Tue, 02/19/2008

2008 Press Releases

Beliefnet Joins with RealGames to Provide Casual Games that Stimulate the Mind, Challenge the Spirit and Soothe the Soul

More than 500 Games Suitable for Family Fun Now Live on World's Leading Spiritual Web Site


NEW YORK and SEATTLE —  February 20, 2008  —  From the Game Developers Conference, RealGames™, the casual games business unit for digital entertainment services company RealNetworks®, Inc. (RNWK), and Beliefnet.com, the leading online community for spirituality and inspiration, today announced a content partnership that will provide more than 500 downloadable and Web based casual games and puzzles via Beliefnet's Entertainment channel.  An array of safe, family-friendly games including Noah's Arc, Da Vinci Code, Bable, GameHouse Sudoku and Scrabble Blast are available for free download and play at www.beliefnet.com.

Recent studies have shown that not only do many Americans prefer online games to TV or movies; but casual gaming can support mental fitness and reduce stress as well.  Whether it's taking a few minutes out of a busy day to relax with Sudoku,  improving vocabulary and critical thinking skills with a word game — or just having fun — casual games have become a spirited part of today's family life.

"Beliefnet serves a truly diverse online community," said Elizabeth Sams, Executive Editor for Beliefnet.com.  "Our staff has worked closely with casual game experts from RealGames to select games that are appropriate for the wide variety of interests, ages and digital abilities reflected in our readership.  We're thrilled to add these stimulating, high-quality games and puzzles to the roster of quizzes, polls, and memory games our users already enjoy — let the gaming begin!"

As the world's largest developer, publisher and distributor of casual games, RealGames currently reaches more than 40 million unique visitors monthly via its own direct-to-consumer sites and distribution partners, which now include Beliefnet.com.

"RealGames offers casual games that provide a fun and engaging way for all kinds of people to exercise their brains and soothe their spirits," said Harold Zeitz, senior vice president of RealGames.  "Members of the Beliefnet community can now find a new common interest regardless of their specific spiritual beliefs, uniting around their love for challenging and entertaining casual games."

RealGames' popular offerings complement Beliefnet's award-winning assortment of articles, polls, quizzes and community discussion platforms created to help people explore their spiritual paths.  In addition, Beliefnet also offers its own "memory game" in which users discover pairs of religious symbols by clicking one and then finding and clicking its twin.  One by one, the cards vanish and users enjoy the photo equivalent of a relaxing breath.

For More Information:
Ryan Luckin
RealNetworks
206-892-6330
rluckin@real.com

Audrey Craipain
SHIFT Communications
415-591-8427
acraipain@shiftcomm.com

RNWK-G

ABOUT BELIEFNET

Beliefnet.com, winner of the 2007 National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online, is the largest online community for spirituality and inspiration.  Its mission is to help people find and walk a spiritual path that instills comfort, hope, clarity, strength and happiness for those who are exploring their own faith or curious about other spiritual traditions. Beliefnet offers a wide variety of resources including social networking tools, articles, quizzes, devotionals, sacred text searches, photo galleries and intimate interviews with noted politicians, celebrities and spiritual leaders.  The site has approximately three million unique visitors each month and a daily email newsletter readership of nearly 11 million subscribers.  The company, which is a subsidiary of Fox Digital Media and Fox Entertainment Group, is not affiliated with any spiritual organization or movement, and has partnerships with TIME magazine, Yahoo!, and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

ABOUT REALNETWORKS

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 and has continued to lead the market with pioneering products and services, including: RealPlayer®, the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and recording of Internet video; the award-winning 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. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at www.realnetworks.com/company.

RealGames, RealNetworks, GameHouse and RealArcade are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc.  All rights reserved.