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Thanks to time zone differences, Sony was one of the first companies to report earnings on what is an extremely busy earnings calendar (Electronic Arts, New York Times Co.  Google, and Getty Images all report today as well).   As has been the case with many technology and consumer facing companies already to report, their results for the past quarter were moderate to positive but the gray cloud of overall economic conditions led to a cautious and hazy future forecast for the coming months (and year).

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The second half of January proved fruitful for a number of startups seeking capital.  5, with focuses ranging from gaming to social networking, mark this issue of the venture roundup:

•IGA Worldwide
New York based IGA is one of the larger independent companies running an in-game advertising network.  On January 24th, they announced the closing on an additional installment of $5m in funding for their Series B round.   Translink Capital, ITOCHU and Presidio STX, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp, provided the funds.

IGA previously took $25m in Series B financing last July. Click to Read More

Forget about “what have you done for me lately” (though that can’t be neglected); in these turbulent markets what matters more is “what are you going to do for me next.” Wall Street made that painfully clear when Apple released record earnings last week but was cautious in their forward guidance.  After Tuesday’s close of market, Yahoo received a similar message.  It was a little less blunt, the consequences a little less severe, but then, with Yahoo nobody had built up expectations to walk away impressed. 

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Al Gore may not have created the Internet but he is Chairman and one of the co-founders of Current Media, parent company of Current TV. Now, he and his colleagues are getting ready to take it public.

Current TV was founded in 2002 and launched in 2005 as a 24/7 cable and satellite TV network focused on news and information. The channel and its affiliated website differ from traditional programming in that they rely heavily on user/audience participation.  Relying on what they’ve named “Viewer Created Content” (VC2), approximately a third of Current TV’s on air broadcasts comes from non-fiction submissions.  It’s news from pop culture to politics from young adults, in their own perspective.

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Move over Amazon and iTunes, here comes Yahoo with the volume blaring.   At least that’s a rumor that circulated late last week.  Citing anonymous music industry executives, several reports claimed Yahoo is negotiating to begin selling DRM-Free music later this year.   

A few days looking for more info has yielded no substantive confirmation and little further detail.  From what’s available, it appears talks are real but early in process and delicate enough that nobody wants to compromise the discussions by sharing information.    Still, as for logic, a deal makes sense for both Yahoo and the labels.  There’s incentive for both sides to reach agreement.   There’s a good probability something will be announced between the two; possibly by June, or sooner.

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When you’ve got the two best selling products in an industry that just set new records for sales and revenues it’s pretty much a sure thing that your own numbers are going to be good.  On Thursday, Nintendo confirmed their numbers weren’t just good, they were great.

Net profits for the period from April to December nearly doubled, rising 96% year over year.  Income was 258.9b yen (approximately $2.4billion depending on the conversation rate), up from 131.9b yen ($1.23b) for the same period last year.  Sales were up 85% to 1.32 trillion yen from 712.59 billion yen last year.

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During Apple’s earnings call earlier this week, CFO Peter Oppeheimer said they believe “one of the iPod’s future directions is to become the first mainstream WiFi mobile platform.”  Sony has a similar ambition for their PSP-2000 portable gaming platform.  Unfortunately, they’ve hit a small snag.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan was scheduled to begin offering eBay’s Skype VoIP phone services on the platform Thursday in Japan.   Instead, delivery of that functionality has reportedly been delayed because microphones failed to meet Skype’s specification requirements.

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