Assemblyman Paul Koretz, Chair of the California Assembly Labor Committee, has agreed to oversee an impartial election for union representation on behalf of writers on six Nickelodeon animated series. The election will take place Wednesday, October 3, 2001 at Nickelodeon Studios, 231 W. Olive Ave., Burbank. The polling place will close at 12:00 noon. Immediately following the vote Sequoia Voting Systems will tabulate the results and Assemblyman Koretz will announce the results.

Animation studio Wild Brain, Inc. has continued the expansion of its global operations with the launch of its new creative services studio Wild Brain UK, LLC based in London. Wild Brain UK is headed by animation and commercial creative director Mike Smith and managing producer Nikki Kefford, with director Tom Gravestock also on board. Powered by talent from London's animation community, Wild Brain UK will be committed to developing emerging talent with a wide-range of distinctive and eclectic styles. Mike Smith, who has spent the last 10 years in the U.S., working at Warner Bros.

Microsoft Corp. has delayed the launch of its Xbox video game system by one week and is now planning to have Xbox in North American stores on November 15, 2001. The system will retail for approximately US$299. Microsoft is refusing to say how many units it will ship on that date and will only confirm it will ship 1 million to 1.5 million Xbox consoles to North American retailers this holiday season. Microsoft executives have not explained the delay, saying only that it is not related to the attacks in Washington and New York, or the nation’s economy.

Adobe Systems Incorporated reported financial results for its third quarter ended August 31, 2001. In the third quarter of fiscal 2001, Adobe achieved revenue of $292.1 million, compared to $328.9 million reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2000 and $344.1 million reported in the second quarter of fiscal 2001. Pro forma diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2001, excluding non-operating gains and losses, were $0.28.

Cambridge Animation Systems, developer of Animo 2D software, has been purchased from Japanese investment bank Nomura by a digital media consortium that includes an original founder of the company. The new owners are moving the company to a new and larger facility in Cambridge, England. Over the past 18 months the new management team placed in the company by Nomura has completely reorganized Cambridge Animation Systems, expanded Cambridge's line of products and set up a growing reseller network worldwide.

Midlands, England-based animation production house, PS Creative has moved to new, larger premises -- a building called The Doghouse in Bewdley, Worcestershire, England. With this expansion they soon hope to be recruiting more staff for both freelance and permanent in-house positions. PS Creative is currently furthering their 3D character animation and on-screen typography work developing a Europe-wide marketing campaign for a major pharmaceutical company.

Boxershorts Cartoons, a division of The Chris Moujaes Company, Inc., has created The Boxershorts Academy to provide an opportunity for education in animation studio arts to students who reside between the West and East Coasts. The Boxershorts Academy's classes are available to the general public in both live and electronic formats. Live courses are held in Austin, Texas at various locations and the online independent study courses are held at BoxerAcademy.com.

Universal Digital Communications Inc. (UDC), a privately held digital marketing company, has acquired new media content creator and distributor Spunky Productions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Spunky Productions brings UDC tremendous new media capabilities including their remarkable 2D and 3D animation. This adds a truly unique dimension to the marketing solutions we create and produce for our clients,” said Jim Burkhart, President of UDC.

Pulse, the San Francisco-based 3D media solutions company, laid off an undisclosed number of staff members on Monday, September 17, 2001. While an exact number was not revealed, AWN was told that it was less than 50% of the company’s total workforce. The lay-offs were predominately from the administrative sector with some engineering staff also being let go. A spokesperson for the company sees the staff cuts as a positive move for Pulse allowing them a greater ability to reach profitability. The company plans to move toward e-learning, while continuing its current licenses.

Interactive entertainment company Infogrames, Inc. has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with UK-based game publisher, Codemasters. Under the terms of the one-year deal, Infogrames will be the sole distributor of Codemasters' interactive entertainment titles throughout North America. Codemasters expects to publish 17 SKUs between September 2001 and August 2002. The first title Infogrames distributed under the agreement is OPERATION FLASHPOINT, a realistic military action game for the PC.