RealNetworks Q1 gaming revenue up 28%

RealNetworks' Q1 revenues from gaming products rose 28 percent year-on-year, the company said yesterday as it posted a record USD 129.5 million in sales for the first quarter.

Sales of gaming products were up to USD 23.9 million compared to USD 18.2 million in Q1 2006 thanks to the launch of seven new titles.

The company also saw revenue-per-download grow in its ad-enabled games, thanks to a try-before-you-buy model. It says that over 5.5 million users have accessed ad-enabled games for a total of around 8 million downloads.

The company also benefited from the launch of a new subscription product called FunPass, which allows users unfettered access to the company's games catalogue in return for a subscription fee.

Elsewhere the company's online music revenues rose 18 percent to USD 34.1 million, while technology returns rose 277 percent to USD 44.4 million and media software sales dropped 1 percent to USD 27.0 million.

Overall profits were USD 40 million, which is a slight increase on Q4 2006 and a big increase on Q1 2006 when the company posted USD 24.9 million.

CEO Rob Glaser said the company was "off to an excellent start" in 2007.

"Our first quarter results reflect good progress on several fronts, including successfully integrating WiderThan into Real, continued games innovation, and strengthening our music subscription business and the Rhapsody.com web experience," he added.