Weekly Casual Game Downloads Soar to 3 Million As Global Expansion, New
Distribution Partnerships Drive Growth
SAN FRANCISCO, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- This week at the Game
Developer's Conference (GDC) 2005, RealNetworks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK)
announced that its RealArcade(R) service and GameHouse(R) Studios surpassed
more than 250 million casual game downloads. The company also said that the
number of games downloaded each week has soared to over 3 million due to
recent global expansion and the addition of new distribution partners.
RealArcade offers consumers a fun, unique and compelling way to discover,
acquire and play PC games in a single, easy to use environment. RealArcade
provides play-before-you-pay access to over 280 of the best in downloadable
games, free online Web games, broadband games, and Palm games. GameHouse
Studios develops and publishes many of the top casual games on the Internet
and for mobile entertainment including "Shape Shifter(TM)", "Adventure
Inlay(TM)", "Word Slinger(TM)" and "Collapse! II(R)".
As RealNetworks disclosed earlier this year, the company focused on
expanding its products and services sold directly to consumers over the
Internet, such as downloadable games and music subscriptions in 2004. Fourth
quarter revenue from consumer products and services grew 47% to $60.8 million,
from $41.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. Revenue from Games sales
and subscriptions grew 156% to $10.1 million from $3.9 million in the fourth
quarter of 2003.
"The popularity of easy to play, family friendly casual games continue to
grow around the globe," said Martin Plaehn, who leads the games division at
RealNetworks Inc. "The untold story at shows like GDC is that many adults --
especially women -- play PC-based games. As the leader in casual downloadable
games, Real is committed to delivering and distributing games with broad
appeal to consumers who might not otherwise think of themselves as 'gamers.'"
Great Games Play Worldwide
Since September alone, RealArcade has served more than 50 million game
downloads to consumers around the globe. The company continues to see
download growth accelerate by 20 percent in Europe, since its expansion into
Europe last year with RealArcade in Germany, France and Spain.
If you are interested in additional information about RealArcade or
GameHouse, please visit http://www.realarcade.com or http://www.gamehouse.com.
About RealNetworks, Inc.
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and
software including the award-winning Rhapsody Internet jukebox service,
RealArcade downloadable game service, GameHouse Studios and RealPlayer 10.
Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download
RealNetworks' consumer software at http://www.real.com. Broadcasters, network
operators, media companies and enterprises use RealNetworks' products and
services to create and deliver digital media to PCs, mobile phones and
consumer electronics devices. RealNetworks' systems and corporate information
is located at http://www.realnetworks.com.
RealNetworks and Rhapsody are trademarks or registered trademarks of
RealNetworks, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
SOURCE RealNetworks, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.realnetworks.com
CONTACT:
Maureen Farley of RealNetworks,
+1-206-892-6653 (o) or mfarley@real.com; or Amy Janzen of
Sutherland Gold Communications, +1-866-262-7373, ext. 104 (o), or
amy@sutherlandgold.com, for RealNetworks
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