RealNetworks Inc. on Wednesday said it will bring its video game software to several foreign markets, and touted the relatively new service as a profitable business for the Internet audio and video pioneer.
Launched in the United States last May, RealArcade is a piece of free software that helps users organize video games on a personal computer and also acts as a platform for downloading free and fee-based games distributed by RealNetworks.
Although the English-language U.S. software and service can be accessed around the world, Real is launching RealArcade Web sites in six European languages, including Spanish, French and German, Andrew Wright, general manager of Real"s games division, said in an interview.
Real has also inked deals with four Internet firms -- Australia"s Telstra, Singapore"s StarHub, Europe"s Tiscali and Brazil"s RBS -- to distribute the RealArcade software through their services, Wright said.
Real is starting to promote RealArcade more widely, trying to ride a huge boom in the video game industry while aiming the product at casual gamers and women, who are often overlooked in the "hard core" world of TV-based consoles and graphically-charged PC games.
"It is a business now that is a profitable business. It is working for us and for consumers," Wright said. "We"ve had a ton of people purchase games and we"ve created a viable business."