Pop-Up City Farm Planted in Bustling Canary Wharf Station – Alex James Launches ‘Be a Farm Hero’ Campaign from King

Survey Reveals a Massive 9 Out of 10 City Dwellers Want More Local City Farms

LONDON, April 9th 2014: – Britain, take a break, spring is in full swing and it’s time to bloom! The ‘Be a Farm Hero’ campaign, championing the benefits of embracing a bite-size piece of the country life to de-stress from the chaotic city living, was launched today with a pop-up farm experience set amongst the gleaming skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. Bringing the tranquility of the countryside to the city, the ‘Be a Farm Hero’ campaign is from Farm Heroes Saga, the new match-three game from King, the creators of the phenomenally successful Candy Crush Saga.

New research findings, commissioned by Farm Heroes Saga to celebrate the game’s launch, highlighted a large proportion of urban dwellers crave the country life to relax. In response to this,Farm Heroes Saga has teamed up with Alex James, Blur bassist turned farm owner, to launch a global campaign encouraging more city dwellers to ‘Be a Farm Hero’ and try a bite-sized portion of farming as a way of switching off from busy city living.

In London’s Canary Wharf, Alex James today laid the foundations of the ‘Be a Farm Hero’ campaign, encouraging city workers to roll-up their shirt sleeves, muck in and learn some simple steps to grow their own produce, even using their office desktop space to create their very own green area.

“I completely understand the lure of country life having made the switch from city living myself,” said Alex James. “The opportunity to grow your own fruit and veg shouldn’t be limited to those who live in the country. Farm Heroes Saga brings a taste of the country to the city. Urban farms are a fantastic escape from the concrete jungle and it’s been brilliant to raise a few smiles from the Suited and booted Up farm in Canary Wharf.’’

The Event

In the dedicated allotment space in the pop-up farm, the public were treated to live demonstrations, given top tips for sowing  their Cropsie seeds and learnt how easy it is to start growing, even if they don’t have a garden or windowsill. To show how growing can even work in the office space, a lucky few had their pen pots, mugs and filing trays given a special green makeover, filled with soil and seeds, to help brighten up their working day.

“Farm Heroes Saga is played by millions across the globe every day as a way to switch off  for a few minutes and have fun on their stressful city commutes” said Tommy Palm, Games Guru at King. “Always wanting to create moments of fun for our players and in response to this global research, we’re encouraging city dwellers to be Farm Heroes themselves.  It’s well known that tending to plants or vegetables can keep stress at bay and put a spring in your step, so, we’re bringing these key qualities of the game to life by encouraging urbanites to roll up their shirt sleeves and grow their own Cropsies after the well-loved characters in the game.”

Seed packets of carrots, strawberries and lettuce were handed out for people to join the campaign and start growing. At the pop-up farm it was not all grow, grow, grow, with pampering sessions on offer, including nail art with a farm-themed twist, professional therapists offering Shiatsu massages, and also a chance to meet selection of adorable farm yard animals for that authentic countryside experience – all in the middle of Canary Wharf.

Survey Results

The campaign comes off the back of a survey conducted by Farm Heroes Saga highlighting the extent to which people feel deprived of greenery, boxed in by their concrete jungle. More than half (52.2%) of respondents felt that lack of green areas contributed to city living stress, whilst in the capital only a third of Londoner’s (33.9%) claimed to have access to a garden, compared to over 40% nationally.

The Farm Heroes Saga team is also educating people about the opportunities to tend to their plants on their desk as the survey showed that almost half of Londoner’s (45%) forget to take breaks during their busy working days, compared to the national average of nearly one in four.

When it comes to de-stressing, nearly one third of people say that playing mobile games like Farm Heroes Saga and Candy Crush Saga helps them chill out, with a quarter saying that it gives them a brief escape from the real world.

King, the world’s leading casual games company and creator of global hit game Candy Crush Saga, recently launched Farm Heroes Saga on mobile and it’s now available to download for free on iOS and Android platforms.

To join the movement today and to ‘Be A Farm Hero’, head over to www.farmheroessaga.com for tips on how to grow your own produce and much more.

Additional findings from the UK and European survey included:

• A whopping 90.6% of people agreed there should be more community gardens, city farms and rooftop gardens in cities and urban areas.
•  Three quarters of people living in Paris (78%) and Madrid (73%) reported they found their city lives stressful, compared to 60.9% of Londoners.
• Almost half of Londoner’s (45%) in a national survey said they forgot to take breaks during the day because they are so busy, compared to the national average of nearly one in five (19%).
• Nearly one third of people say that playing mobile games helps them chill out.
• 1 in 5 (22%) of people who play mobile games said it gives them a little escape from the real world, jumping to over 40% of 16-24 year olds.
• 52.2% of respondents felt that lack of green areas contributed to city living stress.
• Only 1/3 of Londoners (33.9%) claimed to have access to a garden, compared to over 40% nationally.
• 45% of London’s forget to take breaks during their busy working days.

-ENDS-

About King:
King is the world’s leading casual games company, with more than 1 billion gameplays per day globally. King offers more than 180 exclusive games in 14 languages through mobile, Facebook and the websites www.royalgames.com”>www.royalgames.com. The company has offices around the world including in Barcelona, Berlin, Bucharest, London, Malta, Malmo, San Francisco and Stockholm. For more information, visit  http://about.king.com.

© 2014 King.com Ltd. King, the King crown logo, Farm Heroes Saga and Candy Crush Saga and related marks are trade marks of King.com Ltd and/or related entities

Research was carried out by Censuswide between 11^th March 2104 and 21^st March 2014. Sample sizes as follows:

Egg-stravaganza Across the Ages: Forge of Empires Celebrates Easter!

Hamburg, April 9, 2014. InnoGames just implemented this year’s Easter Event into its online strategy game Forge of Empires. The Easter Event 2014 introduces a range of new buildings and avatars – it will also be possible to upgrade special buildings from previous events to a players’ current age. In order to gather those items, players have to collect eggs, which are hidden all over a city’s decorations. InnoGames also released a video, explaining the feature.

Friendly bunnies dash around the game’s cities and hide eggs behind bushes, trees and other decorations. At the brand new Easter Trader, those eggs can be exchanged for special buildings, units and upgrades. Even blueprints for a unique great building are exclusively available during the Easter event! Players can help their friends and neighbours by hiding eggs in their cities too, allowing them to gather the valuable goods faster. The Event will run until April 23. Players can trade Easter Eggs until April 27.

Forge of Empires is a browser-based strategy game, where players, tasked with leading their own city to prosperity, can research new technologies, build impressive historical buildings and enlarge their sphere of influence through military campaigns and skillful dealing. The game has recently been awarded the title of “Best Browser Game 2013” at the German Computer Game Award (Deutscher Computerspielpreis).

With about 120 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and providers of online games. The Hamburg-based company has scored major successes with games such as Tribal Wars, The West and Grepolis

SQUARE ENIX TO DISTRIBUTE CI GAMES TITLES ENEMY FRONT AND LORDS OF THE FALLEN IN THE UK, IRELAND AND FRANCE 

Products expand Square Enix portfolio in UK, Ireland and French markets

London, UK: Square Enix Ltd. has today announced a distribution agreement with CI Games for the release of Enemy Front for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC and Lords of The Fallen for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Enemy Front is the first truly modern WW2 FPS, featuring stunning visuals and a richly interactive combat sandbox gameplay experience. Against the visceral backdrop of breathtaking European locales, the player takes on the role of American war correspondent Robert Hawkins, as he takes on – and covers – iconic missions from anti-Nazi Resistance operations in France, Nazi Germany, Norway, and Warsaw throughout WW2.

Lords of the Fallen is a challenging action RPG set in a medieval fantasy world ruled by a fallen god. Players must enter this ruined, ancient landscape to tackle the formidable Lords and Generals that command the fallen god’s demonic army. Lords of the Fallen puts emphasis on spectacular, tactical combat, rewarding skill and persistence for the dedicated action RPG fan.

“We’re delighted to continue our relationship with CI Games in France and expand our collaboration to include the UK and Ireland” said Justin Gaffney, General Manager – UK & Export, Square Enix LTD. “Square Enix has a long history of supporting external development, and these titles fit perfectly within our own catalogue of high quality products.”

Marek Tyminski, CEO, CI Games commented, “We have been very happy with how our partnership worked in France.  Giving the distribution to Square Enix for our next two key products in the UK, Irish and French markets is a very natural progression based on that success”

Enemy Front is due to release in June and Lords of the Fallen will be available this autumn, 2014.

About CI Games
CI Games is an international developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products with sales in more than 50 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, CI Games was established in 2002 and has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2007. CI Games’ global operations distinguish it as one of the most dynamic development companies in the industry, with development and distribution offices in Poland, United States, Germany & Canada. CI Games portfolio includes the best-selling Sniper: Ghost Warrior franchise with over 5 million copies sold worldwide. The company is currently working on a number of high-profile, multiplatform games including the World War II first-person shooter Enemy Front and the action RPG Lords of the Fallen. For more information on CI Games please visit:www.cigames.com

About Square Enix Ltd.
Square Enix Ltd., a part of the Square Enix Europe business unit, develops, publishes, distributes and licenses SQUARE ENIX, EIDOS and TAITO branded entertainment content in Europe and other PAL territories as part of the Square Enix Group. Square Enix Ltd. also has a global network of leading development studios such as IO Interactive™, Crystal Dynamics® and Eidos Montréal. The Square Enix Group boasts a valuable portfolio of intellectual property including: FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide, DRAGON QUEST® which has sold over 59 million units worldwide and TOMB RAIDER which has sold over 35 million units worldwide; and the legendary SPACE INVADERS. Square Enix Ltd. is a London-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.