Alawar and iWin announce the launch of Jewel Quest for the Russian market
July 12, 2007
Alawar Entertainment, a leading publisher of casual games and the largest provider of casual content in Eastern Europe, and iWin, a leading developer, publisher, and distributor of casual games, today announced the launch of Jewel Quest for the Russian market. The bestseller, developed by iWin, is one of the most popular and successful casual games in the world, with over 40 million downloads.
Since its release in 2004, Jewel Quest has been one of the best selling games on major Western casual game portals including Real, Yahoo!, Oberon and many more. In addition, Jewel Quest has been localized into eight languages and ported to several platforms, including mobile phones, Xbox Live Arcade, and soon the Nintendo DS. Jewel Quest has delighted casual game players in over 80 countries worldwide. The list of countries now includes Russia, thanks to the strategic partnership between Alawar and iWin, which gives Alawar the rights to localize and distribute the Russian language version of Jewel Quest throughout the Russian segment of the Internet.
In Jewel Quest, the player travels to South America to find the sacred Temples of the Sun and breathe new life into the ancient stone statues of Mayan gods. To carry out this mission, the player must swap jewels that have been placed on a grid in an effort to create matches of three or more of the same kind. Each match turns the spaces under the gems into gold. To complete a level, all of the spaces must be turned to gold.
The launch of the game in Russia took place July 6. After several days on the market, strong sales of Jewel Quest have shown that a successful game can be a hit anywhere, regardless of the territory in which it is sold or the audience to which it is marketed. In addition to Jewel Quest, the Russian language versions of other popular games from iWin will soon grace the Russian catalog of Alawar. Currently, Alawar is busy localizing Mah Jong Quest, Jewel Quest Solitaire and more hit games from iWin.
According to Andrew Postnikov, head of publishing at Alawar, "Today, casual games are gaining popularity in Eastern Europe. They aren't as popular as in North America, but the Eastern European market is developing dynamically and growing about 25 percent each month. In time, the Eastern European casual games market will become a good source of additional revenue for any developer or publisher willing to take advantage of it. As the market develops, it's important to offer the audience only high quality casual games so they won't be disappointed and turned away. Because of that, I'm pleased one of the first casual games developed in the U.S. to enter the Russian market is Jewel Quest, and that our partner is iWin".
About Alawar Entertainment, Inc.
http://www.alawargroup.com
http://www.alawar.com
Alawar Entertainment has specialized in the development, publication and distribution of casual games since 1999. The company has published more than 100 titles, won fans all over the world and is the biggest casual games provider in Eastern Europe. Today, Alawar works with more than 30 developers, providing a full range of services that includes producing, distribution and marketing for their titles. Alawar distributes its offerings via its exclusive network of Web sites. The company's releases have also found a home on the Web sites of numerous online distributors. In addition to distributing games online, Alawar works with CD publishers in more than 20 countries and provides the owners of Web sites with a turn-key solution for launching their own casual games section.
About iWin
http://iwin.com
Founded in 2001, iWin is a premier developer, publisher and distributor of casual games for the mass market. iWin distributes its games across multiple platforms and channels worldwide. iWin's leading franchises, such as Jewel Quest 2, and licensed brands, like Family Feud, are distributed at retail locations, mobile phones, its online games portal, www.iwin.com, and other major web sites and platforms. iWin.com offers more than 200 single-player and multiplayer casual games, spanning across all genres. For more information, please visit www.iwin.com.