RealNetworks Delays Game Spin-Off Plans As Division Grows 19%

Despite claims made earlier this year, multimedia company RealNetworks has pushed back its plans to spin off its Real Games division into a separate entity -- though the intent remains as a long-term goal. Citing "the macro economic environment and current capital-markets disarray," Real moved the spin-off plans out of 2008, and gave no updated target deadline. In the third quarter, the games division, which distributes PC casual titles as well as developing its own, saw its revenue grow 19 percent year-over-year to $34.2 million, largely due to recently-acquired digital distributor Trymedia. During the same period, RealNetworks overall lost $4.5 million on revenues of $152 million. Real Games saw the most significant growth among the parent company's various media groups. For the first time, the casual-oriented game company is also moving into console publishing, with NinjaBee's Boingz slated for WiiWare. "It remains our long-term strategy to turn our games business into a separate company with its own capital structure," the company said in a statement today. "We continue to believe that the casual games category is a strong and vibrant business with great growth potential, and we remain very optimistic about the future of our games business."