EA
Must defend suit
Electronic Arts, the Redwood City video game publisher, must defend a contract-interference lawsuit for $400 million brought by its larger rival Activision Blizzard, a judge ruled. California Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle in Los Angeles refused Wednesday to dismiss all but one of the claims against Electronic Arts. The judge, without ruling on the merits of Activision’s claims, said the company had provided sufficient facts in its complaint for the case to proceed. EA had said in court filings that Activision failed to provide facts to support its allegation that the rival company intended for two of Activision’s executives to breach their contracts, but Berle overruled the objection.
— Bloomberg News
Xoom
Wi-Fi-only model
Motorola Mobility says it will start selling a Wi-Fi-only version of its Xoom tablet computer for $599 on March 27. The Xoom is a competitor to Apple’s iPad. A version with cellular broadband access went on sale through Verizon Wireless last month for $800, or $600 with a two-year contract. The Wi-Fi-only iPad 2 model with 32 gigabytes of flash memory, the same amount as the Xoom, also costs $599. Manufacturers trying to take on the iPad have otherwise had a hard time matching the iPad’s price. The iPad 2 and Xoom both have fast dual-core processors and two cameras. But Motorola Mobility’s tablet runs Google’s Android software, while the iPad runs a version of the iPhone’s software.
— Associated Presss
News Corp.
Playing a new game
News Corp., owner of the Twentieth Century Fox movie studio and Fox television network, will start a social-gaming business that could tie in with its brands from film and TV, the company’s digital chief Jonathan Miller said. “We’re putting a toe and then a foot in the water,” Miller said Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. Miller said News Corp. acquired Making Fun, a social-gaming publisher. The company will “grow organically,” Miller said, adding that Zynga, the biggest maker of games for Facebook, was “a little expensive” to be a takeover target.
— Bloomberg News
