May 27, 2009
Free Realms Surpasses Two Million
Player Mark
Tween and Teen Market Logs On:
Seventy-five Percent of Users Are Under 17 Years of Age; One-Third Are Female
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE)
today announced that more than two million unique users have registered for Free
Realms (www.FreeRealms.com),
the free-to-play, family-friendly online video game that launched on April 28,
2009. With 75% of its registrants under age 17 and 46% under 13, Free Realms has
managed to hit home with young players. In honor of this milestone, all current
players will receive a “party pack” bundle of in-game items to help celebrate!
“In less than a month, Free Realms
has captivated a core player base of tween and teen gamers, while also strongly
resonating with MMO gamers,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online
Entertainment. “We wanted to create a game to play with our families and are
excited to have hit the mark with our intended audience.”
Notably one of the fastest-growing
online worlds, Free Realms has established a favorable position with the female
demographic as well; nearly a third of the players are female.
In Free Realms, players are free to
do or be anything: Fight like a ninja, cook a tasty meal, raise a pet, battle
goblins, set out on epic quests or connect with friends through a safe, social
networking site. Also available is the Free Realms Trading Card Game: a
full-featured trading card game, playable both digitally within the Free Realms
online game and offline via physical card decks sold wherever you buy trading
cards. In the virtual marketplace, the Trading Card Game (TCG) packs are a sales
leader, as are pets, weapons, health potions and crazy clothes like a funky
Hawaiian shirt!
To support the initial release and
launch of Free Realms, nearly one million Station Cash game cards were made
available across five major retail chains. Free Realms players can pop into
their local Best Buy, Blockbuster, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven or Target to purchase
Station Cash cards, which are used to redeem Station Cash and buy virtual
goodies or upgrade to a Membership status in the game.
Free Realms is rated E10+ for
Everyone 10 and up with content descriptors of Crude Humor and Fantasy Violence.
To play Free Realms, visit:
http://www.FreeRealms.com.
