RealNetworks Appoints John Barbour to Head Its Casual Games Business

RealNetworks Appoints John Barbour to Head Its Casual Games Business

SEATTLE, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital entertainment services company RealNetworks(R), Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK) today announced the appointment of John Barbour as President of its games division. Barbour joins Real after more than 20 years of success in consumer entertainment businesses, particularly in toys and games.

"John is an outstanding executive and we're thrilled to be adding him to our leadership team," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "John's sharp intellect, proven leadership skills, breadth of experience and consumer focus will serve us very well both in his new role and in his prospective future role as CEO of our stand-alone Games company."

Most recently, John was President of Toys "R" Us' $5.5 Billion U.S. operations and was a key member of the executive team that sold the company to Bain Capital, KKR and Vornado. Over a seven-year period, John led the successful turn-around of the Toys "R" Us U.S. and International divisions. Prior to that, John built and ran toysrus.com and led the rapid growth of the business into the #1 global online retailer of Toys and games.

Prior to joining Toys "R" Us, Barbour was a senior executive at Hasbro and a successful entrepreneur at OddzOn where he led the company through its acquisition by Hasbro.

"I am very excited to be joining Real and to be leading Real Games," said Mr. Barbour. "The Real Games Division is ideally positioned to play a leading role in this growing industry and to capitalize upon the exciting market potential."

ABOUT REALNETWORKS

RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system and mobile phone. Real created the streaming media category in 1995 and has continued to lead the market with pioneering products and services, including: RealPlayer(R), the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and recording of Internet video; the award-winning Rhapsody(R) digital music service, which delivers more than 1 billion songs per year; RealArcade(R), one of the largest casual games destinations on the Web; and a variety of mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers through leading wireless carriers around the world. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/company.

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Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to our ability to successfully spin-off our games business and the growth prospects of the games business. More information about potential risk factors that could affect RealNetworks' business and financial results is included in RealNetworks' annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent year ended December 31, and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and from time to time in other reports filed by RealNetworks with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which are in effect as of their respective dates.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: tdunning@real.com

Source: RealNetworks, Inc.

CONTACT: media, Bill Hankes, +1-206-892-6614, bhankes@real.com, or
financial, Marj Charlier, +1-206-892-6718, mcharlier@real.com, both of
RealNetworks, Inc.

Web site: http://www.realnetworks.com/
http://www.toysrus.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment