Daily News from New York, New York • 650

CLOSE 8,602.65 36.04 CLOSE 1,798.17 7.35 Brill WiiiiliiifijiWM wllmiftiiMait" Wili'Bffll sum mm Poiyffiram mix Sony clicks wit It digital photography By KENNETH LI upped his ownership in the stumbling studio to nearly 90 by buying the 25 stake held by Australian investor Seven Network. Forced to shore up MGM, Kerkorian also pledged $500 million of his own money to back an MGM stock offering. While his latest moves to expand MGM through a possible PolyGram deal were unexpected, MGM insiders said Kerkorian is attracted to its film library of 1,500 titles, including "When Harry Met Sally" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral." MGM's library is mired in long-term licensing deals with other entertainment companies, which limit profit potential. Another draw is Poly-Gram's global distribution system. "The name of the game is distribution and PolyGram is very strong," said Marvin Roffman, president of research firm Roffman Miller Associates.

Nonetheless, some insiders said Kerkorian isn't interested in PolyGram's production companies and might seek only certain assets. MGM declined to comment In possibly bidding for PolyGram, Kerkorian would join a group of international entertainment companies including British music giant EMI, Canal Plus, Carlton Communications, Pearson and Artisan. By PHYLLIS FURMAN Daity News Business Writer Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has dreamed up another improbable plot twist for troubled movie studio MGM. Despite facing a cash crunch at MGM, Kerkorian is nonetheless plotting a bid for PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, the movie studio being sold by its new owner, Seagram. Offers are expected to range from $500 million to $1 billion.

Sources close to Kerkorian said he's told Poly-Gram's investment bank, Goldman Sachs, that he's interested in the studio and is poring over its books. Kerkorian's latest moves mystified analysts, who in recent weeks have watched him struggle to shore up MGM as it rapidly runs through cash. MGM has been losing money for the last decade and has faced fresh box office trouble this year with flops like "Dirty Work" and "Species II." "Kerkorian is trying to create a positive spin on a company that is not doing well," said Barry Hyman, an entertainment analyst at Ehrenk-rantz King Nussbaum. Until recently, it looked like Kerkorian might sell MGM or move to partner with another media giant Last week, Kerkorian YOU OUGHT TO BE IN DIGITAL PICTURES: Sony's MVC-FD81 Digital Mavica camera (top) allows you to take pictures with a floppy disc instead of film, where you can print the finished product on its FVP-1 Mavica Photo Printer (below). Daily News Business Writer Getting your pictures onto the Net just got easier.

Sony peeled back the curtains yesterday and offered a sneak peek of its latest digital photography devices, which promises to do for photography what E-mail did for the Internet It's newest line of Digital Mavica cameras now come with the ability to record simple audio and video files and attach them to E-mail. "By adding motion and sound, Sony is going to grow the market," predicted Don Nicholson, a marketing manager of Sony Electronics. The cameras will be available in several weeks and begin at $899. The company also launched its ImageStation Web site, which will offer Mavica users a digital photo printing service. "With an ever-increasing number of businesses and consumers using E-mail, the Digital Mavica camera's ease-of-use with the floppy disc will give users more ways to enhance their Internet communications," said Jay Sato, vice president of Sony Electronics personal video marketing division.

Sony's Digital Mavica line of consumer-oriented digital cameras allows users to save relatively simple images directly onto conventional floppy discs, making them easier to transfer to personal computers. The launch comes at a time when the digital photography industry is booming, with industry experts expecting U.S. revenues to soar from about $600 million this year to $2.6 billion by 2002. s. r.

i l-4iir But Sony is trying to leap ahead of the pack by offering the only digital still camera with video capabilities and the ability to save images on low-capacity floppy discs. "It's innovative and it moves the market into a whole different area," said Ron Glaz, an analyst at high-tech researchers International Data. Nonetheless, Glaz said Sony's latest products might not make good business sense. Most cameras in such a high price range offer higher-resolution, or higher-quality, photos, he said. And recent IDC studies show that low-resolution, point-and-shoot cameras will decline in sales as consumers move to cameras that produce better-quality photos.

'SPECIES II' with Natasha Henstridge was a loser for MGM. Nintendo pi tting 25M info Pokemon promotion a By KENNETH LI pecting viewers into epileptic fits from flashing psychedelic colors. No one was seriously injured. Since then, Nintendo said it has fixed the flashing problem and vowed that the show is safe. Nintendo plans to start selling a line of games for its Gameboy hand-held system.

It also will sell a separate key-chain-like device and another game on its Nintendo 64 home system. The Pokemon TV show begins airing locally on WPIX, Channel 11, weekday mornings starting Sept 7. "It's really a phenomenon that we're marketing," Nintendo spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan said. The big Pokemon push amounts to Nintendo's latest bid to capture kids' attention and dollars as the crucial holiday shopping season draws near. The holiday season accounts for nearly 60 of its annual video game sales, the company said.

The Pokemon effort is a key part of Nintendo's fight against video game titan Sony. To counter Nintendo, Sony yesterday cut prices on its Playstation home video game system by $20 to $129. The Nintendo 64 system retails for $149, but rebates are typically offered. Sony also is planning to spend $40 million on TV ads a 40 increase from last year to hawk its aging, 3-year-old Playstation. "It's the next step to broadening the audience," said Andrew House, a Sony Computer Entertainment vice president.

Sony burst onto the gaming scene as the industry's newest player in 1995 and has since seized the No. 1 spot in America. Since its launch, Sony has sold an estimated 11.5 million units and 85 million Playstation games in this country, capturing about 56 of the market Daily News Business Writer In a dramatic move to seize market share, No. 2 video game company Nintendo is shelling out $25 million to drive kids wild. The company has partnered up with Hasbro, Kentucky Fried Chicken and others to launch a TV, toy and video game series based on the Japanese cartoon sensation Pokemon.

The cartoon show based on Nintendo's Pokemon team of characters gained unwanted international attention in December, when an episode of the cartoon drove nearly 700 unsus.