Zed acquires Mobitween, the leading developer and publisher of games based on Adobe Flash® technology
Zed will offer the most extensive portfolio of multiplatform games and personalization products, developed in-house and available in more than 50 countries; mobile operators, including Verizon Wireless and Orange Group, among others, rely on Mobitween to build mobile gaming portals
Denver - September 8th 2008 - Zed, the leading mobile content company worldwide in terms of revenue and geographical presence, today announced the acquisition of Mobitween, a leading developer and publisher of Flash® based content for mobile and online worlds. Mobitween brings to Zed an impressive expertise in Adobe Flash® technology for mobile phones, an extensive product portfolio with more than 100 in-house titles, the first “ game 2.0” concept offering and important agreements with key carriers in Europe and the U.S.
“This acquisition signals a very important milestone for our games strategy worldwide since Zed is committed to consolidate a global leadership position as developer, publisher and retailer of multiplatform games,” said Javier Pérez Dolset, founder and CEO of Zed Group. “As Mobitween has emerged as one of the most forward-thinking publishers of products based on Flash® technology, we can now offer to our partners and customers worldwide a powerful foundation to provide innovative entertainment and the best solution to build games portals, where the consumer will enjoy the most attractive casual games.”
Mobitween has established distribution agreements with major U.S. and European mobile operators, including Verizon Wireless and Orange Group, among others, building Flash® Lite™ mobile gaming portals that replicate the Web browsing model, enabling players to play, rate, share and post high scores through a rich-media and customizable mobile client.
“We share with Zed their vision to lead the digital entertainment ecosystem and we want to bridge the gap between online and mobile game developers and players, allowing them to create, customize, embed and share the entertainment experience,” said Philippe Chassany, Founder and CEO of Mobitween. “Our incorporation into the Zed team will allow us to deliver our games to millions of developers and gamers in the 53 countries where Zed has direct relationships with hundreds of MOs.”
Currently, the majority of mobile games developed are based on Java or BREW technologies, and require significant resource to port each game or application to a growing number of mobile handsets. Adobe Flash® is the industry’s most advanced authoring environment for creating interactive Web sites, engaging digital experiences and high-impact mobile content. More than 500 million Flash® Lite™ enabled devices have shipped worldwide and one million designers and developers use Adobe Flash®.
Mobitween is at the forefront of the development of Flash® based content which will become a prevailing technology platform for games for handheld devices as it has established itself as the defacto standard in the online world.
“Adding Mobitween’s knowledge of Flash® technology to our existing Java and BREW in-house capabilities allows us to create rich and interactive games and applications at unprecedented speed,” said Juan Carlos Gonzalvez, director of Zed Games. “The demand for casual games is increasing worldwide and Zed has a full range, offering both direct to consumers channels or under B2B relationships with carriers, media and consumer brands.”
“We are very excited and proud to be part of Zed Group, providing an array of innovative and convergent services that will set us apart from the competition and drive our customers to a whole new form of entertainment,” added Marc Alloul, executive vice president of Mobitween.
About Mobitween
Mobitween, www.mobitween.com, is a leading developer and publisher of Flash® based content for mobile and online worlds. The company works with mobile operators, handset manufacturers, leading publishers, media companies and third party developers.
By leveraging its Flash based mobile game development expertise acquired over the past three years, the company has introduced ugenGames, its Web 2.0 User Generated Content and Social Networking Service. Mobitween’s goal is to be the first Game 2.0 Company bridging the gap between online and mobile game developers and players, allowing them to create, customize, embed and share games.
Mobigamz is a Flash® Lite™ based mobile gaming portal that replicates the Web browsing model enabling players to download, play, rate and post high scores through a rich-media and customizable mobile client.
Flash is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contacts
Zed:
Megan Moody, Corporate Communications Manager, USA
Phone: 1.303.567.6352
Email: MediaRelations.usa@zed.com
Weber Shandwick for Zed:
Jaclyn Ruckle
Phone: 1.425.452.5432
Email: JRuckle@WeberShandwick.com