Internet & Interactive

Threshold Must Destroy Pokemon. TheThreshold.com, a leading on-line entertainment network for branded entertainment, has announced the premiere of its newest show, Pokemon Must Be Destroyed. Daily, the series will feature a new Pokemon character being destroyed in a delightfully merciless way. Web-surfers and haters of the "pocket things" will be able to vote on the next day's method of destruction. After the complete genocide of the little creatures, the network shall remain open should anything else need to be permanently eliminated. TheThreshold.com features entertainment based on titles like Mortal Kombat, Duke Nukem, Conan and Red Sonja. With its continued partnership with IBM and Sprint, TheThreshold offers original animation like, You Suck, The Producer, and Galaxy Grand Prix, along with video chats, games, streaming media, original live-action productions. "This was something we simply felt must be done," said George Johnson, TheThreshold.com's Chief Technical Officer. "We have a responsibility to our audience to do the right thing, and destroying Pokemon seems to be the right thing to do." Remember the network is targeted to men 8-35 years of age.

Sega DreamCast celebrates its platium selling mark. © Sega Entertainment.

DreamCast Goes Platinum. Sega DreamCast, the most advanced videogame system to date, has gone platinum. Sega of America, Inc. announced that the 128-bit, Internet-ready videogame system has sold one million units in North America since its launch on September 9, 1999. This milestone came six weeks ahead of corporate predictions and before the after-Thanksgiving holiday shopping frenzy. The platinum mark for DreamCast has broken sales records by other high-profile consumer and electronic products. In comparison, Sony PlayStation, which launched in September 1995, sold one million copies in nine months, according to NPD Group of Port Washington, NY. Sega DreamCast is also seeing record-breaking sales in Europe. Since it was launched oversees on October 14, Sega DreamCast has sold more than 400,000 units. "It is clear by reaching the million units sold mark that Sega DreamCast hardware and software are going to be key profit centers for our retail outlets, this holiday season," said James Mackenzie, Divisional Merchandise Manager of K B Toys. "The consumer rush we saw on this product when it launched in September will only escalate as we head into the important fourth-quarter holiday shopping season."

Learn more about Sega DreamCast in Joseph Szadkowski's article in Animation World Magazine.

AtomFilms opens the door for independent filmmakers like Bill Plympton to make their mark. © AtomFilms.

Plymptonia Conquers AtomFilms. AtomFilms, a pioneer in next-generation media, has added Bill Plympton to their animation roster. The newly created Pymptonia fan site will be run by AtomFilms and will feature dozens of Plympton's classic titles, exclusive interviews, downloadable content, and interactice features. "We are excited to add Bill Plympton, one of the most prolific independent animators of our time, to our animation catalog," said Heather Redman, AtomFilms' Senior VP of Business Affairs. With AtomFilms' plans to launch other fan sites built around other artists and their work, the Internet is fastly becoming a home for independent filmmakers in both animation and live-action.

Visit the crazy world of Bill Plympton at AWN's Plymptoon site. You can read his weekly cartoon, see Bill's calendar of appearances, and much more.

Games To Be Played At Milia 2000. The Reed Midem Organization, organizers of Milia 2000, have entered into a far-reaching agreement with the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) -- who include members from interactive industry organizations like AISI in Italy, ELSPA in the UK, NVPI in the Netherlands, SELL in France and VUD in Germany -- to co-produce the Interactive Entertainment and On-line Games conference for the THINK.TANK Summit. THINK.TANK will be a new two-day conference and networking event for the interactive content industry held in connection with Milia 2000 on Monday, February 14 and Tuesday, February 15, 2000 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France. Laurine Garaude, Executive Director of Milia said, "Our intention -- with the ISFE -- is to offer the interactive entertainment software industry a professional, top level conference in Cannes. Delegates will have the opportunity to move into other tracks of the THINK.TANK Summit to meet their homologues and find out first hand about digital content creation and delivery in today's high-speed environment, and gain vital perspectives from the on-line advertising and e-commerce sectors. Clearly, this is an essential dimension for future growth, not to be missed by key management and leading executives." The announcement comes at a time when new Internet distribution channels are at work redefining the market for interactive entertainment content.

Matt Stone and Trey Parker (l to r) may cause some shocking developments at shockwave.com.

South Park Creators Get Shocked. Shockwave.com has announced that they have signed Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, to concoct 39 new works. The new shows will first air on shockwave.com beginning in March. Stone and Parker's new dysfunctional toons will range from 2 to 5 minutes and could be one-off shorts or pieces of an on-going series. In the L.A. Times on December 8, 1999, Stone was quoted as saying that "the real allure of [the deal] is that we get to create another TV series but on a much smaller scale. We have so many ideas that haven't fit in South Park." The duo of demented humor will retain off-line rights, just in case one of their new brain children makes a wave. This provision allows them the right to pursue traditional television and movie deals based on their newly created work. In combination with the new Parker and Stone deal and their teaming with Stan Lee Media, Inc., Shockwave.com has increased their potential in becoming the first place people want to visit when checking out the ever-growing world of Internet animation.

Spike & Mike Won't Mellow The Net. "Spike & Mike" fest organizers, Mellow Manor Prods. has teamed up with Netcaster IFilm to bring its twisted toon vault exclusively to Cyberspace. The two year deal will allow Net surfers the chances to see animation shorts only previously showcased at the "Spike & Mike's Classic Festival of Animation" and "Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation." Beavis And Butthead-creator Mike Judge, South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Toy Story's John Lasseter, and the Nightmare Before Christmas' creator Tim Burton are all alums of the "Spike & Mike" fests. Co-founder of "Spike & Mike," Spike Decker has jumped onto the IFilm board of advisers and will oversee the selection of new, library, and custom 2D and 3D animation distributed through IFilm. The deal provides IFilm with marketing and promotional space at the "Spike & Mike" festivals which run in more than 50 cities throughout Canada and the U.S. This partnership marks the second new venture this year inked by Ifilm to bring shorts to the Net. In October, IFilm signed an exclusive deal with management company Bender-Spink to broadcast material produced by their clients.

Harvey Makes The Net Richer. Harvey Entertainment Company has inked a deal with San Francisco-based Spunky Productions, Inc., a digital media company, to produce and distribute Richie Rich Web cartoons. The new toons will be available on both SpunkyTown.com and the Harvey site. Spunky will adapt early comic book adventures of the world's richest kid into 2 - 5 minute episodes to start airing during the holiday season. Product tie-ins will be developed by both companies to be sold on both of their Web sites. Dan March, Director of New Media at Harvey said, "Spunky Productions is a pioneer in the area of interactive cartoons. And it makes perfect sense that Richie would use the most advanced technology possible to share his adventures with his friends."

Heisman Tackles Net. The Downtown Athletic Club (DAC), presenters of the Heisman Memorial Trophy for the year's outstanding U.S. college American football player, have contracted with Lemon Custard Comics, the San Francisco-based computer animation production house, to produce a Flash-animated comic strip for the Web to tell the story of the trophy and football in general. The first installment, "The John W. Heisman Story," will run simultaneously on HeismanMemorialTrophy.com and LemonCustard.com. DAC plans to use the Web to increase its visibility among casual fans, kids and the general public. The first installment of the new "cyber comic" is a humorous biography of the legendary football coach for whom the trophy is named. Lemon Custard will follow up with more features of interest to football fans, most to be narrated by a pair of Lemon Custard creations, two "ghosts of gridirons past," the Old Guard and the Dead End.