Anders Evju appointment
To preside over newly launched PlayPhone Social mobile gaming platform.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Jose, California, October 14, 2010 – PlayPhone ® , Inc. ( www.PlayPhone.com), a leading global mobile entertainment company, announced today the launch of PlayPhone ® Social, a new mobile social gaming platform, and it has named industry veteran Anders Evju as SVP and General Manager of the new business unit. Evju, a mobile gaming industry pioneer, will be responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the new platform in PlayPhone’s transition from traditional mobile entertainment offerings into mobile social gaming.
PlayPhone ® Social is a strategic shift for PlayPhone’s mobile entertainment content offerings. The new mobile social gaming platform is focused on creating mobile gaming communities leveraging the power of the social graph to help users connect with their friends by sharing their experiences and enthusiasm. PlayPhone ® Social is a multiplayer, cross-platform product for mobile social gaming and networking. Built on PlayPhone’s proven monetization and marketing expertise as a mobile leader, PlayPhone ® Social provides mobile game developers the established resources and opportunity to market and monetize mobile social games around the globe with a single platform.
PlayPhone ® Social supports all major platforms including iPhone and Android. Key features include buddy list integration with leading social networks including Facebook and Twitter. Players can recommend, share and challenge friends to game play, as well as chat and message with each other online. To drive mass adoption of the platform, PlayPhone ® Social allows gamers to import their Social Graph and status, play multi-player games and post scores to global leader-boards. It also enables virtual credit rewards for users who invite friends to join and play.
The innovative gaming platform offers social game developers a clear path to monetize their applications through an easy to implement SDK, allowing the developer to easily integrate micro-transactions and subscription features. PlayPhone ® Social is also integrated with leading ad networks, allowing for instant ad monetization and supports all payment methods including Premium SMS, all major Credit Cards and PayPal.
“I’m extremely excited about the launch of PlayPhone ® Social and having Anders joining the team to drive the success of our global social gaming initiatives,” said Ron Czerny, CEO of PlayPhone ®. Anders' background and experience in both mobile and casual gaming is exactly what we need to execute our new social gaming platform into the market flawlessly and successfully.”
Evju co-founded the US division of leading mobile gaming company, I-play in 2000. As SVP and General Manager of the US division, he was an integral part of the company’s success resulting in the sale to Oberon Media in 2007. Evju later acquired the responsibility as SVP of Oberon Media, where he managed the global online operations of the leading gaming platform provider.
“I’m thrilled to join the PlayPhone ® team and I’m confident that we are going to be successful in making PlayPhone ® Social the leading destination for social gaming all over the world,” said Anders Evju, SVP and General Manager, PlayPhone ® Social.
PlayPhone ®has experienced rapid growth over the last three years becoming one of the largest mobile content destinations in the world at Playphone.com. PlayPhone ® Social is the new building block in PlayPhone’sbusiness strategy to continue the companies organic growth by developing new technology and creating new business revenue.
About PlayPhone ® ,Inc.
PlayPhone ® ( www.PlayPhone.com), is the market leader in delivering mobile entertainment content to individuals and social communities worldwide. As a global mobile media company, it has presence in more than 25 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. PlayPhone founded the direct-to-consumer mobile media distribution standard in 2003 and continues to establish new means for delivering wireless entertainment. PlayPhone is based in San Jose, Calif. and is funded by top venture firms Menlo Ventures, Cardinal Venture Capital, Coral Group and Scale Venture Partners.