In-Game Charity Event “Chocolate Harbour Rescue” to Benefit Oceana and UNICEF

Hong Kong – Sept. 9, 2010 – Roll up your virtual sleeves: throughout September Sanrio Digital is hosting a unique online charity event in Hello Kitty Online (HKO), the official massively multi-player online game (MMOG) of Hello Kitty®, to raise money for initiatives by Oceana, an international organization focused on ocean conservation, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In the month of September, Hello Kitty Online’s “Chocolate Harbour Rescue” allows players to generate donations in response to two current concerns: the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the massive floods that have destroyed much of Pakistan.

Chocolate Harbour Rescue is a brand new Hello Kitty Online in-game charity event running September 9 – 30, 2010. When an accident at an offshore chocolate refinery spills tons of the sweet stuff into the sea, Sanrio Harbour is inundated by sugary threats. The whole zone is a mess, but fortunately Pochacco is on the scene to recruit volunteers. Interested players should talk to Pochacco in Sanrio Harbour to receive a free Mop-A-Choc which they can use to help clean up the chocolaty mess and generate donation points. When the chocolates are all cleaned up, players will receive virtual chocolate bags full of special rewards.

“Chocolate Harbour Rescue is an event that gives players the opportunity to do something about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the tragic floods in Pakistan while having fun in our exciting virtual world,” said Robert Ferrari, vice president of publishing and business development, Sanrio Digital. “One of the goals of Hello Kitty Online is to encourage all players to contribute to relief efforts for real world problems. Our in-game events are our way of promoting charitable causes.”

At the end of the month-long event, Sanrio Digital will use the total donation points generated by all HKO players to calculate cash donations to Oceana and UNICEF, with each receiving 50% of the total. Oceana is an ocean conservation society that is researching the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest such spill in history. UNICEF is an international organization providing humanitarian assistance in developing countries, currently working to deliver aid in flood-devastated Pakistan. In August, UNICEF issued a press release warning that its life-saving operations in Pakistan are in jeopardy due to a shortfall in funding. Hello Kitty Online encourages players and fans to donate and/or volunteer directly by visiting http://na.oceana.org/, http://www.unicef.org/, and other charitable organizations.

Chocolate Harbour Rescue continues Hello Kitty Online’s drive to recruit players to participate in socially responsible causes. Highly popular HKO charity events have already benefited Doctors Without Borders’ mission in earthquake-struck Haiti, UNICEF, The Asian Youth Orchestra, and the Po Leung Kuk orphanage. A sample of Hello Kitty Online charity events is available at http://www.hellokittyonline.com/charity.

Hello Kitty Online officially launched in August 2010. The game is set in a lavishly designed fantasy world featuring Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters. Players travel to exciting places such as classy London, busy Tokyo and fashion-forward Paris. Along the way they will meet their favorite Sanrio® characters, including Hello Kitty®, Badtz-Maru®, Keroppi®, My Melody®, Cinnamoroll® and many others. Hello Kitty Online is the first MMOG to integrate true social networking services in the form of blogs, video sharing and Hello Kitty email provided by SanrioTown. The innovative online game boasts a captivating storyline, a myriad of quests, farms, housing, pets, guilds, thousands of options to customize player avatars, and much more.

For more information about Hello Kitty Online and the Chocolate Harbour Rescue charity event, please visit www.hellokittyonline.com.

LOS ANGELES and MIAMI – Sept. 1, 2010 – Bigfoot Entertainment, Inc. agreed to acquire an interest in Miami Film School and Palm Beach Film School, vocational filmmaking training schools with campuses in Hollywood and West Palm Beach, Fla. This marks Bigfoot Entertainment’s latest strategic investment in strengthening its portfolio of international film schools. Bigfoot also invested in the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT), through parent company International Film School Holdings (BVI) Ltd., which boasts campuses in Cebu, Philippines and Hong Kong.

“Our affiliation with the Miami and Palm Beach Film Schools helps fulfill the aspirations of many local IAFT graduates by creating exciting inroads into the U.S. – a market that will continue to dominate the international film and media production scene for many years to come,” said Kacy Andrews, CEO of Bigfoot Entertainment and International Film School Holdings (BVI) Ltd.

This strategic venture will also provide a significant talent pool for Bigfoot Entertainment to draw upon for its various productions. With state-of-the-art production studios in Asia, the independent entertainment company produced more than 13 feature films and documentaries over the course of six years, with a slate of feature films and television series in the pipeline.

“The Miami and Palm Beach Film Schools continue to be committed to delivering a practical, hands-on approach in their filmmaking training programs,” said Jim York, founder and executive director, Miami and Palm Beach Film Schools. “By affiliation with a global entertainment company, our students can now look forward to a chance to work on real-world feature film productions, under guidance from experienced and acclaimed industry professionals as mentors. They can also look forward to a host of prospects such as internship programs and permanent job placements upon graduation that Bigfoot Entertainment offers.”

For more information about Bigfoot Entertainment and its affiliated film schools, please visit: http://www.bigfoot.com/filmschool.php.

ijji.com’s Popular Action Adventure Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Game Presents New Art Style, Map and Community System Features in Latest Update

Lunia just received a major visual face lift. The exciting action arcade MMORPG enhanced its already-stunning art style with a new graphics augmentation in the game’s most recent update. On top of its new look, Lunia offers gamers a new map and a new community system, making it easier than ever to connect with friends in the game. The graphics boost offers Lunia players a totally revamped look for the game that shifts from the traditional top-down look to a cel-shaded, over-the-shoulder third-person perspective. Fans of Lunia’s classic look can turn this option off and play the game with the traditional art style if they prefer.

Other updates include:

• New Map - Forest of Water: This new map presents plenty of new challenges even for the mightiest of Lunians. Forest of Water, the first underwater level in Lunia, challenges players to navigate through delicate air bubbles to stay alive while battling deadly water monsters.

• Improved Community System: New “Quick Join” and “View Existing Party” options make it easier than ever to swiftly connect with friends and fellow Lunians.

• Friend Invitation System: Players can click a button in the game to generate a link they can post to their Facebook or Twitter account to invite new friends to join Lunia.

To celebrate, ijji.com is offering fans the opportunity to use the Friend Invitation System to rack up huge amounts of points that can be redeemed for in-game prizes. Lunia fans can use the Friend Invitation System to generate a link and earn a point for every friend who uses their link to join Lunia. Players will also receive a point every time that friend levels up.

Lunia fans eager to take on the next challenges in the gorgeous new environment can sign up, download and play Lunia for free at ijji.com.

Previous VeriSign Vice President of Multimedia Applications and
Former Director of Product Management at Offerpal Media Join BilltoMobile™

San Jose, Calif. – Aug. 27, 2010 – BilltoMobile™, a payments solution at the forefront of the global evolution in the e-commerce mobile payments space welcomes two top industry executives to its leadership team: Warren Faleiro joins the company as the vice president of engineering and technology and Madhura Belani joins BilltoMobile as the senior director of product and marketing.

“As our service continues to expand, we welcome Warren and Madhura into important company leadership positions,” said Jim Greenwell, president and CEO, BilltoMobile. “Warren’s deep technical knowledge of the mobile carrier environment and Madhura’s payment and product experience enables BilltoMobile to provide an optimal service. As our U.S. presence continues to rapidly expand with major mobile carriers and online merchants, our management team will play an important role in growing effectively with our partners and customers.”

With more than 12 years of experience launching new initiatives in online payments, e-commerce, and social gaming, Madhura joined BilltoMobile from Offerpal Media, a leader in monetization platforms for social games. While at Offerpal, Madhura spearheaded many initiatives and strategies as the director of product management, and identified and integrated many international and alternate payment providers. She grew the payment platform from the ground up to include more than 20 partners in less than one year. Before joining Offerpal, Madhura performed market research, drove new product development, and managed client and vendor relationships at PayPal.

Prior to joining BilltoMobile Warren served as vice president of multimedia applications at VeriSign Inc. where he was responsible for driving technology delivery and maintaining strategic relationships with tier one mobile operators. Also at VeriSign, he led a team developing innovative carrier grade services including a highly scalable Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC), a media sharing portal, social networking gateways and embedded mobile application software. Warren has helped several other top mobile and telecom organizations build effective product and engineering teams as well as create and leverage strong relationships with their strategic partners.

David Cho, who previously served as vice president of engineering and technology at BilltoMobile, has taken on new responsibilities, including leading the development of the International Payment Network (IPN) for the company, in his expanded role as vice president of global payment strategy.

Hello Kitty Online Launches in U.S., Canada and Europe; Hello Kitty Online Premium Edition Retail SKU with Exclusive Bonus Materials Now Available in North America

Hong Kong – Aug. 24, 2010 – Hello Kitty fans around the world rejoice! Hello Kitty Online (HKO), the official massively multi-player online game (MMOG) featuring Hello Kitty, has officially launched in North America and Europe. To celebrate, Sanrio Digital is offering a collectible Premium Edition Retail SKU available at retailers across the U.S. and Canada. Fans both young and old can share their love of Hello Kitty, either through the free downloadable client or the Premium Edition retail version.

The collectible Hello Kitty Online Premium Edition comes in a specially designed pink and black box that includes:

• $15 in Sanrio Cash Points to equip your character with premium items

• Choice of one out of four exclusive and cute virtual pets to be your faithful companion on your adventures

• Hello Kitty Online game client on DVD

• Full-color Hello Kitty Online game manual (82 pages)

• Hello Kitty Online collector’s postcards to share with friends…or to keep!

Hello Kitty Online is set in a magical world featuring Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio® characters. Players travel to exciting places such as London, Tokyo and Paris. Along the way they will meet their favorite Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty®, Badtz-Maru®, Keroppi®, My Melody®, Cinnamoroll® and many others. Hello Kitty Online is the first MMOG to integrate true social networking services in the form of blogs, video sharing and Hello Kitty email provided by SanrioTown. The innovative online game boasts a captivating storyline, a myriad of quests, farms, housing, pets, guilds, thousands of options to customize player avatars, and much more. With today’s commercial release of Hello Kitty Online the game service now offers an item mall where players have an option to purchase a variety of in-game virtual items to enhance their game experience. The item mall also offers players the ability to use a variety of online payment methods for their purchases. Additionally, Hello Kitty Online branded prepaid game cards will soon launch at key retailers.

“Sanrio Digital has created an entertaining digital world for our fans to engage with Hello Kitty and Sanrio friends in a truly social gaming environment,” said Robert Ferrari, vice president of publishing and business development, Sanrio Digital. “To celebrate Sanrio’s 50th anniversary, we are excited to launch Hello Kitty Online and offer our Premium Edition Retail SKU to both current and soon-to-be fans.”

Retail distribution of the Hello Kitty Online Premium Edition SKU will be managed by Zoo Entertainment across North America. Zoo Entertainment also manages publishing and distribution of Sanrio Digital’s Nintendo DS and Wii titles.

“Offering Hello Kitty Online as a retail SKU makes for a great addition to the Sanrio Digital line-up of Hello Kitty gaming SKUs Zoo offers at retail in North America, “ said Mark Seremet, CEO, Zoo Entertainment. “We are excited to bring HKO to retail for the fall and holiday season.”

Rated “E” for Everyone, Hello Kitty Online Premium Edition is available now at retailers across the U.S and Canada with a family-friendly MSRP of $19.99, and will be coming soon to Europe. For a list of participating North American retailers please visit www.hellokittyonline.com. Hello Kitty fans can also download the standard version of the online game for free at the official website, and upgrade to the Premium Edition retail version at any time.

LOS ANGELES – Aug. 11, 2010 – Millions of gamers and Facebook fans are jumping on board Sometrics’ recently launched virtual marketplace and community site: GameCoins.com. Among other big announcements, Sometrics went into a recent partnership with Bigpoint, one of the leading gaming portals worldwide. Bigpoint is the latest to join Sometrics’ list of high-profile online gaming partners, which includes Nexon, GameDuell, PopCap, IMVU, NHN and others. Sometrics’ reach now extends to more than 228 million gamers in the virtual goods market.

“Sometrics’ solution is unique in the sense that it provides a thorough assessment of our gaming audience,” said Linus Menden, head of finance at Bigpoint. “Sometrics has a strong presence internationally and provides useful input and customized service to Bigpoint. Not only has it been successful in increasing revenue, but it also increases the conversion of paying users.”

“Our partnership with Bigpoint is the latest of high profile gaming clients we are helping with their virtual goods monetization,” said Ian Swanson, founder and CEO, Sometrics. “The wide variety of customized services we are providing for Bigpoint and all of its titles are a great example of what makes Sometrics a valuable partner for online publishers.”

In addition to providing payment and optimization services to publishers, Sometrics’ Game Coins virtual currency introduces players to hundreds of online games. Sometrics also rewards players for informing friends through Facebook about the GameCoins.com missions they complete, with more than 200,000 missions completed to date. Gamers that shared the news across Facebook reached a network of 1.5 million “friends” and attained more than 2.5 million Facebook newsfeed impressions.

GameCoins.com is a virtual goods marketplace and destination site featuring top free-to-play online games and other leading virtual worlds and social games. Designed to create excitement and promote the sharing of real game experiences through exclusive raffles, missions and more, members earn and spend Game Coins on the games they already love, as well as newly discovered favorites.

Denise and Michael Okuda Lend their Vast Knowledge of All Things Star Trek as Consultants for the Upcoming Browser and Facebook Games

Karlsruhe, Germany, August 10, 2010 – Germany-based online games publisher Gameforge has beamed renowned Star Trek experts Denise and Michael Okuda aboard as contributors/consultants for the publisher’s in-development Star Trek® casual browser and Facebook games based on the classic series. The Okudas have more than 20 years of experience with the popular science-fiction franchise and collaborate with Gameforge by providing their expertise regarding visual elements and technical data. They will also design logos for the games and assure consistency with Star Trek timelines and canon.

Michael and Denise Okuda have been professionally involved with the Star Trek franchise since the 1980s; Michael served as a graphic designer and technical consultant starting with 1987’s Star Trek: The Next Generation® to Star Trek: Enterprise™ and several movies. Denise has also been deeply entrenched in the popular series for many years. She was a video and computer playback supervisor on numerous Star Trek television shows as well as several of the accompanying movies. Together, Michael and Denise authored The Star Trek Encyclopedia, considered by many to be the foremost authority on Star Trek lore and technology.

“The most exciting time in any Star Trek project is at the very beginning, when the concepts and designs are developed,” said Michael Okuda. “We are having a great time working with the innovative team at Gameforge on these new chapters in the Star Trek saga.”

“Gameforge is working hard to capture the authentic look-and-feel of the Star Trek universe and they understand the sense of fun that is so important to Star Trek’s core,” added Denise Okuda. “They are dedicated to interweaving the joy of exploration, of discovery, of going boldly, where no one has gone before into their games.”

“We knew first off that in order to make great Star Trek games that we had to enlist some of the foremost Star Trek authorities. Denise and Michael are a tremendous asset to us in making these casual games,” said Ralf Adam, VP of Publishing at Gameforge. “Having such great Star Trek icons as contributors to our games will help us in our goal of creating a Star Trek experience that fans and gamers can be proud of.”

The Star Trek universe has entertained millions around the world for decades and boasts one of the most loyal and dedicated fan bases in popular culture. As Gameforge works to bring the storied classic franchise to life as a free-to-play casual browser game for players around the globe, Denise and Michael Okuda will be working with Gameforge to ensure a fun and engaging Star Trek experience.

The Web-based casual browser and Facebook Star Trek games by Gameforge are scheduled for release in 2011.

San Jose, Calif. – July 20, 2010 – BilltoMobile™ welcomes the return of respected payments industry veteran Steve Klebe, naming him vice president of business development and strategy. In his new role, Steve is responsible for developing and managing BilltoMobile’s strategic relationships, guiding the company’s long-term strategy and continuing to rapidly expand the company’s online merchant partnerships. BilltoMobile launched its innovative direct mobile billing service in May 2010 with its first mobile carrier, Verizon Wireless. BilltoMobile is privately held in the U.S., with majority ownership by Danal Co., Ltd., based in South Korea.  Danal is a pioneer and global leader in charging e-commerce transactions directly to mobile phone accounts.

 “As a payments, e-commerce, and security expert, Steve brings an exceptional wealth of executive experience and knowledge to help us serve our customers and partners,” said Jim Greenwell, president and CEO, BilltoMobile. “The features of BilltoMobile and the processing rates now available to merchants with our service are unprecedented in the North American market.  With our expanding U.S. and global presence, it’s an ideal time for Steve to re-join the team.”

 With more than 30 years of experience in sales, business development, creating strategic alliances and product marketing in electronic payments, authentication and fraud prevention, Steve returns to BilltoMobile after being an earlier, integral part of creating the company.  Over the past three decades, he has held a variety of senior management roles at prominent, successful payment companies including VeriFone, CyberSource, Cybercash and, most recently, Vindicia.  While at CyberSource, he led the effort to create the original partnership with Visa that led to both an equity investment and a co-developed and branded fraud prevention service.

 “Having the opportunity to return to BilltoMobile now that we are live and bringing our market-changing alternative payment service to the online merchant community is exciting,” Steve said. “Working with a standout group of industry experts on a project you can be proud of makes a world of a difference – not to mention representing a payment service that is truly at the forefront of today’s online mobile payments marketplace.”

 Making his debut as the newest member of BilltoMobile’s executive team, Steve will be attending Casual Connect in Seattle through July 22. Online entertainment publishers interested in meeting with him can contact him at steve.klebe@billtomobile.com for an appointment.

 “Very few people are as knowledgeable about alternative payment models, or as respected in the e-commerce industry, as is Steve,” said Scott Loftesness, founding partner at Glenbrook Partners, a research firm focusing on the payments industry. “He understands how merchants think based on his years of closely working with them - now he brings all of that experience to the mobile payments space in his new role at BilltoMobile.”

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Game Coins and Partnering Publishers, Including GameDuell, Atlus Online and NHN, Find User Acquisition Success by Offering Missions for Virtual Rewards

LOS ANGELES – July 20, 2010 – Sometrics’ GameCoins.com, the virtual goods marketplace that launched during E3 last month, is seeing exceptional growth in engagement for online publishers and their respective games via the platform’s new “missions” system. Benefitting both players and publishers, the recently launched system aims to introduce new users to select online games in a fun and exciting way by tying game mechanics to marketing campaigns.

GameCoins.com’s missions encourage players to reach in-game milestones where they are rewarded with Game Coins currency, which can then be used for further advancement in the game. GameCoins.com is tracking a mission completion rate of 86 percent, with 98 percent of those completions being first-time players of the game. Additional incentives, such as being rewarded for informing friends through Facebook about missions completed, offer players extra ways to earn the virtual currency. More than 50 percent of players are taking advantage of these incentives, resulting in additional viral exposure for the games.

“Our early success with GameCoins.com has been an exciting development in game marketing and has helped get new users engaged with the right game for them,” said Luis Ongil, Managing Director Americas, GameDuell. “When Sometrics approached us with the GameCoins.com mission concept, we realized we could fill a need that we have been looking for with user acquisition. We are certainly looking forward to doing many additional missions on GameCoins.com.”

After entering the market with a focus on monetization and optimizations solutions, GameCoins.com is Sometrics’ latest venture into the online game space. In addition to GameDuell, Atlus Online, IMVU, GamersFirst, LOLapps, NHN and 5th Planet Games, several other online game publishers are currently utilizing GameCoins.com missions.

“With mission-based offers, gamers can easily reap rewards simply by doing what they love, playing games” said Ian Swanson, founder and CEO of Sometrics. “With GameCoins.com, we are helping publishers monetize their products and find new, dedicated players who might never have found their games without participating in the missions. It’s a great way to increase user acquisitions and revenues.”

GameCoins.com is a virtual goods marketplace and destination site featuring top free-to-play online games and other leading virtual worlds and social games. Designed to create excitement and promote the sharing of real game experiences through exclusive raffles, missions and more, members earn and spend Game Coins on the games they already love, as well as newly discovered favorites.

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