"Sally's Salon" Ranks as Best Selling Game in 2007 from the RealGames Family of Sites and Syndication Network
myLifetime.com Partnership Drives Sally's Salon to Top of Sales Chart
AMSTERDAM — February 6, 2008 — From Casual Connect, the industry's premier casual games conference — digital entertainment services company RealNetworks®, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNWK), today announced that Sally's Salon (developed by Games Cafe, Inc. and published and produced by RealGames™) was the top selling game from the RealGames' family of sites and syndication network in 2007. RealGames' collaboration with partners, especially Lifetime Networks, helped drive Sally's Salon's rapid rise to the top from its launch more than half way through the year in July.
The Lifetime Presents series featured Sally's Salon at its debut — hitting 300,000 downloads in the first month on myLifetime.com. The popularity of this addictive game begs to answer the question posed by a reporter in July: "Do women really want games about spas?" It appears the verdict is in.
"Salons are interesting, vibrant places with all kinds of stations, services and procedures for game designers to draw from. Inspirationally speaking, the salon setting was a gold mine for our designers," said Steve Shatford, president and CEO of Games Cafe, Inc. "Almost everyone has been to a salon and generally equates the experience with fun and relaxation - which really emphasized the potential appeal of Sally's Salon. With RealGames as the publisher of our game, casual gamers around the world can enjoy our salon experience to relax, have fun and escape the everyday world."
Sally's Salon, a virtual beauty salon click management-style game, provides players with an escape from the daily grind. In the game, Sally beautifies everyone from little old ladies to punk rockers in ten unique salon locations where players are challenged by 50 levels of frantic, but fashionable, fun. Players can direct Sally through a virtual beauty salon by performing beauty services, hiring employees, and customizing salon services.
"We are thrilled that the first game to be fully supported by Lifetime Presents was such a hit. We believe that women are not seeking games specifically about spas or beauty – but games that provide them with a fun escape regardless of the subject matter," said Kris Soumas, vice president, Games, Lifetime Networks. "Sally's Salon absolutely delivered on the fun factor and we are happy to have highlighted the game to our audience and contributed to its success."
As the world's largest developer, publisher and distributor of casual games, RealGames has a global reach of over 40 million monthly unique users. Building on the success of Sally's Salon, the RealArcade Mobile group of RealGames is planning to release Sally's Salon for mobile phones later in the year.
Where to Play and Purchase Sally's Salon
Consumers can access Sally's Salon and an extensive catalog of titles from the following RealGames sites: www.realarcade.com, www.gamehouse.com, and www.mylifetime.com.
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 REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. is providing ways for consumers to be entertained on any screen (PC, home entertainment system, portable device or mobile phone) anywhere. Its digital entertainment services include RealPlayer, the acclaimed Rhapsody® music service, one of the largest Casual Games destinations RealArcade®, and a variety of mobile entertainment services offered to consumers by leading wireless carriers around the world. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at www.realnetworks.com/company.
ABOUT LIFETIME
LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.
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