ZDNet's GameSpot and videogames.com Internet Audience Reach Outpaces Core Competitors
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 1999--ZDNet (NYSE:ZDZ - news) today announced that GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com), the flagship site on its popular gaming channel, posted a higher reach of the internet audience than any of its core competitors. According to Media Metrix'(a) most recent Audience Ratings Report, GameSpot.com had a reach of 2.1 in March, or an estimated 2.1% of the U.S. web audience, more than any of the sites primary competitors: happypuppy.com, gamecenter.com, IGN.com, and gamesdomain.com. Reach is defined by Media Metrix as the total percent of Internet users in the U.S. who visited a site within the given month, reach is unduplicated (i.e. each visitor is counted only once).
''The success of GameSpot underscores our belief that the Internet is a top information and entertainment destination for hardcore gamers and newcomers alike,'' stated Jonathan Epstein, president of ZDNet's GameSpot and videogames.com Web sites. ''We attribute this success to our ability to provide our readers high quality, authoritative editorial content that's timely, intuitively organized and free.''
The March Media Metrix reach numbers also showed that videogames.com, part of ZDNet's GameSpot group, had greater reach than other console gaming news and information sites: Game-Revolution.com and Gamepro.com. That month, videogames.com had a Media Metrix reach of .7, capturing .7 percent of the U.S. web audience.
GameSpot and videogames.com launched in 1996, with the goal of providing high-quality editorial content that would engage both the hardcore and casual gamer. GameSpot has been awarded the New Media Invision Award for Best Online Publication. In addition it is a two-time Webby Award finalist and a past People's Choice winner for Best Games Site, honors reflecting GameSpot's high standing within the gaming community.
GameSpot has forged strategic alliances with some of the biggest names on the Web. Yahoo, MSN, Infoseek Corporation's Go Network, Amazon.com, and Heat.net are some of the Internet heavyweights that have formed partnerships to harness GameSpot's leadership. These companies license editorial content from GameSpot and videogames.com for use on their own sites.
About ZDNet
GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com) and videogames.com (http://www.videogames.com) are leaders among PC and video gaming sites and form the foundation of the ZDNet gaming channel. Based in San Francisco, ZDNet (NYSE:ZDZ - news) develops and maintains the ZDNet Web site (http://www.zdnet.com), a leading source for technology and Internet content and commerce. By combining groundbreaking, interactive technology with editorial from its own award-winning editorial team and from Ziff-Davis' worldwide network of journalists, ZDNet produces original, compelling content and communities of common interests in technology. ZDNet is consistently ranked by Media Metrix as the number-one Web site in the News, Information and Entertainment category. ZDNet is a division of Ziff-Davis Inc.
(a) Source: Media Metrix World Wide Web Audience Ratings for March 1999 (Home/Work usage).
Note to Editors: Additional information is available upon request. Please contact Suzanne Browne (suzanne@gamespot.com) at 415-701-2759.
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Contact:
GameSpot / ZDNet a division of Ziff-Davis Inc.
Suzanne Browne, 415/701-2759
E-mail: suzanne@gamespot.com
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