MFORMA and Marvel Enterprises form mobile entertainment alliance

Mobile Internet, The, Dec, 2004

MFORMA Group Inc. and leading global entertainment licensing company Marvel Enterprises Inc. signed a licensing agreement that will bring Marvel's catalog of world-famous entertainment brands to mobile-phone users throughout the world.

The agreement calls for MFORMA to publish an extensive portfolio of mobile entertainment products based on many of Marvel's iconic characters as they appear in movies, television, video games, and comic books which will be available in all domestic and international territories, except for Japan. As part of the agreement, MFORMA will co-publish selected Marvel-based mobile games with Activision, one of the world's leading video-game publishers. Activision brings a rich heritage of developing, publishing, and marketing blockbuster video games based on popular brands, including Marvel's major properties. The MFORMA/Marvel multi-year global product plan identifies mobile entertainment applications of every kind and represents one of the most far-reaching publishing programs seen in the mobile industry.

"Nothing like this has ever before been done in mobile," said Daniel Kranzler, MFORMA CEO. "Today, the market and mobile technology has matured to the point that a deal of this magnitude is possible. We have spent the last year expanding and building our global distribution and production capabilities so that we can serve the needs of an entertainment powerhouse like Marvel. Marvel brands routinely turn gold at the box office and in console gaming and they will do the same in mobile around the world--in Europe, North and South America, and most of Asia. We are pleased beyond words to be working with Marvel and Activision on this fantastic and perfectly-timed opportunity to catapult mobile entertainment to mainstream status all over the world."

In addition to distributing the new Marvel content through MFORMA's global network of more than 100 wireless operators in 39 countries, MFORMA will create and host Marvel Mobile, a branded wireless and online Web site featuring informational, promotional and transactional links to all Marvel Mobile content. Marvel Mobile will have its home on the Internet within www.marvel.com. Subscribers to the Marvel Mobile channel will have access to all Marvel Mobile products, plus unique community applications and features, special collectible items, Marvel news alerts and chat rooms, fan clubs, and mobile commerce options that will open up access to all of the activity taking place in the Marvel Universe.

Tim Rothwell, president of Marvel Worldwide Consumer Products, commented, "Mobile is a major new entertainment medium and our objective all along has been to enter this new space on a grand scale with an ambitious partner capable of putting together a holistic program across the various developing technologies and applications in the wireless space. We believe MFORMA is capable of delivering on that objective and we are thrilled to be working with them." Dave Anderson, senior director of business development, Activision Inc., said, "Our strategic alliance with Marvel has resulted in some of the most successful Super Hero(TM) video games ever. The co-publishing relationship with MFORMA strengthens Activision's commitment to the super hero genre and allows us to continue developing exceptional Marvel-based games for mobile phone users worldwide." Marvel franchises will have a significant presence in the film and video-game worlds well into the future, and MFORMA, Marvel, and Activision will collaborate to leverage each and every important media event.

The first products to be delivered under the agreement will be a suite of mobile products based on the Blade Trinity film from New Line Cinema, which is to be released in theaters on December 8, 2004. In January 2005, a second suite of products based on the movie Elektra by New Regency/Twentieth Century Fox will be introduced. In the summer, another suite of products based on the upcoming blockbuster Fantastic Four from Twentieth Century Fox and a corresponding video game from Activision will join the line-up. Additional titles coming in the near future include products based on Incredible Hulk, to be released in conjunction with a video game from Vivendi Universal Games, and Ultimate Spider-Man, tied into a next-generation video game from Activision. MFORMA and Marvel will collaborate on marketing programs to help promote the availability of Marvel mobile products to consumers worldwide.