[Thehostingnews] Web Hosting RealNetwork Portal, to Acquire Game Trust Technology Platform
Seattle, Washington - (The Hosting News) - October 9, 2007 - Digital entertainment services company, RealNetworks, Inc., has entered into an agreement to acquire casual game infrastructure company based in New York, Game Trust, Inc.
Real plans to add Game Trust's community and commerce capabilities to the technology platform currently offered to Real's games syndication partners. The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter. Real powers more than 200 casual games channels owned by popular media outlets and portal companies worldwide.
Harold Zeitz, Senior Vice President for Real's Games Division explained, ''Our partners want to add social networking to their sites to further engage their game players. This acquisition will create enhanced consumer experiences for our partners' offerings and for Real's casual games players.''
Adeo Ressi, CEO of Game Trust offered, ''We are very excited to join Real and push the casual games industry forward. This agreement unites the industry's top content, top distribution, and top technology platform. The players will ultimately benefit.''
Kris Soumas, Vice President of Games at Real syndication partner, Lifetime added, ''Social networking is a critical next step for the casual games industry and for Lifetime. We're looking forward to implementing Game Trust's technology with Real to enhance our extremely popular games section and strengthen the sense of community on LifetimeTV.com.''
Nielsen/NetRatings recently reported that online players of casual games are 30 percent more likely than adult Internet users overall to participate in bulletin boards and 75 percent more likely to visit a chat room to interact with friends or family.
James Kuai, a research analyst at Parks Associates commented, ''Social networking will be a catalyst for the next wave of casual games growth. This new partnership demonstrates how industry leaders like RealNetworks are capitalizing on the growing popularity of social networking and community to provide a richer experience for casual games audiences.''
Game Trust's Game Frame is a software platform for community, affinity, and commerce models in online casual games. Game Trust syndicates the platform to leading media companies around the world. Real will continue to support and strengthen these partnerships.
RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system or mobile phone. Real created the streaming media category in 1995 with products and services, including: RealPlayer, the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and recording of Internet video; the Rhapsody digital music service, which delivers more than 1 billion songs per year; RealArcade, one of the largest casual games destinations on the web; and a variety of mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers through leading wireless carriers around the world.
Game Trust has developed the platform of choice for online casual games and community, licensed by MiniClip, Liberty Media, Slingo, and other major media and casual game portals. As consumers have demanded more from interactive entertainment, Game Trust has responded with advances in community, interactive game play, social networking, affinity, online profiles and usage reporting. The fourth generation Game Frame platform has been customized to meet the scale and branding needs of partners worldwide, and supports the addition of game content through easy to use tools. The Company is venture backed with offices in New York and Denmark.
To learn more about RealNetworks, please visit: www.realnetworks.com/company.
For more information about Game Trust, please visit: www.gametrust.com.
http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-realnetwork-portal-to-acquire-game-trust-technology-platform-3707.html
Seattle, Washington - (The Hosting News) - October 9, 2007 - Digital entertainment services company, RealNetworks, Inc., has entered into an agreement to acquire casual game infrastructure company based in New York, Game Trust, Inc.
Real plans to add Game Trust's community and commerce capabilities to the technology platform currently offered to Real's games syndication partners. The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter. Real powers more than 200 casual games channels owned by popular media outlets and portal companies worldwide.
Harold Zeitz, Senior Vice President for Real's Games Division explained, ''Our partners want to add social networking to their sites to further engage their game players. This acquisition will create enhanced consumer experiences for our partners' offerings and for Real's casual games players.''
Adeo Ressi, CEO of Game Trust offered, ''We are very excited to join Real and push the casual games industry forward. This agreement unites the industry's top content, top distribution, and top technology platform. The players will ultimately benefit.''
Kris Soumas, Vice President of Games at Real syndication partner, Lifetime added, ''Social networking is a critical next step for the casual games industry and for Lifetime. We're looking forward to implementing Game Trust's technology with Real to enhance our extremely popular games section and strengthen the sense of community on LifetimeTV.com.''
Nielsen/NetRatings recently reported that online players of casual games are 30 percent more likely than adult Internet users overall to participate in bulletin boards and 75 percent more likely to visit a chat room to interact with friends or family.
James Kuai, a research analyst at Parks Associates commented, ''Social networking will be a catalyst for the next wave of casual games growth. This new partnership demonstrates how industry leaders like RealNetworks are capitalizing on the growing popularity of social networking and community to provide a richer experience for casual games audiences.''
Game Trust's Game Frame is a software platform for community, affinity, and commerce models in online casual games. Game Trust syndicates the platform to leading media companies around the world. Real will continue to support and strengthen these partnerships.
RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system or mobile phone. Real created the streaming media category in 1995 with products and services, including: RealPlayer, the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and recording of Internet video; the Rhapsody digital music service, which delivers more than 1 billion songs per year; RealArcade, one of the largest casual games destinations on the web; and a variety of mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers through leading wireless carriers around the world.
Game Trust has developed the platform of choice for online casual games and community, licensed by MiniClip, Liberty Media, Slingo, and other major media and casual game portals. As consumers have demanded more from interactive entertainment, Game Trust has responded with advances in community, interactive game play, social networking, affinity, online profiles and usage reporting. The fourth generation Game Frame platform has been customized to meet the scale and branding needs of partners worldwide, and supports the addition of game content through easy to use tools. The Company is venture backed with offices in New York and Denmark.
To learn more about RealNetworks, please visit: www.realnetworks.com/company.
For more information about Game Trust, please visit: www.gametrust.com.
http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-realnetwork-portal-to-acquire-game-trust-technology-platform-3707.html
