National Geographic launches Games division

National Geographic Global Media on Tuesday announced the launch of National Geographic Games (NGG), a new business unit that is creating games for multiple platforms, including the Mac and iPhone.

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NGG will work with game publishers and developers to create games based on National Geographic’s core themes and media properties, the company announced. As part of that effort, NGG announced that it has partnered with Namco Bandai Games America and Sony Computer Entertainment to bring new titles to market. Namco Bandai has brought several of its own game properties to the iPhone and iPod platforms.

The first title to be released is “Herod’s Lost Tomb,” a downloadable game for the Mac, iPhone and Windows that can also be played online through the National Geographic Channel’s Web site. The game, featuring content from the December 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine, features information about the biblical figure King Herod.

Other titles coming in November include “National Geographic: Panda” and “National Geographic: Africa.” December will bring “Sudoku Traveler: China.” And releases planned for 2009 include “Rain Forests,” “Greencity” and “From the Bottom Up.”

source: macworld.com

China Mobile eyes buyouts at attractive valuations

MACAU (MarketWatch) -- China Mobile's chairman and chief executive said Tuesday that the company was looking for acquisitions in emerging countries as the slump in global financial markets over the past year has opened up opportunities at attractive valuations.

"Telecom assets have become very inexpensive and some people say there's a good opportunity for buyers. I agree with them, but it's not so simple. There is no reason for sellers to sell at such a low price," said Wang Jianzhou, speaking at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau.

"We have to find some opportunities ... when someone needs the money. [Meanwhile], we will do our best for our Pakistani company," he said. 

 "We have [non-]disclosure agreements with Apple, so I can't disclose many details. All I can say is that China is still interested in [bringing the] iPhone into China Mobile markets," he said.

"China Mobile is open to all operators, all vendors, content providers and service providers," he said.

China, the world's largest mobile-services market with more than 600 million subscribers, is one of the few big markets in Asia where the iPhone is still not formally launched.

Apple and China Mobile started talks more than a year ago, but differences over Apple's demand for sharing revenue delayed an agreement. The companies reportedly resumed talks earlier this year after Apple abandoned its demand for splitting revenue.

source: marketwatch.com