Digital Tycoon

Paris, 31st March 2008 – Metaboli, Europe’s leading videogames download platform, announces a new round of fundraising to finance the worldwide deployment of Digital Tycoon, an advanced version of the Metaboli platform, which will enable videogames publishers and distributors to self-manage digital distribution. The additional €5 million is supported by the company’s current investors: Intel Capital, Innovacom, Alven Capital, Nicominvest and I-Source.

Digital Tycoon: digital distribution for videogames publishers and distributors

With Digital Tycoon, videogames publishers can now develop, deploy and drive their digital distribution strategy online at a worldwide level. More than just an online management platform, Tycoon is an ecosystem which simplifies and makes exchanges between publishers and distributors easier. The result of 6 years of know-how from Metaboli, a pioneer in the field, Tycoon has already benefited from an investment of several million euros. This new round of fundraising will allow Metaboli to deploy it worldwide by capitalising on its technological lead and its leading position in Europe.

An open platform structured around 3 key functions

- Managing a digital distribution strategy: Publishers select their distribution network in a territory (country, continent or worldwide), Distributors choose the games on offer taking into account the publisher’s sales conditions, managing their pricing policy on the games in real time all in one place.

- Deployment: Turn-key site creation and modification, secure deposit of game masters and the publisher’s DRM1 policy, release of games on e-commerce sites or across a complete network simultaneously.

- Control and optimization: direct and indirect sales reports (online sales statistics per distributor, per country or area, per game), CRM tools, dynamic, real-time management of games catalogue, distribution network, pricing, creation of promotions and trade marketing operations.

“For the first time, thanks to Tycoon, publishers and distributors can develop and manage their worldwide games digital distribution strategy centrally via a single platform. With a few simple clicks they can optimise their sales while maintaining complete control over their distribution networks,” said Pierre Gaudet, CEO of Metaboli.

A French Internet pioneer at the head of Metaboli

Intel Capital, Innovacom, Alven Capital, Nicominvest, and I-Source renew their confidence in Metaboli’s project and its management team. The company is managed by Pierre Gaudet. Previously the COO of Kelkoo before the start-up was sold for 475 M€ to Yahoo in 2004,

1 Digital Rights Management

Pierre then took on the management of the Yahoo! Asia shopping directory until 2007. Pierre joined Metaboli at the beginning of 2007 as CEO.

ABOUT METABOLI

Metaboli is Europe’s leading games download platform, offering the possibility to download hundreds of videogames for a monthly subscription or to purchase on a product per product basis. These offers are available on www.metaboli.com and www.gamesplanet.com, as well as on more than fifty white label partners across Europe. Metaboli is the only digital content distributor present on Europe's four largest ISP’s Orange, T-Online, Virgin Media and Telecom Italia. It is also available through traditional distribution channels (GAME, Fnac, Saturn…) and major portals (aol.fr, web.de, libero.it…). With distribution agreements signed with the most renowned videogames publishers (Atari, Codemasters, EA, Eidos, Take2, THQ, Ubisoft, Vivendi Games…), Metaboli offer an unmatched games catalogue on its European portals with 100 000 subscribers at the end of 2007 and selling more than 15 000 games per month.

Metaboli also offers publishers complete e-commerce solutions including online store design and development, customer acquisition and loyalty strategies, carried out by its internal marketing and CRM agency. Companies such as Atari, Codemasters, Crimson Cow, Eidos, Elektrogames, Focus Home Interactive, Frogster Interactive, Jowood, Microïds, THQ and Vivendi Games have already shown confidence in Metaboli in this field.

A pioneer in the digital distribution of videogames, Metaboli has experienced annual growth of over 100% since 2004, employing local teams in Paris, Hamburg, London and Stockholm.

CONTACT PRESSE

Samira Fertas – Com & Co samiraf@com-n-co.com 06 20 51 36 13