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Talkie Teams with Conservation International, Sets out to Save the Environment One Facebook Gamer at a Time with Ecotopia

From L To R: Peter Seligmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Conservation International; Larry Bond, Talkie Chairman of the Board; Harrison Ford, Vice Chairman of Conservation International's Board of Directors; and Chris Swain, Founder and CEO of Talkie, meet in San Francisco on Friday, March 4, 2011, to discuss Conservation International's involvement with Ecotopia, Talkie's upcoming eco-friendly social game. A free-to-play game with a social conscience, Ecotopia advances the popular city-building game model by integrating story, villains, and user-generated video with philanthropy and real-world involvement. Ecotopia launches April 4 on the world's largest social network, Facebook. (Photo: Business Wire)

In this eco-friendly heroes-versus-villains Facebook adventure, Ecotopia players begin with a dirty, uninhabitable environment and must generate resources by completing immersive in-game missions. Resources are then used to develop a colorful and exciting sustainable city that players can customize to create their own utopia. Players can also connect with their Facebook friends, sending gifts to each other and visiting neighboring maps to perform helpful actions. In a feature new to social gaming, players will also be heavily rewarded for performing real-world acts of sustainability and incorporating them into their Ecotopia gaming experience.

Talkie is developing Ecotopia in association with Conservation International (CI), a global non-profit organization that leverages strategic partnerships to protect and sustainably manage nature for the long term benefit of people.

"As a passionate supporter of Conservation International's work, I am excited that Talkie and CI are collaborating on Ecotopia," said Harrison Ford, Vice Chairman of the organization's Board of Directors. "This game represents a refreshing new way to engage millions of people in addressing critical environmental issues and finding solutions that work for the well-being of humanity."

"Ecotopia creates awareness, engagement and activism," said Larry Bond, Chairman of Talkie. "For the first time, we can fundamentally change the rules on how philanthropic organizations can connect to the 300 million people that play casual games on Facebook each day. I can't wait for more people to learn how fun and easy protecting the environment can be through the broad reach and engaging play of Ecotopia on Facebook."

While progressing in the game, Ecotopia players will discover ever more about Conservation International and its initiatives, which support nature's ability to protect our climate, food, fresh water, health and cultural security. The non-governmental organization, which has staff and partners working in nearly 40 countries around the globe, is committed to preserving the contributions of all species on Earth, conserving healthy landscapes and seascapes, empowering local communities and promoting sustainable economic development.

"Working with Talkie to bring Ecotopia to Facebook provides us another way to create a personal connection to the public, whether it's an environmental crusader, an eco-conscious recycler, or equally important someone who has never really thought about their global impact," said Peter Seligmann, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Conservation International. "Talkie's new game will empower users to get excited about protecting nature and making environmentally-smart decisions in their everyday life."

Ecotopia will be free-to-play across a variety of social media platforms. The first version will launch on Facebook this spring.

"We founded Talkie to give the world the next great social gaming experience, while rewarding them for performing real-world acts that can potentially make a significant environmental difference," said Chris Swain, founder and CEO of Talkie, and a professor and research institute director at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media Division. The USC program is the top rated program in the country by the Princeton Review. "Working with Conservation International will allow us to launch with a game that is not only fun and immersive, but that lets players have a positive effect on the real world through gameplay. Ecotopia is more than a 'green' gaming application - it's a great game that also happens to encourage players to make a real difference both at home and, hopefully, on a global scale."

For more information on Ecotopia, please become a fan of the game's official Facebook page, or the Talkie official website.

About Talkie

Talkie is an independent studio creating a new breed of highly engaging cinematic, story-driven social games. Founded in 2010 by CEO Chris Swain, a gaming industry pioneer, professor at University of Southern California and co-founder of the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab at USC, Talkie's games feature state-of-the-art illustration and design and industry-leading gameplay mechanics designed to work across multiple social networks for a flexible, scalable gameplay experience. Talkie both creates its own games and licenses its technology platform to content owners worldwide, enabling the creation of branded social games based on original IP as well as existing entertainment properties. Talkie's first social game, the eco-friendly Ecotopia, will launch on April 4, 2011, on Facebook. For more information, please visit http://www.talkie.tv.

About Conservation International (CI)

Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity for the well-being of humanity. With headquarters in Washington, DC, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents. For more information, visit: www.conservation.org.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6636515&lang=en

Contacts for press only:
For Talkie:
Wonacott Communications, LLC
Miranda Gooding / Nathalie Nourian
310-477-2871, Ext. 672 / 674
mgooding@wonacottpr.com / nnourian@wonacottpr.com
or
For Conservation International:
Conservation International
Kim McCabe, Media Director
(w) +1 703-341-2546
(m) +1 202-203-9927
k.mccabe@conservation.org