Would be interested in any comments on this nice little outfit, just done their re-org and looking positve now, any views ?

IMO Good BUY

Does have the potential to be one of the worlds leading games developers and the new management seems to have things in order and progressing well, the Nintendo deal was a very good sign and if this is followed up by further large deals then Kuju is going places.

Yet more good news !!! IMO this is one stock to buy now, lock away for a year and see excellent returns on in 2005/2006 !!

Kuju PLC
10 June 2004

For immediate release 10 June 2004





Kuju plc ('Kuju' or 'the Company')



Re Contract



Kuju Announces New Contract Signing with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Limited ('Sony Computer Entertainment Europe')



Kuju, one of Europe's leading independent game developers, today announces that
it has recently agreed a new funded prototype project with Sony Computer
Entertainment Europe. The work will be undertaken at Kuju's newly created
Brighton studio and represents the first funded project for that studio.



Further details of the project will be announced in due course.



For further information please contact:



Jonathan Newth, Managing Director
Tel: 01483 414 344

Just a little update - Kuju are still doing very well, some news recently on the RNS about yet more deals and postive developments.

This may be one of the surprise shares of 2005 come December - very good potential gains !

Kuju PLC
26 January 2005


For immediate release 26 January 2005

Kuju plc ("Kuju")

Further re Development Agreement with Hip Interactive Inc.


Kuju is pleased to disclose, further to the announcement of 17 December 2004,
additional details on their new development agreement with Canadian publisher
Hip Interactive Inc. (TSX:HP).

The title will be based on the work of the legendary horror director George A.
Romero and will be developed for both console and PC platforms. Work on the
project is already underway at Kuju's Surrey studio and shipment of the game is
expected prior to 31 March 2006. The name of the game being developed has yet to
be announced.

Ian Baverstock, Business Development Director, commented: "We are pleased to be
working with Hip Interactive on the development of this title. George A. Romero
is recognised across the industry as one of the leading directors in the horror
world."


For further information please contact:

Jonathan Newth, Managing Director Tel: 01483 414 344


END


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Kuju (KUJ)





Conclusion
There is no doubt that the UK development market has suffered considerably during the current cycle due to developer over-supply and other consolidation pressure. In contrast to the strategies employed by Argonaut (targeting and relying on big-budget development contracts) and Warthog (focusing on original IP development rather than licence development), Kuju has taken a different strategic approach. It divided its development into 4 distinct segments (action, racing, mobile and new projects). This demarcation has allowed each to promote itself as a specialist developer, seek deals specific to its area of specialisation only and build up genre and platform-specific technology and skills. The Company is therefore able to pitch more effectively for projects within its area of expertise and does not waste resource trying to secure contracts in other genres where it is less competitive. Interestingly, the strategy appears to be working as Kuju has won a string of contracts with top tier publishers (Nintendo, Activision and Sony) and has returned to profitability (in the second half of FY04, the period in which the restructuring took place). At the same time, Argonaut has gone into administration and Warthog had to fire-sell its business to Tiger Telematics.
Kuju has also proven something of a pioneer with its use of outsourcing. The Company has recognised the need to keep its headcount and overhead costs as low as possible and has developed strong relationships with key outsourcing partners who can be employed on a project by project basis. This has allowed Kuju to scale its development resource up and down dynamically to meet the requirements of particular projects so costs can more effectively match revenues and the Company is not left having to fund unused resource between projects. Sensibly, Kuju intends to expand its use of outsourcing, especially once its next-generation console game development gets underway.
Whilst Kuju is making impressive headway in its metamorphosis into a consolidation-proof, next-generation-ready developer, it should be remembered that the vicissitudes of the development market (especially one undergoing such dramatic changes) make it both unpredictable and, as a result, high risk. With 150 staff, Kuju is one of the largest developers in Europe and has monthly costs of in excess of 0.5m. The margin for error, despite its cost and risk mitigation policies, is tight and it will need to remain on its strategic toes if it is to prosper in the current environment.

Good conclusion, the conclusion I draw is that if the strategy works, the price can rebound easily to previous levels, this equates a change from 17p to 70p, which will do for me if we get half of it. BUY, worth the risk IMO.

Get ready for SMA50 to cross SMA200 and of we go UP and AWAY. Not too long now.

From CVG

Thursday 17th February 2005


KONAMI'S THE REGIMENT GOES DOWN THE TUBE

The London Tube that is - and other locations in new screenshots from the PC and PS2 SAS-'em'-up

15:08 The Regiment, the Kuju-developed game that does a bit of willy waving in the squad-based shooter genre by boasting involvement of real-life - yes, folks, that's real-life - SAS veterans in the development process, observation of SAS tactics and the recreation of numerous real-life SAS missions. The famous Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 is just one such mission featuring in the game - you can get a glimpse of this and more in new screenshots that have been released.
Should you feel the urge to delve further into The Regiment's world of hostage rescue, terrorists, counter-terrorism and men in black balaclavas, then wind your way over to the game's official website, which has just been launched by Konami.

Stuart Bishop

http://www.konami-regiment.com/

and from Oxygen

Title: OXYGEN LAUNCHES WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Oxygen Interactive Authorises Launch of Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction for PS2, Xbox and PC


Feeding the flames of conspiracy, Oxygen Interactive today authorised the March 2005 launch of Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction, a thrilling first-person-shooter for PS2, Xbox and PC.

Players assume the square-jawed role of Cole Justice, an ex government secret service agent, trained mercenary and all-round tough guy, recruited by 'the agency' for one final assignment. According to intelligence reports, a rogue government agency known as 'Hydra' has been developing weapons of mass destruction to sell to worldwide terrorist organisations. Hydra has been long suspected of funding its activities through unlawful means, including the trafficking of arms and drugs

The government no longer has control over this rogue agency and it has quickly become an embarrassment in need of urgent elimination

Developed by award-winning game studios, Kuju, Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction is propelled by the powerful Fire Warrior engine and takes first person shooting to a whole new altitude. Across five sprawling levels, gameplay spans from secret bases in Aztec ruins to military training camps in the Arctic Circle.

As a trained mercenary, Cole's weaponry consists of pistols, assault rifles, sub machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers and rocket launchers weapons.

Remember. Believe nothing... Trust no-one...

Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction is being developed by Kuju and will be published by Oxygen Interactive in March 2005 for PS2 and PC and May for Xbox, price to be confirmed.

XBOX 2 / Playstation 3 / PSP / DS

All this new hardware needs new games software written, I wonder who is doing and going to do that - someone like Kuju


23rd Feb 2005.

XBOX 2 COULD COME EARLY

This week he has some more news on Xbox 2, a rumour about a Halo movie, and the opportunity to win a copy of Phantom Brave on PS2.


The games industry rumour mill is going into overdrive, with more stories emerging concerning the arrival of Xbox 2, and the hotly anticipated Playstation Portable now looking unlikely to appear in March.

First up is the news that the next generation Xbox (currently codenamed 'Xenon', though that could - and probably should - change) will launch before the year is out.

This won't come as a huge shock to anyone who has been keeping a close eye on developments; Microsoft has stated its intention not to allow Sony's Playstation 3 to be the first next-gen console to arrive.

What is surprising, however, is the fact that internet reports are suggesting the console will appear in Europe as well as the US before the end of the year, with October/November the expected timeframe.

Previously it was thought that even if Xenon arrived in the US this year, the earliest European gamers could expect the unit would be early 2006.

With Sony and Nintendo set to release new hardware next year, a late 2005 launch would leave Microsoft with a free run at the new console market.

But their policy is fraught with danger: consoles released later are likely to be more powerful, and existing Xbox owners may feel that less than four years isn't a long enough lifespan for a machine which was only launched in March 2002.

In other hardware news, Sony's Playstation Portable is now no longer on-track for a March release.

Sony is attributing the delay to huge demand for the machine, but Nintendo executives are likely to be rubbing their hands with interest, since it leaves the DS handheld without any immediate competition when it arrives on March 11.

A 5K buy yesterday puts them up 12%, and so far today a 7.5K buy puts them up over 5%..........very very very interesting :-)

The chart looks like its brewing for a breakout !

By the way, Kuju did work on Call Of Duty for the PS2, and are due for royalties on this, now, given the game COD is a major seller, even if KUJ gets a tiny tiny percentage, it is going to go nicely into the results is it not !

Just some news on revenue potential for this years results :

Crash Twinsanity Release

Kuju develops 3D version of Crash Twinsanity on 3G mobile phones for publisher Wonderphone. This title goes to No.1 on Vodafone Live!

For further information please contact:

Jonathan Newth - Managing Director
01483 414 344


Kuju announces involvement in the development Of Call of Duty: Finest Hour.


Kuju is pleased to announce its involvement in Call of Duty: Finest Hour. This superb World War II First Person Shooter from Activision has shot into the charts in both Europe and the US.

Kuju developed the multi-player elements of the game for both PlayStation2 and Xbox. This demonstrates not just our creative and technical excellence with console FPS gaming; it also clearly shows the extent of Kuju's project management and engineering processes. The multi-player element of the game was developed in record time working with a single player game being developed by Spark Unlimited in Los Angeles - 8 time zones away.

In addition to the highly skilled staff at Kuju, the project also utilised Kuju's mature console networking technology K-Net.

For further information please contact:

Jonathan Newth - Managing Director
01483 414 344

More info on the Hip Interactive news Jan 2005 :

Kuju Agrees to Develop George A. Romero Game

Hip Interactive today announced that its fast-growing publishing division, Hip Games, has signed an agreement with Kuju Entertainment for the development of the first game based on the work of popular cult horror director George A. Romero. The game, the name of which has yet to be announced, will be developed for consoles and PC at Kujus development studio in Surrey, United Kingdom and is expected to be part of Hips next fiscal year ending March 31, 2006.

With George A. Romeros cult status and following among horror fans, a property of this pedigree deserves a first class developer and that is exactly what horror fans will get now that weve signed high profile developer Kuju Entertainment, said Arindra Singh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hip Interactive Corp.

Ian Baverstock, Business Development Director and co-founder of Kuju Entertainment, said, Our spines are tingling in anticipation. George A. Romero is recognized as one of the leading directors in the horror world. Were excited to be translating the zombies and terror created in Georges imagination into an atmospheric gorefest for game players. He continued, Were also extremely pleased to be working with Hip Interactive, which has become a publishing force to be reckoned with.

Hip Interactive recently announced the signing of an agreement with Living Dead Productions Limited to produce a George A. Romero series of videogames. Romeros work has a massive, worldwide cult following and has established him as the Master of Gore.

Some of the upcoming games :

Soon - Project Interceptor for the PSP
March 2005 - Conspiracy : Weapons of Mass Destruction for PC/XBOX/PS2
May 2005 - Pilot Down : Behind Enemy Lines for PC/XBOX/PS2
June 2005 - Crescent Suzuki Racing for the PSP
July 2005 - Advance Wars: Under Fire for the GCN
????? - Cannonball 8000
????? - The Regiment for PC/PS2

"One of Europe's leading independent developers on console, PC and various wireless platforms. Kuju Entertainment has been creating top-quality games for over 13 years and is currently working on Advance Wars: Under Fire"

--------
PSP Game.

The flight combat game is tentatively titled Project Interceptor. This is the first announced PSP title from the Surrey-based indie game developer that inked a deal with Sony to develop technology, game engines, and tools for the PSP back in March 2004.

Though few details have been released about Project Interceptor, Kuju has stated that the game will feature multiplayer dogfights using the PSP's integrated Wi-Fi technology.

-----------------

Interesting background reading - an interview with Kevin Holloway from the Kuju Wireless Division in July 2004.



Kuju Wireless develop games for phones. Here we talk to Kuju's Kevin Holloway about the market for games, and aspects of development.

What do you think the outlook is for mobile gaming?

[KH] We are still seeing a steady growth in the market. The majority of European handsets now are Java enabled and the US market has rapidly caught up with Europe (some say it has already overtaken it). This all indicates a good future for mobile gaming.

At the recent MeM04 some developers were suggesting they were only using Java because of outside pressures. I guess this is based on the supposed portability of Java code ... but on these devices everyone says that it is essentially not portable. Care to comment?

[KH] I think JAVA will continue to dominate because it offers an isolated run-time environment - ie a Java app can't (easily) affect the proper operation of the phone handset. As for portability this is not a problem unique to Java. The portability problem is more to do with the diversification of handsets.

That leads me on to assembler. The phone models with really small screens can't have all that much happening on the screen but what there is would be a lot faster with assembler. Do you think that as the market hots up, more people will use it?

[KH] No because as I said before I think Java will continue to dominate. Assembler would make portability even worse as it would need to be re-written for each chipset...

Part of the problem must be that with small games, there isn't a huge upside as you can't charge all that much for the games and so you can't afford to spend too much. There are some quite ambitious projects coming along for bigger screens though. Do you think there's soon going to be two tier market for mobile games?

[KH] Yes I think we will see a two tier market. However, I feel strongly that the bigger of the two will be the smaller/cheaper game market as this has the potential to be truly mass market. Unlike the console/handheld space which will only ever appeal to the hardcore gaming niche.

[KH] We are very pleased with Pat Cash Pro Tennis - demonstrated at MEM04 on the Nokia 6600. The game went live a week before Wimbledon and we have high expectations for it as tennis fever kicks in this summer. We have a wide range of other games including our best selling 'Lotus Challenge: City Racing' driving game, Rocket Girl - a cutesy platform game, Spy Shootout - a fast action shooting game, Ambi Stacks - a very addictive puzzle game, and several sports titles including Penalty Challenge and Sk8trix. On our release schedule for later this year we have 'Judge Dredd' and 'Bill & Ted's Mobile Adventure'.

Is there a usual way these games come to pass? Who is the instigator -- handset maker, service provider, developer?

[KH] The majority of our games now are the result of market research by our publishing team. However, there is still the occasional game which comes along which catches our imagination - for example 'Rocket Girl' was presented to us by a developer as an example of their work.

Do you do all your games in-house or do you accept pitches from outside developers?

[KH] We work with outside developers and maintain an in-house development capacity.

How big are your development teams?

[KH] 4-5 people. Although not all the team members work full time on just one game.

How long does it take to get a small game out the door?

[KH] 3-4 months is typical.

Do you think there's room for out-there new concepts in this form of gaming or do you think that this sort of mass market will always be just a matter of tailoring existing franchises and genres?

[KH] I think there is room for both, particularly as the market matures and purchasers get more information on what is available. We will continue to work with big names/brands such as Lotus and Pat Cash, but will also try more original titles as well. For example we are currently speccing out a sequel to our popular puzzle game Ambi stacks. The sequel will make better use of the platform by being designed to work multiplayer as well as single player.

Thanks Kevin.

Still rated a buy by the broker and profits at results, could be a surprise package when news comes, as off of many peoples radar.