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King Defies the Economic Downturn, Nearly Doubles the Number of Games Played From Last Year

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 February 2009, 08:00 CST

World's leading social games company continues growth trend, surging to 350 million games played per month

LOS ANGELES and LONDON, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- King (www.king.com), the world's leading online social games company, announced that 350 million games a month were played on the King.com platform, nearly doubling the number of games played on the site a year ago.

King's 84 percent jump solidifies three consecutive years of growth: In 2007, the number of games played per month increased 138 percent, from 80 to 190 million, surpassing the momentum of 2006 which saw growth double from 40 to 80 million games played per month.

King's growth consistently ranks above the industry average: industry-wide traffic swelled by 27 percent in December 2008 from the same month the previous year, while American consumers spent more time than ever on gaming sites; up from 3.7 percent in December 2007 to 4.9 percent in December 2008, according to market research company comScore.

"King's tremendous growth is proof that casual games have now become mainstream. We expect to see this trend continue, especially in these tough economic times, as people turn to King for relaxation, competition, stimulation and fun," said Riccardo Zacconi, CEO, King. "Our ever-expanding roster of social games continues to draw even more players from the U.S. and around the world and further extends our position as the world's leading social games provider."

Contributing to King's exceptional growth is its innovative approaches to both the gaming consumer and the business as a whole. King knows what players want, whether it's a skill-game version of hit sensation Cake Mania 2, or the flash phenomenon Hunted Forever, which Time magazine named one of the top 10 video games of 2008.

On the business front: King expanded its partnership with Mochi Media to enable publishers to profit from its suite of online games. The company also expanded its partnership with Yahoo! Games, the No. 1 online games site, to provide its users direct access to the entire catalog of King's games. Additionally, King launched its subscription product and received an official acknowledgement from the German technology and privacy authority, TUV, which stated that King is the only online games provider to conform to the strictest European data privacy regulations, following an official examination.

"King's mission is to discover, develop and provide engaging games to people all around the world," commented Zacconi. "We intend to pursue organic and acquisitive growth, powered by our strong business model, which consistently delivers profitability. We will also continue to invest in our dynamic and market-leading gaming platform."

About King:

Launched in 2004, King offers more than 140 different skill and social games, with its premier gaming destinations King.com (www.king.com) and MyGame.com (www.mygame.com). The site is available in nine languages and promoted in 10 countries.

King is the exclusive provider of skill games for leading portals and websites such as Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Real Networks, Orange, NBC, freenet.de, RTL, Sat 1, Endemol, MTV3, Web.de and other leading media companies. The company is known for extending the brand of popular TV properties such as "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," "The Biggest Loser," "Deal or No Deal" and "1 vs. 100."

King is incorporated in the state of Delaware and has offices in London, Hamburg, Stockholm, Rome and Los Angeles. King.com does not offer money tournaments in the states of Alaska, Iowa, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Maryland, Connecticut, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Delaware, South Dakota, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois or Vermont.

King's digital press kit, including gamer profiles, photos and screenshots, is available at: http://consortpartners.com/clients/king.php.

Media Contact: Kathy Johnson Consort Partners king@consortpartners.com Tel: +1 415 823 9566

SOURCE King

Source: PR Newswire

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