SEGA Chooses PlaySpan for Monetization of MLB Manager Online

SAN FRANCISCO and SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PlaySpan Inc., a Visa company (NYSE: V) and a leader in monetization solutions for digital media, online games, mobile apps and social networks, today announced that its UltimatePay global monetization engine has been selected for SEGA of America, Inc.'s MLB Manager Online.

MLB Manager Online is a free-to-play, browser-based game in which players compete in online baseball leagues. Players build and manage a fantasy team based on active major league players—more than 900 players representing all 30 clubs. As team managers, players have the ability to scout, trade and train their professional squads and compete year-round against other teams in regular season tournaments and postseason championships. Players can buy SEGA Coins to further enhance their gameplay such as extending a player's contract or relocating a team.

"MLB Manager Online is one of the first sports games to bring in a micro transaction payment platform," said Haruki Satomi, VP of Digital Business of SEGA of America. "PlaySpan's UltimatePay engine allows us to enhance our players' experience and bring the real-world excitement of managing the majors to a large and passionate base of MLB fans."

UltimatePay provides more than 85 global payment methods including mobile, online bank transfer, and the pre-paid Ultimate Game Card. UltimatePay enables players to quickly and securely approve trades and manage transactions, while assembling a 'dream team' roster of today's elite players.

"MLB is one of the biggest sports licenses in the world and adding our trusted payments platform will help SEGA monetize users in top global markets around the world," said Karl Mehta, founder of PlaySpan.

SEGA joins a growing list of top developers and publishers that have partnered with PlaySpan to help monetize their games.

Users can register to play at: http://www.mlbmanageronline.com/en/

About PlaySpan Inc.

PlaySpan provides a global payments solution through its UltimatePay product, which enables users to make safe, convenient and friendly in-app purchases using over 85 global payment methods in 180 countries. UltimatePay includes PlaySpan's Ultimate Game Card, the #1 selling multi-game pre-paid card, available in more than 50,000 retail locations across North America.

The company has won 12 awards during past three years and was honored by 2010 OnMedia Top 100, and the AlwaysOn Global 250. Karl Mehta, won the 2010 Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of Year Award for Northern California, and was named to Business Insider's Digital 100 for 2010.

About SEGA of America, Inc.

SEGA of America, Inc. is the American Publishing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA's global website site is located at www.sega.com/us.

MLB Manager Online is licensed by MLB Advanced Media, L.P., the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, and the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved. ©MLBPA-Official Licensee, Major League Baseball Players Association. All company names and product names are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

© 2011 PlaySpan Inc., a Visa company. All rights reserved. PlaySpan is a registered trademark of PlaySpan Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.  Visa is a registered trademark of Visa Inc.  All other marks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE PlaySpan Inc.