IGN Previews 2009

BRISBANE, Calif. – January 23here, 2009 – IGN.com, the Web’s leading videogame and entertainment information destination, has released “IGN Previews 2009,” its first ever predictions for game sales, hardware developments and industry trends for a new year. Leveraging IGN’s proprietary research engine, GamerMetrics, and the analysis of IGN’s tenured staff members, “IGN Previews 2009” provides insiders with informed analysis about the future of gaming.

“The gaming industry was one of few industries to see growth in 2008, but that did not surprise us” said Peer Schneider, senior vice president of publishing. “In our Preview, IGN predicts that a stellar lineup of games, hardware price-cuts and launches will keep sales strong well into 2009.”

“IGN Previews 2009” includes first-ever predictions for the Top 10 Games, tiered by the number of units IGN predicts will sell in the first eight weeks.

Predictions including consoles and publisher

1 million or more projected unit sales

“Wii Sports Resort” for Wii (Nintendo)

“Resident Evil 5” for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (Capcom)

750-999 thousand projected unit sales

“Street Fighter IV” for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (Capcom)

“Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams” for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (2K Games)

“Killzone 2” for PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)

“God of War III” for PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)

500-749 thousand projected unit sales

“Punch-Out!!” for Wii (Nintendo)

“Halo 3: ODST” For Xbox 360 (Microsoft Game Studios)

“The Sims 3” for PC and Wireless (Electronic Arts)

“The Beatles” for Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 2 and 3 (MTV Games)

“IGN Previews 2009” also offers predictions about industry events and trends like the ongoing console battle, forecasting announcements such as:

• PlayStation 3's price drop to $299

• A mega-publisher acquisition

• The announcement of “Battlefield 3”

• At least one 3D game for the Xbox 360

• Announcement of PlayStation Portable 2

• Nintendo to launch DSi stateside this April for $179

For more findings and detailed forecasts from the IGN Previews 2009, please visit http://www.ign.com/ign-previews-2009/.

About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 32 million unique users worldwide in the month of December 2008. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, GreenPixels, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is one of the Web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle Websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.

About IGN GamerMetrics

A part of Fox Interactive Media, IGN GamerMetrics is an industry leading interactive tool designed to report the real-time behavior and interests of visitors to IGN Entertainment’s network of gaming enthusiast Web sites. Using data collected from the largest audience of video gamers online, IGN GamerMetrics shows the levels of consumer awareness, interest, and engagement in every videogame title released in the U.S. market. IGN GamerMetrics can be used to perform a range of analysis, such as determining competitive mindshare, monitoring marketing and PR campaign effectiveness, developing audience profiles, and predicting sales.

Media Contact:

Réna Grant

Edelman for IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media

415-486-3211

rena.grant@edelman.com