August 11, 2009 For Immediate Release Hatena launches European website for use with “Flipnote Studio” software for the Nintendo DSi™ Hatena and Nintendo Cooperatively Develop User Generated Content Service for the Global Marketplace Japan’s popular Flipnote Hatena animation/video sharing online service for the Nintendo DSi™ Hatena Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kyoto, Japan, President & CEO Junya Kondo) is one of Japan’s leading web service providers with over 1,000,000 users, that developed one of Japan’s first online blogging services and operates Japan’s most popular social bookmarking service. Hatena is recognized as a cutting edge developer of the next generation of web services and its unique ability to quickly develop new technologies, as well as for hiring many of Japan's most talented software engineers. In December 2008, Hatena began working with Nintendo Co. , Ltd., also based in Kyoto, Japan, to cooperatively develop Flipnote Hatena, the world’s first Internet based user generated content service for the Nintendo DSi™ (named Ugomemo Hatena for the Japanese market). Flipnote Hatena is an animation/video sharing website for users of the free software title Flipnote Studio (called Ugoku Memocho in Japan) exclusively for the Nintendo DSi™. The Flipnote Hatena service has been enjoying great popularity since its launch in Japan, with over 1,000,000 uploads during the first 6 months of operation. At this time, Hatena and Nintendo are pleased to announce the expansion and localization of the Flipnote Hatena service for European release on August 14, 2009. The website will be viewable in 6 languages including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. An online service that works together with Flipnote Studio Flipnote Studio is a software title for the Nintendo DSi™ that can be downloaded for free of charge. Flipnote Studio allows users to easily draw flipbook-like animated clips with sound by using the Nintendo DSi™ stylus, or create animations by importing photos taken with the Nintendo DSi™ Camera application. Users can upload, download and share their completed animations via the Internet by accessing the Flipnote Hatena website (http://flipnote.hatena.com/) directly from the Nintendo DSi™ application. Free, safe, easy-to-use and family oriented: Flipnote Hatena Flipnote Hatena is a free, safe and easy-to-use online service that allows users to upload their clips to the Internet to share with friends, family and the whole world. Users of the website can easily flag contents for removal which violate the community guidelines or are otherwise socially unacceptable in order to maintain a safe environment for users of all ages. Clips are divided into separate channels organized by themes for easy uploading and viewing, including a Beginner’s Channel. Animated clips uploaded to the service are ranked and listed by their popularity, and users can communicate interactively by adding handwritten comments to clips and“Stars”to show their appreciation of other users’clips. In Japan Flipnote Hatena is popular with all ages of users including children, and the service offers children a easy, safe way to connect their Nintendo DSi™ to the Internet to upload clips and enjoy the service together with their parents. About Hatena Co., Ltd. Hatena Co., Ltd. is based in Kyoto, Japan and offers a variety of services such as blogs, photo-sharing, and social bookmarking for the Japanese market. Hatena established a US subsidiary, Hatena Inc. (http://www.hatena.com/) in 2006, which is based in Los Altos, California and has localized their Hatena Haiku service for markets outside of Japan. Press Contact: Hatena Co., Ltd. Oike Bldg. 9fl., Takamiya-cho 206, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-0835 Japan Email: hatenapr@hatena.ne.jp Hatena Inc. 5150 El Camino Real Suite A-32 Los Altos, CA 94022-1534 USA Email: pr@hatena.com
Released August 11, 2009 in Europe (local time)
Released August 12, 2009 in Australia (local time)
