Electronic Game Card, Inc. to Introduce POKEN at The Sundance Film Festival 2010

IRVINE, Calif. and LONDON, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Electronic Game Card, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: EGMI) ("EGC"), announced today that it is set to launch into the North American market a new product platform, POKEN at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, January 21 -31.  Through its association with Poken Holding AG ("POKEN"), a privately held Swiss company that developed the next generation RF technology-based social network platform, EGC will be launching a new website, www.ShopPOKEN.com and blog, www.ThePokenSCENE.wordpress.com to support its endeavor.  EGC currently owns 3.45% of POKEN and holds one of the six seats on the POKEN Board of Directors.

POKEN™ is a technology that can be embedded into small handheld devices, available in several fun and practical connecting USB form factors (pokenSPARK™, pokenPULSE™), that bridges the online social networking phenomenon with the physical world via patented RF technology.  Within less than a second, data is transferred between POKEN devices and is captured as an encrypted and date-stamped event.  These connections are backed up at the pokenHUB™ (www.Poken.com), an online suite of contact and event management tools, that works online with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, Flickr, Hi5, Bebo, Linked-In, RSS Feeds (up to 45 social network websites), and most other online community or fan base sites, including some customer loyalty rewards programs.  In addition, the information gathered can feed directly into personal computer databases such as Microsoft Outlook. Since the launch of the first product in January 2009, POKEN has built a vast and rapidly expanding community, mainly through viral sales.

"Opportunities like this come along very seldom.  We believe POKEN takes the online-world in a powerful direction, integrating the Internet with everyday real-world life style.  This device permits a user to transfer contact details, files, and other forms of information, in the real-world, by merely touching two POKEN'S together. Unlike paper business cards, you can change your information, manage contacts and export them anytime, anywhere. Our company believes POKEN is truly a next generation platform and we are eager to introduce POKEN to North America," commented Kevin Donovan, co-chairman and CEO of EGC.  "Over the past year, POKEN has won numerous awards and established itself as the de-facto standard among tech enthusiasts within the social networking arena. Now, with a prominent debut at Sundance, we are establishing high profile mass market visibility."

In order to gain exposure and adoption among U.S. influencers who hold sway over mass-market trends, EGC has selected the Sundance Film Festival to begin seeding POKEN's among the country's entertainment and media elites. Attended by celebrities, taste-makers, movers and shakers in the entertainment, media and marketing industries, Sundance has evolved from a small film festival into a leading event to launch new products to achieve mass market visibility.  Major brands have flocked to become sponsors of the festival. In 2010, Sundance sponsors include HP, Microsoft, American Express, Bing, Sony, Stella Artois and others. In addition to reaching influential taste-makers, POKEN will benefit from a positive association with these premier American and global brands.

Stephane Doutriaux, founder and CEO of POKEN, commented, "POKEN was launched just a year ago and is creating quite a buzz.  We have received a number of internationally prestigious awards from concept to technology and have been given notable press coverage in various markets overseas. With no marketing in 2009, we attracted over 50 distribution partners outside the U.S. and have spread POKEN'S to over 40 countries with particular traction in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Spain.   As of today, there is limited awareness in the North American market. We look forward to the marketing muscle of Kevin Donovan and EGC to deliver the viral effect that has proven to be a success in Europe and Japan."  

EGC will be showcasing POKEN at two significant events at Sundance, Fred Segal Fun Village at the Yard Gifting Suite and the Main Street Carpet Lounge & Green Suite Sponsored by Bravo TV.  As in previous years, Village at the Yard will continue to serve as a destination for brands to showcase and introduce original concepts. The Fred Segal Fun suite is an official sanctioned hospitality suite of Sundance 2010 and is the largest suite  at the festival with an invite-only event including celebrities, filmmakers, media and industry VIPS.  Commenting on POKEN, Jackie Brander, owner of Fred Segal Fun & Partner of Village At The Yard said, "I was so excited to have POKEN at our Fred Segal Fun gifting lounge.  I have the Rapstar POKEN myself and love it.  I can't wait to see who I will be connecting with this year at Sundance with my new POKEN."

The "Main Event Red Carpet Lounge and Green Suite" features daytime and nighttime events with a comprehensive brand marketing plan including celebrity product placement and promotion, media exposure and branding where each celebrity is given a private tour through the gifting suite which ensures new products one on one interactions with celebrities, media influencers, socialites and tastemakers.  Galina Sobolev, Co-founder of Single and Fashion Expert from Bravo's Hit Show, "Launch My Line" stated, "My approach in life has been to be a leader and trendsetter.  I love that POKEN has this cutting edge technology that doubles as a trendy fashion accessory.  It is the modern approach to functional fashion. I have profiles on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, A Small World and many more and have always believed in the power of networking and social media. This is going to be a huge breakthrough.  As they say on Bravo, watch what happens!"

About Electronic Game Card, Inc.

Electronic Game Card, Inc., (OTCBB: EGMI), develops, produces and markets innovative games to the promotional industry worldwide, toys and games, casinos and lottery.  The Company's lead product is the EGC Electronic GameCard™, a unique credit card-sized pocket game combining patent and patent-pending proprietary technology of interactive capability with "instant win" excitement.  The EGC Electronic GameCard™, Know-it-All QuizCard™, iQuizCard™, and ePLAYCards for Education are completely customizable and can be programmed to suit a variety of gaming, promotions, and education applications including skinned to popular licensed intellectual property brands in a variety of popular cultures in sports, music, movies, entertainment, fashion, history, geography, and many other genres.

EGMI's client base is across the $100 billion global market of, sales promotion, education, gaming and casinos, Indian gaming and state and national lotteries markets. EGMI develops sales and marketing relationships with agents and distributors globally and currently has agents and distributors in North America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, South Africa Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  For further information please visit www.electronicgamecard.com and www.thepokenscene.wordpress.com

About POKEN

POKEN is the acknowledged market leader in social media networking hardware devices. its companion site www.poken.com gives a 360 degree experience of people connecting, sharing and staying in touch on and offline. Founded in December 2007 and headquartered in Lausanne (Switzerland) with partners around the globe, the mission of POKEN, its products, employees, fans and users is to bring people together in their own way and on their own terms.

POKEN S.A., 22 Rue du Pont, 1003 Lausanne, Switzerland.  For further information please visit www.Poken.com  

About Sundance

The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film, held each January in and around Park City, Utah.  Presenting approximately 120 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in seven distinct categories and between 60 and 80 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has introduced American audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including Sex Lies and Videotape, Maria Full of Grace, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Trouble the Water and Central Station.  

This news release contains disclosures that are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "continue," "efforts," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "strategy," "will," "goal," "target," "prospects," "potential," "optimistic," "confident," "likely," "probable" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations or beliefs and include, but are not limited to, statements about maximizing gross profit dollars, the Company's potential to achieve top and bottom line growth. Statements of historical fact also may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. We caution that these statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others: the company's ability to meet its obligations under existing and anticipated contractual obligations; the company's ability to develop, market, sell and distribute desirable applications, products and services and to protect its intellectual property; the ability and willingness of third-party manufacturers to timely and cost-effectively fulfill orders from the company; the ability of the company's customers to pay and the timeliness of such payments, particularly during recessionary periods; the company' ability to obtain financing as and when needed; changes in consumer demands and preferences; the company's ability to attract and retain management and employees with appropriate skills and expertise; the impact of changes in market, legal and regulatory conditions and in the applicable business environment, including actions of competitors; and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the company with regulatory authorities, including without limitation, EGC's annual report on Form 10-K for December 31, 2008 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any other filings that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements.  The company undertakes no obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Quick Links

www.electronicgamecard.com

www.shoppoken.com

www.thepokenscene.wordpress.com
www.poken.com

SOURCE Electronic Game Card, Inc.