BWI: PlaySpan’s Ultimate Game Card® Expands Into Thousands of Retail Locations in Turkey, Brazil, and Other Countries

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: PlaySpan India Pvt Ltd
Saturday, July 04, 2009 12:34 PM IST (07:04 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Information technology; Technology
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PlaySpan's Ultimate Game Card® Expands Into Thousands of Retail Locations in Turkey, Brazil, and Other Countries


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Saturday, July 04, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- PlaySpanT, the leader in global monetization solutions for 1,000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks, today announced that its Ultimate Game Card® has expanded into Brazil, Turkey, and several other countries.

In Turkey, Ultimate Game Card will be available in over 3,000 Internet gaming cafes, as well as multiple Turkish web sites and portals offering convenient local payment options. Turkey already has about 28 million Internet users, and a decisively young population who show a strong preference for multiplayer PC/online gaming. This, combined with the country's Internet Café culture, creates a high demand for pre-paid retail game cards within this sector.

In Brazil, Ultimate Game Card will be distributed in more than 1,400 Internet Cafés, where a majority of online gaming takes place. It will also be available in over 4,000 retail locations, providing developers and game creators with an instant presence and an effective distribution channel into this market. Brazil is one of the fastest growing multiplayer game markets in the world with more than six million players actively playing via LAN houses and Cyber Cafés. Another 18 million Brazilians actively use the Internet from home via broadband connections.

"Ultimate Game Card provides a convenient new payment method to our customers and increases their access to premium services within online games and social networks,"said Andre Avelino, Marketing Manager for E-prepag, a Brazilian company specializing in e-billing for online game market needs. "We are very excited about the benefits it provides to us and our customers."

"Our entrance into these new markets significantly expands our reach, and thus our customers' reach, and further positions us as a global leader in enabling microtransactions and virtual goods commerce," said Karl Mehta, CEO of PlaySpan.

"Monetizing the Brazil and Turkey Internet markets is very challenging for North American, European, and Asian merchants. Through PayByCash®, which provides 85 payment methods in 180 countries, and Ultimate Game Card, PlaySpan delivers rapid worldwide distribution to merchants and developers. We are also aggressively seeking additional international resellers who have distribution networks that link them directly with retail stores and Internet Cafés throughout their countries."

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

For more information about PayByCash, visit: www.paybycash.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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