Facebook’s First Game on the Life of Jesus hits 1 MILLION players, launches in 4 new languages

‘JOURNEY OF JESUS: THE CALLING’ HITS 1 MILLION PLAYERS,LAUNCHES IN 4 NEW LANGUAGES
Facebook’s First Game on the Life of Jesus Crosses Cultural Borders With Language Options

LightsideGames.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Aug. 16, 2012 – Journey of Jesus: The Calling hit nationwide news in May as the first social game, on Facebook, on the life of Jesus. Now only three months later, the game announces 1 million players and a total of nine languages.

At its launch, Journey of Jesus featured English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German versions. Today users speaking Turkish, Indonesian, Russian, and Tagalog, can also play in their native tongues.

"Journey of Jesus is in more languages than a standard game because it’s more than a game. It’s meant to go more places and do more than games typically do,” Brent Dusing, Lightside Games founder and CEO said. “The importance of putting the message of Jesus in someone’s native language is critical. When I lived in Africa I learned that to speak to a person in his native language is to speak to his heart."

Users log onto Facebook, type Journey of Jesus: The Calling into the search bar, register and enter a world of high-quality graphics, music, game play and the latest social features. Each player begins a biblically accurate quest through New Testament times and the life of Jesus; hidden items and clues advance the player through the story.

The country of Turkey, with a population of 73.5 million ranks sixth among Facebook users with 30.8 million people on the site. By comparison, the United States, with 330 million people, claims the top spot with 155 million users. Whether a country is predominately Christian or not, Dusing sees interest.

“There’s a curiosity about Jesus,” Dusing said. “People from all different nations and creeds want to know more about Him. Journey of Jesus is a way for people to have fun and explore answers to questions they have about Jesus and his claims to be God.”

As it inaugurates new languages, Lightside will introduce a friendly competition to gain players. When a nation reaches a given number of users, every player in that country receives a reward item commemorating a prominent local Christian landmark. (With new online tools, players can track user growth by country and monitor progress toward the goal.)

Along with its first social game, Journey of Moses, which launched in 2011, Lightside Games now reach 3 million people worldwide. And it is grabbing the interest of Silicon Valley. Journey of Jesus: The Calling now counts investor Tim Draper of Draper Associates among its backers. Draper is known as one of the early investors in Skype, Tesla and Hotmail.

To learn more about Journey of Jesus: The Calling visit: www.LightsideGames.com