SIEGE 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Atlanta, GA, October 3, 2009 – Getting Girls in the Game, a two-year mentoring and career development program for women getting into the digital entertainment industry, launches today at the Southern Interactive Entertainment & Game Expo (SIEGE) in Atlanta. The program provides educational opportunities, networking, and career guidance from seasoned professionals.

According to digital entertainment industry reports, more than 40 percent of gamers in the United States are female. However, barely 10 percent of the industry workforce is made up of women. The sales of video and computer games alone generated more than $9 billion dollars in 2007, while 41 percent of Americans purchased or planned to purchase one or more games in 2008.

However, in a thriving industry that has shown steady growth over the past decade, women — many of whom play computer or video games — are dramatically underrepresented. Project Directors Abigail Joslin and Andrew Greenberg started Getting Girls in the Game to help create a supportive community in the Atlanta area of peers and colleagues for women getting into the industry or in college.

“The Georgia Game Developers Association is very excited to see this program start; it is a much-needed initiative. Ultimately, it will help attract more women to an exciting industry, and improve the depth and caliber of games being produced,” said Clinton A. Lowe, President of the Georgia Game Developers Association.

Getting Girls in the Game has attracted a range of partners and supporters in the Atlanta area, including the GGDA, Holistic Design Inc, SillyMonkey LLC, the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing, Kaneva, Hi-Rez Studios, and others.

Members of the press are invited to meet with Getting Girls in the Game Directors and participants on Saturday, October 3 at 4.30 pm at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta-Perimeter NW in the Churchill Room.

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Contact:

Abigail Joslin, Joint Project Director Andrew Greenberg, Joint Project Director

Getting Girls in the Game Getting Girls in the Game

(617) 957-1149 (678) 612-4709

abby@abigailjoslin.com hdiandrew@aol.com