New “Blended Reality” Game for Kids Incorporates RC Robots with Online Gaming, Adds Virtual Items for Robot Training Advancement

New York, September 21, 2011 – Live Gamer (www.livegamer.com), the world’s first combined digital commerce and advertising platform for the interactive entertainment industry, announced today that it has been selected by iloveRobots to drive microtransactions and the virtual economy for Mechaverse™, the “blended reality” world for Mechatars™.

Designed for kids age six and up, the new toy line combines robotics, online gaming and remote controlled (RC) toys.  Players train their Mechatars in order to advance in the game – the more they play with and train their robot on and offline, the more weapons, skills and abilities their Mechatar earns. Live Gamer will manage the virtual items, currency and badges within the Mechaverse, enabling players to unlock items in the store based on badges earned in battles played online and offline.

“The response to the Mechatars toy line and the integrated online game has exceeded our expectations,” said Martin Hitch, CEO, Bossa Nova Robotics, parent company of iloveRobots. “By combining online and offline play, the experience of playing with and training Mechatars is a truly interactive experience. Live Gamer’s Elements platform powers virtual items and the in-world storefront for the Mechaverse virtual world – an integral part of the Mechatars training experience.”

“iloveRobots needed an advanced virtual items management solution to tie together the online and offline Mechatar experience,” said Andrew Schneider, President and Co-Founder for Live Gamer. “Elements lets the Mechaverse come alive and enables the advancement of Mechatars through training, badges and advanced items, while providing iloveRobots with valuable data to help refine the online and offline experience.”

Mechatars are available now at major retailers nationwide and at www.iloveRobots.com (MSRP $39.99). Kids can visit and begin leveling up their virtual Mechatar for free at www.mechatars.com. To learn more about Live Gamer and its virtual items management solutions, visit www.livegamer.com.

About Live Gamer

Live Gamer (www.livegamer.com) is the world’s first combined digital commerce and advertising platform. With an advanced microtransaction and virtual economy engine, global payment gateways, worldwide ad network and video incentive advertising platform, Live Gamer helps online entertainment companies drive maximize revenue from their content, and connects advertisers to a network of over 48 million users. Live Gamer’s technology has been adopted by leading publishers in gaming, entertainment and social including Facebook, Electronic Arts, Take 2, Sony Online, Namco Networks, REAL Networks and THQ.  Advertisers on the Live Gamer Media network include Blizzard, KFC, Best Buy and Sony Computer Entertainment. For more information on Live Gamer and its Elements, Ad Elements, and gamerDNA media services, please visit www.livegamer.com.

About iloveRobots

iloveRobots is a consumer robotics company known for their dynamic and interactive toys. The company’s products leverage some of the most innovative technologies to create engaging and long-lasting play experiences for today’s tech-savvy kids. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, iloveRobots is a spin-off of the Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. For more information about iloveRobots and its products, please visit www.iloveRobots.com.

Europe is a key market for game developers. However, due to the difficulties in reaching the many individual markets, European customers have been largely underserved. One major challenge is understanding the diverse payment options for digital content and how these options vary by country. The content providers that understand and tackle payment issues country-by-country are the ones likely to be most successful in Europe.

Live Gamer GDC Session: Beyond Credit: Localized payment strategies for a global business

During this session, key findings will be shared that highlight which payment methods drive the most revenue in Europe for online game publishers. Best practices, success and failures and how to best set up a global-local payments strategy will be discussed.

When: Thursday March 3^rd

Where: Moscone Center 1:30pm PT (RM 309)

Presented by David Cole, DFC Intelligence, Analyst

Moderator: Jeremy Miller, DFC Intelligence, Analyst

Panelists: Nima Pourshasb, Live Gamer, VP Corporate Development

Carsten van Husen, Gameforge 4D, CEO

Ralf Wenzel, Skrill Holdings, COO

Linus Menden, Big Point, Head of Finance

http://schedule.gdconf.com/session/12471

We are very pleased to announce that Live Gamer’s VP of Business Development and Account Management, Rika Nakazawa will kick off the 2011 PC Gamng Alliance Speaker Series.

State of the Virtual Goods Industry

Rika Nakazawa, VP Business Development and Account Management, Live Gamer
March 1, 2011  4:00 – 5:30 PM

Capcom 800 Concar Drive, Suite 300, San Mateo, CA 94402

Abstract:  Presentation on an overview of the virtual goods industry, the latest statistics and projections, monetization models, case studies of successes and failures and the blurring of lines between games, digital entertainment and education.

Join Live Gamer’s Co-founder and CEO, Mitch Davis at the Business Insider’s IGNITION Event as he discusses the impact of Farmville and other casual games on housewives.

3:35pm – December 2, 2010
Time Warner Center, NYC

Join Live Gamer’s Vice President, Corporate Development, Nima Pourshasb at Social Gaming Summit East.  He will address current trends and hot topics for monetizing user fan bases of interactive and digital entertainment.

Speaker: Nima Pourshasb

Monetizing Interactive and Digital Entertainment

12/1/2010 – 9:40am

Interested in a career at the forefront of the gaming and entertainment industry?
Check out Live Gamer’s career opportunities!

About Live Gamer

Live Gamer provides a total commerce solution for global micro-transaction-based businesses. Spanning online games, digital entertainment, and social networks, Live Gamer’s advanced offering goes beyond billing to drive core business metrics and optimize new transaction-based revenue streams. Combining its micro-transaction platform, catalog management, storefronts, merchandising and anti-fraud solutions, scalable publisher support and international payment gateways, Live Gamer’s technology has been adopted by leading publishers in gaming, social and entertainment including Electronic Arts, Sony Online Entertainment, CCR, THQ and Real Networks, supporting nearly 100 million users in 23 countries. Headquartered in New York, NY our rapidly growing company also has its engineering hub in Palo Alto, California and offices in Seoul, Korea. To find out more about Live Gamer please visit our website www.livegamer.com

No agency solicitations, please.

Join Live Gamer’s co-founder and president, Andrew Schneider at Digital Hollywood Fall on October 19th as he joins an exciting panel focused on the challenges and innovations in online games with massive communities and virtual economies.

Below are the full event details

Tuesday, October 19th
SuperSessions
9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Track III: HGmz-5, DMny-2, APPs-4

Innovation in Games, Game Networks and Social Gaming – Massive User Communities and Commerce

As the platforms become more robust, as broadband, mobile, social media and TV provide greater consumer interactive flexibility, games as a product, as a destination, as a network or community and as a force in commerce grows. The growing power of the network, the relationship between the technology and the consumer, is opening the door to an entirely new and more complex set of tools in designing a multi-layered gaming consumer experience. From the explosion in casual gaming to the dedicated hardcore gamer, the power of the network is redefining games and user engagement which is ultimately revolutionizing the bottom line of the industry.
Don Daglow, President, Interactive Entertainment
Jesse Redniss, Vice President of Digital, USA Network, division of NBC Universal
Brad Foxhoven, co-founder & CMO, Ogmento
Andrew Schneider, Co-founder & President, LiveGamer
Nishad Pai, Manager, Business Development, Entertainment Group, Google
Mike Vorhaus, President, Magid Advisors, Frank N. Magid Associates, Moderator
Read Full Speaker Bios

THQ’s Company of Heroes Online marketplace is now live! This is the first of many titles THQ will implement Live Gamer Elements micro-transaction platform to monetize their virtual economies. Users of the game can start playing for free and then purchase COHO Cash to spend on virtual items for use in-game.

Check out screen shots of their virtual items store below and visit http://www.companyofheroes.com/ to start playing the game today!

THQ launched the Open Beta for Company of Heroes Online which utilizes the Live Gamer Elements platform. Play it today!

http://www.companyofheroes.com/

Check out Bill Grosso’s lecture on “Taking Virtual Economies to the Next Level” at Casual Connect 2010.

Lecture Description: Virtual goods are one of the most important monetization strategies for game developers today. In this presentation, Bill goes in depth on the metrics, measurements, and merchandising secrets that developers and executives alike need to understand and master in order to run a successful virtual economy. An author on economics and a well-known software engineer, Bill melds a rare combination of economic know-how and cutting-edge technology, resulting in monetizaton strategies deeply seeded in market-proven wisdom yet creatively adapted for next-generation gaming.

To watch the video and download presentation materials click here