Grab.com Officially Launched

[tc_bobo]

Intermix Media Leverages Its Top Internet Properties to Create Community-Based Casual Games Site

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041004/nym050a_2.html

Casual Gamers Will Govern Grab.Com Games Site

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Intermix Media today announced the launch of Grab.com (http://www.grab.com/), a comprehensive community-based casual gaming site. Grab.com brings together the best features of Intermix's online properties and assets: the leagues and tournaments of Case's Ladder, the social networking of MySpace.com, the avatar technology of Superdudes, and the wide range of casual gaming community tools from Gamerival.com

Leveraging years of online gaming experience, a broad array of community support features and functions, and some of the best content from game developers and publishers, Grab.com intends on providing the broadest and most comprehensive community governed casual gaming service on the web.

Grab.com is a unique web-based casual gaming site that focuses on community and empowers players and independent developers to control the site's offering. Players are able to rate and review games and that feedback determines games' positions on Grab.com. Independent developers can serve up their best products and get instant feedback from players. Players who contribute positively to the community will receive a special "status" in the community which will allow them to play a more significant role in Grab.com's community management and direction. In this way, users govern the site and influence their gaming experience and community.

"Grab.com is a giant step forward for Intermix Media and its newly stated vision. Our objective is to continue to leverage our existing Internet properties and technologies, extensive consumer reach, and valuable 'learnings' to launch Internet properties that appeal to users and branded advertisers. We believe that Grab.com exemplifies this strategy with its next generation gaming experience and community focus," said Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of Intermix Media.

In addition to offering the most popular casual games from mainstream publishers and independent developers, Grab.com offers a wide array of innovative community-based features:

Online Games -- Grab.com offers a wide selection of both single and
multiplayer online games including casual gaming classics like 8-Ball
Pool, 9-Ball Pool, Hearts, Spades, Euchre, Cribbage, Reversi and
Bidwhist.

Friends List -- Grab.com allows users to add, remove and block other
users from their own friends list.

On Site Messaging System -- Users can click "send a message" in any other
user's profile to send them an on site message.

Karma Rating -- Users earn a Karma rating signifying their standing in
the Grab.com community. Fellow users in the community determine each
user's Karma.

Game Ratings & Reviews -- Users can rate and review every game on the
site. On the Indie Games channel user reviews determine how games are
ranked on the site.

Advanced Avatar Technology -- Users can select from thousands of digital
heads, bodies, icons and other assets to create an online persona.

Challenge Engine -- Users can send their friends challenges to beat their
high score.

Message Boards -- Users can post in message boards that cover various
game and community related topics.

Ladders -- Friends can challenge friends to contests or participate in
leagues and ladders through the industry-leading Case's Ladder platform.

Tournaments -- Users can win bragging rights and prizes playing in
regularly scheduled tournaments.

Independent Developer Zone (http://www.grab.com/devzone/) -- Independent developers can upload their
games and receive immediate feedback from the Grab.com community.


Grab.com offers both free and premium membership programs. Free users can enjoy Grab.com's comprehensive list of features that includes single and multiplayer online games, avatars, ladders, leagues and tournaments. Users who upgrade to premium can get access to enhanced profiles (more images and the ability to upload their own), more detailed statistics and premium community status icons. Grab.com offers two premium membership programs called "Gold" for $19.99/year or "Platinum" $9.99/month.

In addition to playing some of the most popular games on the Internet, casual gamers can also experience the newest in independently developed games. Grab.com allows independent developers to upload their own games directly to the site for gamers to play. Players can influence a game's development at every stage by voting, ranking and discussing the game with the developers and other players. Grab.com also provides independent developers with access to a large built-in gaming audience and gives game players access to hard-to-find, independently developed games in addition to their favorites.

ABOUT INTERMIX

Intermix Media is a leading Internet marketing and entertainment company that combines extensive consumer reach, innovative technologies, and superior content to provide advertisers, partners, and affiliates with unique access to the mass consumer market. Intermix Media's two operating units -- the Intermix Network and Alena -- forge direct relationships with hard-to-reach mainstream consumers through proprietary websites and specialized micromarketing.

The Intermix Network reaches over 17 million consumers each month through more than 50 websites grouped into three main categories: social networking, casual gaming and viral entertainment. MySpace.com is the Internet's leading social networking site, with nearly 4 million members and 800,000 user logins per day. Grab.com, Intermix's premier gaming site, is a comprehensive and self-governed casual gaming site. In addition, Intermix Network users share over 500,000 pieces of content per day making it one of the most shared content destinations on the Web.

***

If you have questions, let me know. :)

[princec]

So, what's the score with Webstart?

Cas :)

[tc_bobo]

Cas, it's on the list.

Can you point me a site that goes into specifics for WebStart?

Thanks!

[princec]

What sort of specifics? (Good place to start might be http://java.sun.com/products/javawebstart/)

Cas :)

[Pyabo]

Wow, another site where I can play the same tired old Flash games as everywhere else! Wheeeeee!

Thoroughly unexciting.

[Dan MacDonald]

So I take it your not in their target market?

[Pyabo]

So I take it your not in their target market?

They claim it's a "community-based" games site... I'm sorry, but you don't build community around single player games. That's just silly.

These are the same exact games available EVERYWHERE else. What exactly distinguishes this site? Oh, that's right... the COMMUNITY! So I can see a little avatar when I'm busy playing Gold Digger.

What do you think is their target market?

[Pyabo]

OK, I realize now that I'm sounding really grumpy in my posts. I apologize... here is some more constructive criticism:

First off... you've got the nugget of a really good idea here, one I think could really take off... something I've thought about myself. But your initial execution leaves quite a bit to be desired. If you're going to claim to have a community-based gaming site, then you've got have GAMES that foster that community. I can see that you've got that in mind, with the developer zone trying to pull in new games... but right now I'm left with a poor first impression. What is going to pull me back in?

If I was doing a site like this (maybe I should say WHEN), I would definitely focus on exclusive content instead of rehashing old stuff. And *every* game would either be multiplayer or tie into the multiplayer aspect in more than just a high score table.

Anyway... just my two cents. I hope you didn't take offense to my tone earlier.

[maksum]

They claim it's a "community-based" games site... I'm sorry, but you don't build community around single player games. That's just silly.

These are the same exact games available EVERYWHERE else. What exactly distinguishes this site? Oh, that's right... the COMMUNITY! So I can see a little avatar when I'm busy playing Gold Digger.


In their defense, I have received some great feedback on my game from people rating it and writing reviews. I have actually jumped into my own "game room" and chatted with people in real time as they play my game. It was wonderful to have them tell me what they thought as they were right there playing it. I have not experienced anything else like that anywhere else.

So to each his own, but I have been impressed and feel that it is helping me further progress as a developer. It's been really great (and certainly not silly) to connect to players of my game. On top of that, I have received a great increase in visits to my site, and 2 or 3 people are signing up for my newsletter every single day... and I don't even have a product to sell yet.

This is just my experience, and my opinion thus far of grab.com

Mike

[Pyabo]

So to each his own, but I have been impressed and feel that it is helping me further progress as a developer. It's been really great (and certainly not silly) to connect to players of my game. On top of that, I have received a great increase in visits to my site, and 2 or 3 people are signing up for my newsletter every single day... and I don't even have a product to sell yet.


OK, this is cool. Noted.

[Jack Norton]

Well I agree partly with Pyabo.

I strongly believe that a big site that leave space to some so called "niches" could have much more success than the standard "realarcade-clone" :)

I got this feedback from a customer just yesterday:
"I was happy to finally find a site with simulation games, I searched over 50 other sites but they had the same casual games everywhere"

Well, of course just ONE comment doesn't mean anything at all... but if I was starting a business (like a game portal site), I'd try to go where there's LESS competition, and not where there's already lot of it :D

Just my 2 cents...

[princec]

Yeah, they'd never get anywhere with my games I don't think.

Cas :)

[tc_bobo]

Monday was the official launch and it's a long-term commitment for the company.

We realize you can't please everyone, yet we do have a gameplan. The site will be much deeper a year from now as improvements and additions continue every day.

I appreciate your comment Pyabo - I sent them to the team. Whether good comments or constructive criticism, I appreciate hearing them.

Take Care!

[Sillysoft]

Well, of course just ONE comment doesn't mean anything at all...It is accepted thinking in most industries that for every 1 person who sends you feedback there are about 100 more people out there who feel the same way but just haven't bothered to get in touch. It might be a little less drastic online where contacting is easier, but there is still definitely a multiplier.