Casual Gamers Get Ready to 'Party Down' with New Starz Original Comedy Series, Merscom and Starz Media to Co-Publish 'Party Down' and Sequel to 'Righteous Kill: The Game'

Casual Gamers Get Ready to 'Party Down' with New Starz Original Comedy Series, Merscom and Starz Media to Co-Publish 'Party Down' and Sequel to 'Righteous Kill: The Game'

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. and CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz Media and Merscom announced details of two new upcoming casual games, including "Righteous Kill II: Everyone Respects the Gun," a sequel to the hit hidden object game "Righteous Kill: The Game," based on the September 2008 movie from Overture Films starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, and a time management game based on the upcoming Starz original comedy series "Party Down."

Both free trials and full retail purchases of the "Party Down" casual game download will be available at a wide array of leading gaming and entertainment online portals and sites, including AOL Games, Big Fish Games, MSN Games, Oberon Games, RealArcade, Shockwave, Yahoo! Games and Starz.com at http://www.starz.com/originals/PartyDown/game.

More information and screen art for the "Party Down" game is available at http://partydowngame.com/.

"Party Down" is set to debut on Starz on March 20 at 10:30PM ET/PT, and available by for early sneak previews beginning March 13 with several cable and satellite providers, including Charter Communications, which will be hosting a free trial of the "Party Down" game on Charter.Net.

"Righteous Kill II: Everyone Respects the Gun," is expected to be available for trial and purchase in June 2009, commensurate with the exclusive pay TV premiere of "Righteous Kill" on Starz.

"We are very pleased to expand our gaming relationship with Starz and Overture Films through these two appealing titles," said Lloyd Melnick, chief customer officer at Merscom. "They are a fantastic media company with multiple access points to consumers through theatrical release, premium television, DVD and more. They fit very well with our strategy of creating casual games based on properties that our audience already loves."

"Casual gaming is an effective way at both finding new and appealing revenue opportunities across the larger Starz family of media concerns, as well as building name recognition and awareness for the properties themselves," said Marc DeBevoise, senior vice president digital media, business development & strategy for Starz. "Merscom has proven to be an effective reliable gaming partner for us and we are delighted to extend the relationship for the future enjoyment of gaming fans.

"Party Down," a new 10-episode comedy series from creator Rob Thomas ("Veronica Mars," "Cupid"), follows a Los Angeles catering team - a sextet of Hollywood wannabes stuck working for tips while hoping for their "big break." "Party Down" stars Ken Marino ("Veronica Mars," Role Models), Adam Scott ("Tell Me You Love Me," Step Brothers), Jane Lynch (Role Models, The 40 Year Old Virgin), Martin Starr (Knocked Up, "Freaks and Geeks), Ryan Hansen ("Veronica Mars," Friday the 13th (2009)) and Lizzy Caplan ("True Blood," Cloverfield, Mean Girls). Celebrity guest appearances include: Ed Begley, Jr., Marilu Henner, Joey Lauren Adams, Breckin Meyer, Rob Corddry and Steven Weber.

In the "Party Down" game, the player takes over a team at the famous Party Down catering company as you serve the elite of Hollywood. Serve food, DJ the dance floor and keep conversations going as you schmooze with the stars and try and build up your reputation while waiting for your big break.

Work your way through 8 unique parties at huge yachts, extravagant balls, and exclusive night clubs. Appease the masses by dealing with all the issues that come along with high maintenance Hollywood stars such as rampaging dogs, angry boyfriends, and the paparazzi. Keep your cool, and show them what you got and maybe you can become the next big thing.

In "Righteous Kill II: Everyone Respects the Gun," the player once again takes on the role of Erica Dean as she looks into a new rash of murders. The game is set about a year after the events of the first Poet Killer. A mob hitman is found dead, with a poem lying on his body. Erica Dean is called in to find the killer before things get out of hand. Work through multiple versions of varied locations looking for clues to the identity of the Poet Killer. Enlist the help of Mary Jacobs, a new forensic officer, to assist Erica in analyzing the items from the crime scenes. Hunt down the killer and put an end to his vigilante killings before it's too late.

About Merscom

Merscom is a global publisher of mass market computer and video games that distributes games through multiple channels, multiple platforms and multiple revenue models. Merscom's channels include retail distribution in the US and Europe, online sale through major portals worldwide and games on Microsoft(R) Xbox Live(R) Arcade. Merscom publishes games from leading casual game developers, including Media Art, Reflexive Entertainment, Gunnar Games and Elefun. Merscom produces entertaining products for gamers of all ages and guarantees all customers a great experience. For more information, visit www.merscom.com.

About Starz Media

Starz Media, LLC, is a programming production and distribution company operating worldwide. It includes the Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment brands. Its units create animated and live-action programming - including theatrical films - and programming created under contract for other media companies. It distributes that programming, and programming acquired from outside producers, through home video retailers, theaters, broadcasters, ad supported and premium television channels, and Internet and wireless video distributors in the US and internationally. Starz Media (www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 17.7 million and 31.7 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

   Contacts:    Eric Becker                              Lloyd Melnick   Starz Entertainment & Starz Media        Merscom   eric.becker@starz.com                    LSM@merscom.com   (720) 852-4065                           (919) 918-7741 x 237  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Starz, LLC; Merscom

CONTACT: Eric Becker of Starz Entertainment & Starz Media,
+1-720-852-4065, eric.becker@starz.com; or Lloyd Melnick of Merscom,
+1-919-918-7741, x 237, LSM@merscom.com

Web Site: http://merscom.com/
http://www.starz.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment