Digital River Adds Encore Games to its Online Sales Network
MINNEAPOLIS, May 18, 2005-- Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRIV), a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing, today announced it has signed an e-commerce agreement with Encore Software, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation and a leading interactive publisher in the PC CD-ROM market. Through Digital River’s Sales Network, Encore is offering play-for-free and buy-now versions of select software titles, including a leading brand in casual gaming, the Hoyle® software. As a result of this agreement, these PC games now are available through more than one thousand online retail, content and portal sites in Digital River’s Sales Network, including Circuit City, PC World and Staples.
“We are pleased to add Encore’s gaming titles to our downloadable software catalog,” said Tom Venable, Digital River’s senior vice president of retail sales. “Our end goal ultimately is to generate increased product exposure and new revenue opportunities for our software clients by leveraging the affiliate relationships within our Sales Network to market our digital catalog in as many online venues as possible. This becomes a very important value add for our clients, because it is a task that would be difficult and cost prohibitive for them to accomplish on their own.”
To help protect Encore’s license rights, Digital River is wrapping the games it delivers through its Sales Network with its SoftwarePassport™ technology, a digital rights management solution. Digital River is providing protected downloadable versions of Encore’s successful line of Hoyle® casual games, including its Poker Series, Card Games (2005), Casino (2004), Casino 3D and its recently released Blackjack as well as the company’s Chicken Hunter and Country Varmint products. SoftwarePassport is designed to help publishers not only protect their software, but also market, sell, distribute and track their digital assets across untapped, global online markets.
“We are excited to be part of Digital River’s Sales Network,” said Richard Lowenthal, Encore’s vice president of licensing and business development. “The network offers us a rich resource for tapping new online marketing and sales opportunities and the potential to reach more customers than ever before.”
About Encore, Inc.
Based in Los Angeles, California, Encore is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVR), and a leading interactive publisher in the PC CD-ROM market. As a result of strategic relationships, the company publishes a complete range of productivity, utility, education and game titles.
Publishing brands include Hoyle®, Marine Aquarium, Family Tree Maker®, Transparent Language®, 3D Home Architect® and Advantage; as well as the Riverdeep family of brands, including The Print Shop®, PrintMaster®, ZoneAlarm®, Reader Rabbit®, Mavis Beacon® and ClickArt®.
Navarre is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based publisher and distributor of a broad range of home entertainment and multimedia software products. For more information on Navarre Corporation, visit www.navarre.com.
About Digital River, Inc.
Digital River, Inc., a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing, builds and manages online businesses for more than 40,000 software publishers, manufacturers, distributors and online retailers. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The company’s comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud prevention, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.
Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in major U.S. and European cities. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call 952-253-1234.
Digital River is a registered trademark of Digital River, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.
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