Pokemon Mobile Lets Fans Express their Individuality With Personalized
Ringtones, Voicetones and Wallpapers
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Pokemon(R), one of the most successful
children's properties of all-time, is joining with Zingy, Inc., the leading
mobile media provider in the U.S., to launch Pokemon Mobile, it was announced
today at the American International Toy Fair. Pokemon Mobile -- part of the
multi-billion-dollar personalized mobile media market -- will offer
downloadable mobile content including ringtones, wallpapers, and voicetones
inspired by Pokemon's hit animated TV series and chart-topping video games,
which are based on the concept of collecting, training, and trading Pokemon
characters on a quest to become a Pokemon Master. Zingy will publish Pokemon
Mobile content across a variety of platforms on the major domestic cell phone
carriers. Content is available at http://www.pokemon.com/mobile.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060213/NYM014-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060213/NYM014LOGO-b )
"With mobile phone usage growing at an unprecedented rate and our fans
looking for more on-demand content, it was a natural fit for Pokemon to expand
into mobile media," said Yves Saada, Vice President of Business Development,
Pokemon USA, Inc. "Pokemon has always been a leader in technology and pop
culture, and Pokemon Mobile will prove to be yet another innovative platform
for us to interact with our fans."
Through Zingy, popular Pokemon characters, songs, and animated clips will
be brought to life in mobile media content for boys and girls of all ages.
Consumers will be able to select from more than 30 downloadable content
options and can have, for example, Pikachu, the most popular Pokemon
character, announce their calls. They can also download ringtones from the
Pokemon animated TV series soundtracks. Wallpapers include images of popular
Pokemon, action scenes, and key characters, such as Pokemon Gym Leaders and
villains.
"We're thrilled to be working with Pokemon to incorporate mobile into
their marketing strategy," said Scott Debson, Vice President, Licensing and
Publishing, Zingy, Inc. "The addition of Pokemon-branded content to our
portfolio further establishes Zingy as the premier mobile publisher for brands
that impact pop culture."
Personalized downloads at http://www.pokemon.com/mobile will be $1.99, on
average, per item and will be included on consumers' monthly mobile phone bill
from their existing carrier. Throughout 2006, Pokemon Mobile will continue to
add new personalized content and features, such as on-demand voicemails from
popular Pokemon characters.
About Pokemon USA
Pokemon USA, Inc., a subsidiary of The Pokemon Company in Japan, manages
the property outside of Asia which includes licensing, marketing, the Pokemon
Trading Card Game, an animated TV series, home entertainment, the official
Pokemon website, and online retail center http://www.pokemoncenter.com.
Celebrating its 10th worldwide anniversary in 2006, Pokemon was launched in
Japan in 1996 for play on Nintendo's Game Boy(R) and has since evolved into a
global cultural phenomenon. Pokemon was introduced in North America in
September 1998 and today is one of the most popular toy and entertainment
properties in the world. For more information, visit http://www.pokemon.com.
About Zingy
Founded in 2001, Zingy is the leader in mobile media. The company
licenses, publishes and distributes market-leading content, products and
services across all major mobile categories including personalization,
entertainment, information and community. Innovative services include
ringtones and ringbacks, wallpapers, games, celebrity news and photos, maps,
local city guides, photo sharing and mobile chat. Zingy provides content
management and distribution services to blue-chip partners including carriers
and media companies, as well as mobile marketing services to more than 150
leading brands. Based in New York, Zingy has offices in Los Angeles, Mexico
City and Montreal. Zingy acquired Vindigo in 2005 and is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of For-Side.com. For more information, visit http://www.zingy.com.
SOURCE Pokemon USA, Inc.
back to top
