Kris Jenner and ‘Metal Gear Solid’ are among the week’s L.A. tech highlights
Last week in L.A. tech:
Glu sued. The makers of the wildly popular “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” game -- it has grossed more than $100 million -- got sued.
Game developer Kung Fu Factory contended it discussed a similar game with an agent executives believe is tied to Kris Jenner of the Kardashian clan.
Talks lasted months, but no deal developed. Suddenly, the Kardashian game maker, Glu Mobile, released a game “strikingly similar” to a previously-submitted video game proposal by Kung Fu Factory, an attorney for the Los Angeles game studio said in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. It’s seeking at least $10 million in damages. Both Jenner and Glu are being sued.
Glu called the lawsuit “frivolous.” A representative for the Kardashians and the attorney representing Kung Fu didn’t respond to requests to comment.
Game over. Tokyo-based Konami Digital Entertainment Inc., the game studio behind “Metal Gear Solid,” told trade publications it will end operations in El Segundo after just over two years to centralize “product development resources.” The closure involved about two dozen layoffs, according to reports.
The local studio had worked on “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain,” released in September. A corporate restructuring had been underway since earlier this year after a dispute that led to the adventure game series’ producer, Hideo Kojima, taking on a reduced role.
Despite the turmoil, the game looks like a success. Market research from Adobe Digital Index pegged first-day sales at $179 million, or about 3 million copies and double the reported development costs of the game. It ended up being the nation’s third-best selling game in September, behind “NBA 2K16” and “Madden NFL 16,” according to research firm NPD.
Intel inside. FreedomPop, a Los Angeles-based mobile Internet service provider, was revealed to be on a list of 10 start-ups being funded by Intel Capital, the investment arm of the big chipmaker.
The 4-year-old start-up piggybacks on cell networks such as Sprint’s to offer a set of free Internet minutes and other services, while charging for extra access. Now, the company is out to build a low-cost phone that uses an Intel chip inside.
The company told tech news outlet Re/code that the financing was part of a $36-million round of funding this year.
XYZ. The public advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation reversed course on its critique of XYZ.com, the Santa Monica company that oversees the Web address ending .xyz.
Last month, the EFF blasted XYZ for agreeing with Chinese authorities to not let Chinese consumers buy website names with words unfavored by the Chinese government (think liberty.xyz). But last week, the EFF said it welcomed a new “unambiguous statement by .xyz that Internet users in China and worldwide will be free to register strings that offend the Chinese government.”
XYZ also controls .college, .rent, .theatre, .protection and .security.
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