SAN FRANCISCO; March 9, 2010; IGN Entertainment, the #1 online destination in the world for gaming information, today announced a network-wide re-launch of its home and channel page display advertising units. Featuring pushdown functionality, unified skins and an HD-like view that runs across the width of the page, the new ad units eliminate the legacy combination of leaderboard and half-page ad to deliver distinct advantages that improve the ad experience for users and advertisers.

Square Enix, Inc., the videogames publisher behind the beloved FINAL FANTASY franchise, has signed on as the exclusive partner for IGN's roadblock re-launch, in conjunction with the highly-anticipated launch of its latest FINAL FANTASY installment, FINAL FANTASY XIII, which also launches today. As part of the partnership, Square Enix will be the first advertiser to run a campaign across the entire IGN Entertainment network, including flagship gaming information site IGN.com and leading men's lifestyle site AskMen.com. Today IGN will push its new cover story unit edge-to-edge, marking the second phase of a tiered redesign strategy for IGN.

"Advertising needs to be a seamless part of the user experience. Our goal is to give marketers the most optimal canvas for telling their brand story to one of the biggest and most engaged audience of 18-34 males on the Internet. Together with Square Enix and their much anticipated launch of FINAL FANTASY XIII, we're pushing the edges of surprise, engagement and interactivity as we deliver an ad experience worthy of the game," said Charlie Barrett, SVP of Sales, IGN Entertainment.

"To launch our thirteenth installment in the Final Fantasy franchise, we wanted to reach not only fans of the franchise, but all gamers who enjoy cinematic imagery and exciting gameplay; IGN is an excellent fit," said Ami Blaire, Vice President of Marketing, Square Enix, Inc.

IGN has seen tremendous growth since it launched the first phase of its redesign in December 2009, reporting 42% year-over-year traffic growth for IGN.com and more than 20 million unique users across the IGN network in the U.S. alone in February 2010, according to comScore Media Metrix. The first phase featured a major redesign of flagship site IGN.com: a new homepage cover story ("Hero") unit to showcase the news and videos of the day, a scrolling and continually refreshed Top Stories unit, one-click global navigation, a new logo and brand identity and more.

This update to the IGN cover story unit is the catalyst for its new home page ad units. Positioned to run along the top and just below the cover story unit, the new ad units are highly integrated in the new page structure and feature combinations that support a wide range of creative functionality. IGN's advertisers will benefit from the flexibility offered by the new ad package, including the opportunity to run the emerging OPA pushdown ad format. IGN's creative services team; its in-house, end-to-end custom rich media shop; will be able to leverage the new ad package to create innovative, integrated, interactive and impactful ad executions for advertisers.

About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment, a unit of News Corporation, is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 42.9 million unique users worldwide in January 2010, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others) is one of the Web's leading videogame information destinations. IGN also owns the leading male lifestyle website AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.

About Square Enix Co., Ltd. and Square Enix, Inc.

Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix), with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, develops, publishes and distributes entertainment content including interactive entertainment software and publications in Asia, North America, and Europe. Square Enix brings two of Japan's best-selling franchises; FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 92 million units worldwide, and DRAGON QUEST?, which has sold over 53 million units worldwide; under one roof. Square Enix is one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world and continues to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation.

Square Enix, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. with offices in Los Angeles, California. It handles operations in North America, including development, localization, marketing and publishing of Square Enix titles. More information on Square Enix can be found on the Internet at http://www.square-enix.com.


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