MURRIETA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Left Behind Games Inc. (OTCBB:LFBG), dba Inspired Media Entertainment, a leading publisher of Christian video games, announced that Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has now placed LFBG inventory in 85% of the 100 Walmart stores in the Dallas and Houston market areas where a product trial test is being conducted. Although the games were made available a week later than anticipated, they are now on the shelves in most of the test market stores. This has been confirmed first-hand by Inspired Media's Sales Representatives. Each participating store has received, or will receive, eight (8) games per title. The games are priced at $29.96 & $19.96 and are located among PC games in Walmart's Entertainment departments.
Troy Lyndon, CEO, says, "To enhance our marketing impact and increase sales, we have launched a 'Buy one from Walmart and get another FREE from us' campaign to 100,000 homes. Also, in an effort to promote the arrival of the games in Walmart stores, Inspired Media started on October 12th to send out letters of appeal to thousands of Texas-based church pastors, and will continue to do so over a 10-week campaign through Christmas. There is even more exciting marketing support planned to ensure positive results during this trial period. We are motivated to offer incentives for everyone to buy these games for themselves, their children and grandchildren, churches and home schools."
To take advantage of the special Walmart promotion, Inspired Media is encouraging everyone to find out more at www.inspiredmedia.com/walmart.
Christian products have gained popular acceptance in the music and book sections of retailers over recent years. For many years, Walmart has sold gospel music and both fictional and non-fictional Christian books, including the well-known Left Behind book series which has sold more than 65 million copies. Yet, there are few, if any, moral or Bible-based video game choices for youth and adults alike.
Now in a first step to fill this gap, Walmart is offering three of LFBG's PC video games to determine the response of consumers in the Texas trial area. The games include Keys to the Kingdom as well as the newest Left Behind and Charlie Church Mouse games. As our marketing efforts raise consumer awareness, we believe this pilot program will indicate a high level of interest in Christian based games.
The demographics in Texas make it an ideal testing ground for Left Behind PC Games where there are over 23,000 churches(1). Texas ranks first in the nation in the number of Evangelical Protestants (over 5 million), second in number of Mainline Protestants (over 1.7 million) and third in number of Catholics(2). There are almost 25 million residents in Texas(3), and Christians represent the greater portion of the 49%(2) who claim that they attend church or synagogue once a week(4).
Inspired Media Entertainment currently publishes six games including Tribulation Forces, the sequel to the original game LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces, known as the most widely distributed Christian PC game in history. The Company's LEFT BEHIND branded games are based upon the popular novel series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins which have sold millions of books in 30 languages worldwide. Inspired Media also offers three games under the Charlie Church Mouse brand, for ages 2-8 and Keys of the Kingdom for all ages.
Consumers interested in finding the nearest Walmart carrying the games can go to www.inspiredmedia.com/walmart.
(1) As listed in online yellowpages.com.
(2) From a 2006 Gallup survey reported in wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States
(3) According to Texas Dept. of state health services, it (the 2009 population) is 24,873,773. See wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_population_of_Texas_in_2009Wikipedia.com.
(4) As found online at www.texasalmanac.com/religion/
About Left Behind Games Inc.
Left Behind Games Inc., also known as Inspired Media Entertainment (www.inspiredmedia.com), has become one of the world's leading independent developers and publishers of quality interactive entertainment products that perpetuate positive values and appeal to mainstream and faith-based audiences. For samples for your church or school, you can go to www.inspiredmedia.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and may be identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," "will," or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for the Company's future business and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may vary materially from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including: our dependence on key management and product development personnel, and our ability to develop other profitable titles for current generation platforms, the timely release and significant market acceptance of our games, the ability to maintain acceptable pricing levels on our games, our reliance on a primary distribution service provider for a significant portion of our products, and our ability to raise capital if needed. Other important factors and information are contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, in the section entitled "Risk Factors," and the Company's other periodic filings with the SEC, which can be accessed via a link from www.inspiredmedia.com on our Investor Relations page. All forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary statements and apply only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.