13:55 (BST), 08/09/2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Online games are joining forces with social networks to make a play for mass audiences. After fundamentally changing the internet and the ways people communicate and interact, the entire games industry is getting ready to be socialized. This phenomenon will be explored in detail during the PICNIC Special 'Games go Social' on September 26 in Amsterdam. Is social gaming really the most powerful gaming revolution since the release of Pong?

Casual Games are already setting new records with one-third of people ages 6 to 44 having played them, according to market researcher The NPD Group. With Facebook and MySpace battling over the position of the most popular social network (and Facebook proclaiming itself as the winner du jour), game developers have discovered a new friend, flirting with the millions of users that MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, Hyves and the likes have to offer. This is the theme of Games go Social on September 26 in Amsterdam, a full day event probing the synergies between games and communities, organized in collaboration with PICNIC, the undeniably most original, pioneering and unusual get-together for creatives.

The trend of 'Games go Social' is predicted to revolutionize the gaming and entertainment industry, fusing games, communities and networks by playing against your friends, family and people you know (or don’t). “Online social networks have become the aggregators of our digital life. With friends, we don’t just consume - we create, communicate and comment on stories, pictures, videoclips, music, applications – anything that has meaning to ourselves and others. And games are rapidly becoming the main catalyst for social interaction. A game played via a social network – or a game that embeds social features in its design – is something that can add value to a relationship long after you’ve run out of things to chat about. Games are an immensely powerful social lubricant and we’re very excited to see the games, media and social network industries joining forces to take this to the next level.” says Jeroen Elfferich, CEO of Ex Machina who together with PICNIC is organising the Games go Social event. And this is where it gets interesting. Because games fused with social communities turn the traditional console business on its head. Through viral distribution, these games can quickly reach out to anyone out there, creating overnight critical mass, as new consumers are being pulled into the game.

To explore this phenomenon, from its roots in multiplayer games and social networks to the latest cutting edge online games communities, Games go Social have invited a selected number of creatives, visionaries and industry leaders to share their visions, ideas, case-studies and strategies. With international luminaries from leading companies such as EA, Playfish, GoSupermodel.com, Spil Games, Social Gaming Network (SGN), MySpace and Hyves, Games go Social presents a jam-packed program of inspirational presentations and dynamic panel sessions.

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For more information on Games go Social, hosted on September 26 in Westergasfabriek Amsterdam, go to http://www.picnicnetwork.org/page/22325/en or contact Susanne Waldau-te Brake on +31 6 48 07 07 16 or by email susanne@exmachina.nl

Susanne Waldau-te Brake

Tel: +31 (0)20 617 26 85

GSM: +31 (0)6 48 07 07 16

Email: susanne@exmachina.nl

Web: www.exmachina.nl