Mastertronic blast off

Following their announcement of a strategic partnership with Disky, leading UK value PC games publishers, Mastertronic Games, today announced a joint venture, the PS2 console publisher, Blast! Entertainment.

The two European value publishing powerhouses will launch this value PS2 label later this year, aimed at young games players. Blast! Entertainment is headed up by industry stalwarts Sean Brennan CEO, and Graeme Boxall, Senior Vice President of Product Development and is based in London at Mastertronic Games's offices. Games will retail at £9.99/14.95.

All products will be fully licensed and many of the key releases will be using child centric properties from the major Hollywood film studios, as well as licensed properties from more local sources. Add this key ingredient to the impulse price point, the formidable distribution chain at its disposal and the fact that the company is well funded by its parents and Blast! can rightly claim to be a totally unique concept.

Feike Dijkstra, CEO of Disky, commented "We have chosen to develop totally new content based on recognised family orientated licenses from popular movies, TV and toys and are confident that our products will be received positively by the children's market. Our partnership with Mastertronic Games in this venture is a significant factor in the development of our organisation and we are secure in the knowledge that we are working with the leading publisher of quality value games".

"Disky have a superb pan European distribution network and really 'get' what we are doing. Their expertise in sales and distribution brings a unique angle to our operation. We are able now to ensure that our offering is suitable for all European cultures and thus will be able to maximize the properties we have licenced. Mastertronic have a great team and this is a great opportunity for me personally to help grow a business that can be a market leader in its field. Console and Europe have been two key missing factors from our operation now we have closed that gap. Furthermore, we are convinced that we have found a unique niche in the market and will set a benchmark in the games industry within the PS2 sector as we have done within the PC sector" commented Sean Brennan, CEO of Blast! Entertainment Group.

//end

About Mastertronic Group Limited
Mastertronic is one of the best known electronic entertainment brands in Europe. It pioneered the European console market with its launch of the Sega Master System, invented the budget retail sector and built an international development and publishing operation under the Virgin Mastertronic label.
The brand was subsequently relaunched as The Mastertronic Group Limited in 2003 by founder Frank Herman, together with Andy Payne and Garry Williams.
The Group now leads the European value publishing sector through its retail brands M.A.D. (Mastertronic Added Dimension), Sold Out (the UK's largest-selling budget operation, acquired by the Group in 2004) and PC Gamer Presents, a unique quality-assured brand in association with the leading games magazine publisher Future Publishing.
The Group also offers, through its wholly owned subsidiary The Producers Limited (also acquired in 2004) a 'cradle to grave' total turnkey service for physical product, from marketing through packaging and warehousing to retail and electronic distribution. In addition, MAD 4 Games, a wireless channel for content delivery to mobile phones was established first quarter 2005.

About Disky
Disky, a subsidiary of the Hermans Group in Hoorn, is specialised in the development, marketing, sales, and distribution of home entertainment products such as CDs, DVDs, games, books, and toys. Disky's European sales organisations are located in Germany, England, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Scandinavia.

Note for the editor (not for publication):
For more information, you can contact Disky - Sandra Dekker, telephone: +31 (0)229 - 294000, or through e-mail: s.dekker@disky.nl

About Blast! Entertainment Ltd
The Mastertronic Group partnered with Disky Communications, part of the Hermans Group, in 2006 to launch Blast! the first console value label exclusively aimed at the childrens market. Blast! have developed new content based on recognised family orientated licenses from popular movies, TV and toys