BWI: Turbine Selects Playspan as In-Game Virtual Goods Marketplace Provider

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: PlaySpan India Pvt Ltd
Friday, September 18, 2009 11:44 AM IST (06:14 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Information technology; Technology
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Turbine Selects Playspan as In-Game Virtual Goods Marketplace Provider
PlaySpan's Technology Powers Dungeons and Dragons Online®: Eberron UnlimitedT In-Game Store

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Friday, September 18, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Turbine, Inc., the premier creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds, and PlaySpan, the leader in monetization solutions for online games, virtual worlds, and social networks, today announced an agreement to provide a comprehensive virtual goods marketplace for Dungeons and Dragons Online®: Eberron UnlimitedT (DDO Unlimited). DDO Unlimited is a free to play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) that delivers heart-pounding game play featuring the industry's best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found in premium subscription-based MMOs. PlaySpan's microtransaction platform powers the new DDO Store that was recently introduced into the award-winning game.

"We are excited and pleased to partner with PlaySpan to deliver the next evolution in online gaming to our players," said Jim Crowley, President and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "PlaySpan's in-game marketplace provides an easy to use experience that will enable our gamers to choose how they pay and play DDO Unlimited."

PlaySpan's microtransaction platform enables gamers to stay in the game while shopping for wearables, weapons, potions, hirelings, and other helpful items in the integrated marketplace. In addition, the marketplace will showcase items based on the character's level, making shopping fast and easy.

"Turbine is a leader in online interactive entertainment, and we're thrilled they selected PlaySpan as their partner to create new microtransaction-based business models featuring in-game digital goods marketplaces," said Karl Mehta, Founder and CEO of PlaySpan. "Turbine's selection of PlaySpan is a key endorsement of our market leadership and continued progress in powering virtual world economies for today's most popular online games."

Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer for DDO Unlimited, will demo the game and its new digital goods marketplace powered by PlaySpan at the Monetization 2.0 Forum at GDC Austin today, between 2pm and 7pm. To learn more, or to register for the event, please visit: http://corp.playspan.com/gdc/. Demos will also be available at the PlaySpan booth #801 at GDC Austin.

About Turbine

Turbine, Inc. is the premier creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds that foster powerful social gaming communities. Turbine has grown to become the largest privately-held online gaming studio in North America. Turbine has created some of the world's most popular and award-winning online games, including The Lord of the Rings OnlineTM, Dungeons & Dragons Online® and Asheron's Call®. For more information on Turbine, its products and services please visit www.turbine.com.

About PlaySpan Inc.

PlaySpanT is the leader in monetization solutions for over 1,000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks. PlaySpan's patent-pending in-game virtual goods commerce and micropayment platform enables game publishers and developers to generate new revenues, acquire new users, and extend the loyalty of existing users.

PlaySpan also offers global payment solutions through its subsidiary PayByCash® with 85 payment methods in 180 countries. The ULTIMATE GAME CARD® is used by consumers to pay for 300 multiplayer games and around 700 games on popular social networking sites. It is available in about 45,000 retail locations across North America and growing rapidly worldwide.

Social network payment solutions are available through Spare Change©. Acquired by PlaySpan in April 2009, Spare Change is the first and leading payments platform designed specifically for social networks. Featured on over 700 applications, across Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, Spare Change empowers developers to successfully monetize their applications through micro payments. The Spare Change platform enables users to make safe, convenient, and friendly 1-click purchases through a variety of funding sources.

PlaySpan is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Charlottesville, Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mumbai. Investors include Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, STIC and Novel TMT Ventures. The company has recently won the 2009 OnHollywood Category Award for Best Gaming Company.

For more information about PlaySpan, visit http://corp.playspan.com

For more information about Spare Change, visit: www.sparechangepayments.com


CONTACT DETAILS
Vinayak Rao, PlaySpan India Pvt Ltd, +91 9820045958, Vinayak.rao@playspan.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, MARKETING, BANKING, IT, TECHNOLOGY

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