against Google, Yelp, Foursquare and Match.com in the advertising and marketing realm, as well as challenging LinkedIn as a way for employers to find an employee.

Facebook wants a larger part of the search engine pie, currently dominated by Google. They want to eventually elevate its advertising revenue with Graph Search, since it opens the digital doors to potential advertisers in the markets for dating, job searches, product reviews and search.

“Facebook is setting the stage for the inevitable search war with Google, a war that advertisers and marketers want to happen so that there is more diversity and opportunity,” says Chris Winfield, co-founder of BlueGlass Interactive. “This lays the groundwork for them to roll-out their long-rumored AdWords/AdSense competitor that we should see next.”

There’s still some skepticism from commercial interests over Graph Search’s capabilities, which are currently limited to people, places and photos. “In typical Facebook fashion, the announcement does not outline any benefit for its advertisers,” says Larry Kim, chief technology officer at Internet marketing firm WordStream. “There is no linkage to how you can monetize any of this. It is a conspicuous omission.”

“Even if they figure out how to grab all this data and plug it into the ad platform, they still haven’t been able to offer it to marketers in a meaningful manner,” notes Forrester analyst Nate Elliott. “There’s so much more and richer data that could help marketers target their programs that aren’t being used right now.”

There is potential if a mobile version of Graph Search comes out, but that’s months away at the minimum. There’s also Facebook’s ongoing issue with privacy, or the lack thereof.

“Even though (Graph Search) doesn’t reveal information, it makes it easier to find older information you may have on Timeline and don’t want to share,” says Chris Conley, a technology and civil-liberties policy attorney at the ACLU. “There’s no question Graph Search does open up a number of new ways that your buried content can be discovered and used, including not only content you made publicly available years ago but even photos you intentionally hid from your Timeline.”

“In terms of the evolution of Facebook, this feels like the logical next step,” notes Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com. “But it’s only as reliable and useful as the tags people use. Most of us don’t regularly update our favorite films lists on Facebook.”

Source: USAToday.com

AppGratis Raises $13.5 Million

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AppGratis has announced that it has closed a $13.5 million Series A funding round led by Iris Capital, with additional contributions from the Orange Publicis Fund. These resources will be put to helping app discovery on the Apple App Store with its platform, which brings in roughly $1 million in revenue per month with 7 million users in 30 countries.

“We’re helping developers build visibility for their apps at a time when the App Store can seem overwhelming with choices,” said AppGratis founder Simon Dawlat. “Our app recommendations are tailored over time to user preferences, which drives high success rates. When we feature an app, we can deliver over 500k app downloads that day. It’s a win-win for both developers and consumers.”

“AppGratis is a champion in the fast-growing app-marketing market, which is expected to be worth $25 billion by 2015,” said Iris Capital partner Sophie Dingreville. “The AppGratis team has built a successful, profitable business in a short period of time and they are in a strong position to become the global leader in app discovery.”

Sony America Selling New York HQ

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Sony Corp. America is set to sell its New York City headquarters to a group led by The Chetrit Group for $1.1 billion. The agreement is scheduled to complete in March this year, will net around $770 million in cash and boost Sony’s operating income by $685 million.

“Given the opportunities and challenges in the current economic and real estate landscape, selling 550 Madison now is a timely and logical strategic move,” said Nicole Seligman, president of Sony America. “Regarding our new headquarters, we continue to look at a number of spaces in Manhattan but have not yet made a decision about where to lease.”

Sony has deperately tried to get back into the black in recent years and this move is one among many by the corporation to do so. The company will be allowed to stay in the 37-story building at 550 Madison Avenue for up to three years on a leaseback agreement with the Chetrit Group while it searches for a new home.

Portal: No Escape Director Helming Y: The Last Man Movie

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New Line announced that it has hired Dan Tractenberg to direct the movie version of the Y: The Last Man comic. He replaces Disturbia director D.J. Caruso in the role.

Tractenberg was hired for the work he did on the Portal: No Escape fan film which has north of 11 million views on YouTube. Y: The Last Man focuses on Yorick and his pet monkey Ampersand, the only male survivors of a worldwide plague, with comic author Brian K. Vaughan said to be handling the film conversion.Source: iFanboy.com

Digital Billboards Too Distracting, Says Study

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A study in Traffic Injury Prevention says that digital billboards hold the gaze of drivers longer than two seconds. Many studies have shown that anything that takes a driver’s eyes off the road for longer than two seconds increases the risks of a crash.

“This study validates what is common sense when it comes to digital billboards,” said Mary Tracy, president of Scenic America, a national nonprofit group that seeks to limit billboards. “Bright, constantly changing signs on the side of the road are meant to attract and keep the attention of drivers, and this study confirms that is exactly what they do.”

The report will be presented to a national transportation conference in Washington, D.C. Last month a three-judge panel ordered the removal of 100 digital billboards in Los Angeles, and Denver has banned them. Currently 39 states allow digital billboards.

“We would need to review more research, so it’s premature to call for a ban,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. “There is a role for digital messaging such as that employed by states to convey Amber Alerts and other safety messages.”

There are more than 1,800 digital billboards nationwide, more than double the number in 2007. While there is no solid data that indicates an increase in accidents caused by the Bay Area signs, many drivers are opposed to them.

“The brightness is by far too bright for at night,” says insurance agent David Whitlock. “When the advertisement switches from a brighter color to a darker color, your eyes cannot adjust fast enough and you end up losing vision of the roadway.”

Source: MercuryNews.com