For Immediate Release - June 18, 2007
ESPN.com Launches ESPN Arcade
New Section, Developed With Skyworks, Offers More Than 40 Free, Online Casual Games; Categories Include Sports, Card and Puzzle, Game Room, Classic, Multiplayer
ESPN.com today will launch a new section on the Web site, the ESPN Arcade (www.espnarcade.com). Created in collaboration with leading casual game and advergame developer Skyworks, the section will offer more than 40 free, online casual games — including sports games (lacrosse, golf, basketball), card and puzzle games (hearts, spades, sudoku), game room titles (air hockey, pinball, darts), driving games (car and truck and ATV racing), and multiplayer games (Chess, checkers, backgammon) and more.
Games in the ESPN Arcade are completely free and developed by Skyworks. The new section will be fully advertising supported, and at launch sports games will be brought to fans by the U.S. Marines, among other advertisers. All ESPN Arcade games are available to play online, with no download, and require only Flash or Shockwave. At launch Skyworks' popular Rcade.com site (www.rcade.com) will become ESPN Arcade.
"Gaming is an important and fast-growing part of a fan's connection to sports," said Raphael Poplock, vice president, gaming, ESPN Enterprises. "The ESPN Arcade is the latest addition to ESPN's array of gaming initiatives — casual online games now join fantasy games, innovative content integration within console games, and news, information and reviews — all to provide sports fans with interactive connections to sports."
Online casual gaming is growing in the US, with 80-100 million monthly online gamers in the U.S. alone. On average, the active male gamer will spend 12 hours per week playing online, and in total, online casual games engage consumers for 16 billion monthly minutes according to comScore Media Metrix.**
"This collaboration with ESPN represents a unique and valuable offering for both advertisers and users, bringing Skyworks' industry-leading, casual games to ESPN's massive audience of sports fans," said Garry Kitchen, President & CEO, Skyworks.
Among the titles that will appear in the ESPN Arcade at launch:
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ESPN Arcade will also have built-in competitive and online community features, including comprehensive individual and game-specific leaderboards and High Scores, a trophy system allowing players to earn and accumulate trophies based on scores, in-game chat (some games) and more.
Together with the ESPN Videogames (www.espnvideogames) section, the ESPN Arcade will offer sports fans and gamers a combination of playable casual games, news and information on the latest in sports games, reviews and previews, console game-driven simulations (such as EA Sports simulations of major events) and more.
** Sources: Nielsen Interactive Entertainment 2006 Active Gamer Benchmark Study, comScore Media Metrix, DFC Intelligence, Yankee Group, and eMarketer - April 2007
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CONTACT:
Amy Phillips, ESPN 212.515.1282 or amy.phillips@espn.com
Paul Melvin, ESPN 860.766.9581 or paul.melvin@espn.com