This acquisition complements Red Mile's traditional PC and video game business and marks the Company's expansion into the rapidly growing casual game market. According to the Casual Games Association, online casual game revenue totaled $713 million in 2005 and is expected to reach roughly $1.6 billion by 2008. Jupiter Research estimates that there are 70 to 100 million casual gamers worldwide, representing a unique demographic weighted towards women and those over 25.
Founded in 2003 in British Columbia, Canada, Rover delivers premium casual games worldwide for use on Windows PC and PDAs. Rover has over 300 games available as direct-to-consumer downloads from its own site www.roveractive.com. Under Red Mile, Rover will also publish premium casual games through North America's largest retailers. As previously announced, Red Mile recently named Henry Price, former head of sales and marketing for casual games company Mumbo Jumbo, as Director of Sales.
"We are excited to expand our market opportunity by bringing the Rover digital distribution capabilities under the Red Mile umbrella, providing the launch pad for our casual game business," stated Chester Aldridge, Chairman and CEO of Red Mile. "Our efforts will also be backed by a direct-to-retail strategy, and we look forward to adding an additional revenue stream to our primary business of creating video game franchises."