SAN FRANCISCO, July 20, 2009 — iWin, Inc., a leading casual games distributor and publisher, announced the launch of its premium game category with the release of the long-awaited Jewel Quest Mysteries: Trail of the Midnight Heart. The new premium game category is based on iWin's fundamental belief that high-quality games should not be sold at bargain-basement prices at launch. After months of consumer and competitive research, iWin has determined that consumers are willing to pay a premium price for newly released, high-production, high-value games. This methodology of selling games is standard life cycle management that is employed across all other forms of entertainment content including music, books, movies and core games.
iWin's first premium game is Jewel Quest Mysteries: Trail of the Midnight Heart, which can be purchased exclusively at iWin.com for $19.99. Members of iWin's new membership program, Club iWin, can purchase the game for 2,000 iCoins, which is equivalent to $13.99.
"The original Jewel Quest Mysteries sold nearly 100,000 units at traditional retail for $19.99," mentions CJ Wolf, iWin's CEO. "This fact validates the idea that high-quality, branded games can capture a higher price point."
The first weekend of sales for Jewel Quest Mysteries: Trail of the Midnight Heart have wildly exceeded iWin's expectations and the game broke all sales records both in revenue and units sold. Despite the fact that Jewel Quest Mysteries: Trail of the Midnight Heart was released at a higher price point, it still sold 50% more units than the original with an average sales price of $14.75. Even with a higher average sales price, the conversion rate of 5.6% was significantly higher than the industry average.
About iWin, Inc.
iWin is a leading publisher and developer of online casual games for the mass market. The company operates iWin.com and offers over 800 download games, multiplayer games and ad-supported games provided entirely free to the end user. As a multi-platform publisher of casual games, iWin provides extensive resources, financing, marketing, and distribution services to independent game developers throughout the world. iWin received the most game nominations in 2007 by the Casual Games Association, making it the #1 casual game publisher of hit titles. Additionally, iWin's Jewel Quest II won the 2007 Zeeby for Best Puzzle Game of the Year. iWin has offices in San Francisco, Seattle and Kiev, Ukraine. Visit iWin at http://www.iwin.com.
iWin Press Contact:
Larissa McCleary
Tel. 415.348.7526
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