NEC and Dwango mobile partnership

NEC and Dwango Wireless announced today the formation of a partnership to deliver wireless games to North American consumers.

The agreement enables NEC to offer appealing, downloadable Javaâ„¢ applications to U.S. consumers on its High Definition Mobile+ handsets.

Specifically, consumers will be able to enjoy a demo version of Dwango Star Diversionâ„¢ – a top down vertical shooting game – that will come pre-loaded on NEC 515 mobile phones. Dwango will offer Star Diversion exclusively to consumers via the NEC 515 wireless handset for six months after the phone launches in the United States during the second quarter of 2003. Players can elect to purchase the full version of the game after they have had a chance to play the demo.

“Dwango’s success in developing and marketing applications for mobile devices in Japan will help us bring a similar level of exciting game play to consumers in North America,” said Noboru Sakata, General Manager of the Wireless Engineering Division at NEC America, Inc. “The 515’s large, high resolution color display and dedicated applications processor will offer consumers an excellent medium to play Star Diversion.”

The NEC 515 mobile handset is especially equipped for an enhanced gaming experience. Both the NEC 515 and Dwango’s Star Diversion utilize DoJa, a Japanese version of Java, created by NTT DoCoMo, which enables consumers to enjoy the fast-paced sights and sounds that Star Diversion offers. The DoJa language enables use of a polyphonic ringer, special vibrating features and simultaneous key-press ability. The NEC 515 features a second processor that is dedicated to Java applications enabling for lightning-fast game play.

“Dwango Star Diversion is the perfect game to highlight the dual processor and user features of the new NEC 515 mobile handset,” said Robert E. “dwangobob” Huntley, founder and chief executive officer of Dwango North America and co-founder, shareholder, former chairman and director of Dwango Japan. “We hope consumers will be so impressed with the game play on their new handset, they’ll have trouble putting it down.”

The object of Star Diversion, the sequel to Dwango’s Star Exceed, is to score as many points as possible by destroying enemy craft while avoiding destruction. The player shoots enemy craft by using a rapid-fire laser and homing missiles. To clear each of the game’s five stages, the player must defeat the mother ship.