
PlayFirst®, Inc., a leading publisher of emotionally engaging interactive entertainment, revealed today that Diner Dash® 5: BOOM! is the first PC/Mac download game to integrate a viral Facebook® Connect power-up feature. For the first time ever, Diner Dash 5: BOOM!allows players of the download game to gift Flo’s SuperSneakers™ to their friends on Facebook®. The Super Sneakers give recipients a fun and distinct advantage in the fast-paced world of Diner Dash 5: BOOM!, which marks the fifth anniversary of the award-winning, best-selling Diner Dash series."Playing games is an incredibly popular activity on Facebook, and is even more fun when played with friends,” said Facebook Platform Manager Gareth Davis. “We look forward to PlayFirst’s Diner Dash 5: BOOM! with Facebook Connect, enabling players to connect with each other in a new social game experience.”Diner Dash 5: BOOM! launches today, February 18th, with a special commemorative edition for $19.99 on PlayFirst.com. The standard edition of Diner Dash 5: BOOM! will launch approximately two weeks later on PlayFirst.com for $6.99. Both versions are integrated with Facebook Connect.“Diner Dash 5: BOOM! marks the first new Diner Dash title in over two years, during which time social gaming has exploded,” said Mari Baker, president and chief executive officer of PlayFirst. “Integrating Facebook Connect enables customers to share their passion for Diner Dash with their friends and to get a cool power-up – Flo is practically a blur on the screen she is moving so fast!”In addition to Flo’s Super Sneakers, players can involve their friends on Facebook in their Diner Dash 5: BOOM! game play by sharing and comparing high scores and trophies they earn on Facebook. Diner Dash 5: BOOM! players can also connect with one another, exchange strategy tips and information, and proudly display pictures of their customized restaurant on their profile. Diner Dash aficionados can become an official Diner Dash Fan on Facebook (facebook.com/dinerdash) and follow Diner Dash and Flo on Twitter (twitter.com/PlayFirst).Since the debut of the franchise in 2004, the Diner Dash series has been downloaded more than 550 million times across the globe, making it one of the most popular and recognizable gaming franchises of all time. Diner Dash has been successful on multiple platforms including mobile, iPhone®, Xbox® Live Arcade, PlayStation® Network, WiiWare®, and Nintendo® DS. With the launch of Diner Dash 5: BOOM!, PlayFirst is marking its commitment to growing its presence in the social gaming space.About PlayFirstPlayFirst, a leading publisher of emotionally engaging interactive entertainment, is committed to providing compelling experiences that always delight customers. By creating engaging story worlds that capture the imagination, PlayFirst teams publish quality gaming experiences across popular platforms worldwide including PC, Mac, iPhone, Facebook, and consoles. The company's game portfolio includes world-renowned titles, such as Diner Dash, Wedding Dash®,Cooking Dash®, Chocolatier®, and Dream Chronicles®. PlayFirst games are available in major retailers and on more than 500 sites in 20 languages. For more information, visit www.playfirst.com.Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6184332&lang=en

Perishables buyers need access to enhanced information to survive economic uncertainty and market inefficiency.Commodity food items have experienced unprecedented price vol a tility in recent years. According to a 2009 survey conducted by GE Capital, commodity pricing is the greatest concern among CFOs of major food companies. Average prices across all commodity categories increased by more than 100% in 2008, with some items experiencing much higher inflation. While environmental factors have raised retail prices for specific products such as tomatoes, produce prices in general have leveled off and even slightly declined for many items in 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. According to the USDA, fresh fruit prices decreased 1.9% in February 2010 compared with the prior year and fresh vegetable prices decreased 1.4% for the same period.Yet there are signs of the economy recovering in recent months. As reported by The Food Institute, based in Elmwood Park, N.J., in March 2010 wholesale prices are up 2.5% over the previous month and 6.8% over the previous year, with the biggest jump coming from fresh fruits and vegetables. Despite these increases, retail prices for fresh produce only increased 2.9% in March 2010 over the previous year. These higher prices, combined with retailers’ and wholesalers’ inability to pass these costs on to consumers because of the recessionary pressures of weakened demand, have led to serious reductions in profitability which indicates that retailers are absorbing the increase in their wholesale prices. Uncontrollable factors such as weather and production levels will continue to alter product availability and pricing. These supply factors, along with more pronounced cuts in consumer spending, will continue to depress margins and wholesale price volatility will continue to be an area of scrutiny for food retailers. The inefficiency of the perishable market as it currently operates is trying for buyers, many of whom use phone, fax or email to purchase up to 300 items in more than 30 categories from more than 200 vendors, each using different formats and product descriptions. The typical fresh food order changes an average of four times from initial purchase order to final invoice. Prices can vary up to 26% for the same exact item during the same buying period across nationally recognized produce suppliers. The laborious and error-prone manual processes buyers currently employ, combined with a lack of coordination among the vast number of growers, suppliers, distributors, brokers and wholesalers, makes it nearly impossible for buying organizations to sufficiently understand the market-clearing price for produce commodities and thus minimize their cost of goods sold (COGS). In addition, the dispersion of growing regions and distribution center locations prevents buyers from aggregating their total perishable food demand, which reduces potential volume discounts and makes it difficult to implement efficient sourcing strategies.How can an organization successfully navigate the complex opportunity to reduce produce costs and manage the perishables supply chain more strategically in order to serve customers more profitably?There are several ways. For example, the FoodLink Online purchasing platform offers a “price discovery” tool that improves communication and transparency between buyers and their trading partners. Price discovery allows buyers to access price quotes for all perishable food items from local and nationally accredited vendors. Pricing information is presented in a buying guide according to the buyer’s preferred format, enabling side-by-side quotes from all suppliers for every commodity purchase. With approximately two-thirds of all produce items being commodities (green vegetables, stone fruits, grapes, etc.), the potential savings can make a substantial impact on margins. Extensive real-world experience among FoodLink Online customers has shown that using this tool can lead to a reduction in COGS of between 5% and 8%.FoodLink Online streamlines the entire order process, from purchase order creation to order change notifications to Advanced Ship Notice (ASN) reconciliation—leading to invoice match rates on average of 95% or higher and creating a win-win for buyers and sellers. By automating repetitive replenishment tasks, FoodLink Online frees up time for experienced buyers to concentrate on more value-add activities such as category management and strategic sourcing—which are vitally important to be successful in this volatile and uncertain market. Ryan Schneider is vice president of marketing and business development for FoodLink Online, based in Torrance, Calif. He has been a presenter at FMI-sponsored events and guest lecturer at various graduate school programs. For more information, visitwww.foodlinkonline.com.

(RTTNews) - LoopNet Inc. (LOOP: News) announced that it has completed a strategic 
AuctionPoint is a provider of broker-friendly online commercial propertyauction solutions.
As part of the partnership, LoopNet is endorsing AuctionPoint as its preferred online auction solution for commercial properties. LoopNet intends to provide LoopNet customers with discounts on AuctionPoint services.
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by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
PlayFirst®, Inc., a leading publisher of emotionally engaging interactive entertainment, revealed today that Diner Dash® 5: BOOM! is the first PC/Mac download game to integrate a viral Facebook® Connect power-up feature. For the first time ever, Diner Dash 5: BOOM!allows players of the download game to gift Flo’s SuperSneakers™ to their friends on Facebook®. The Super Sneakers give recipients a fun and distinct advantage in the fast-paced world of Diner Dash 5: BOOM!, which marks the fifth anniversary of the award-winning, best-selling Diner Dash series.
"Playing games is an incredibly popular activity on Facebook, and is even more fun when played with friends,” said Facebook Platform Manager Gareth Davis. “We look forward to PlayFirst’s Diner Dash 5: BOOM! with Facebook Connect, enabling players to connect with each other in a new social game experience.”
Diner Dash 5: BOOM! launches today, February 18th, with a special commemorative edition for $19.99 on PlayFirst.com. The standard edition of Diner Dash 5: BOOM! will launch approximately two weeks later on PlayFirst.com for $6.99. Both versions are integrated with Facebook Connect.
“Diner Dash 5: BOOM! marks the first new Diner Dash title in over two years, during which time social gaming has exploded,” said Mari Baker, president and chief executive officer of PlayFirst. “Integrating Facebook Connect enables customers to share their passion for Diner Dash with their friends and to get a cool power-up – Flo is practically a blur on the screen she is moving so fast!”
In addition to Flo’s Super Sneakers, players can involve their friends on Facebook in their Diner Dash 5: BOOM! game play by sharing and comparing high scores and trophies they earn on Facebook. Diner Dash 5: BOOM! players can also connect with one another, exchange strategy tips and information, and proudly display pictures of their customized restaurant on their profile. Diner Dash aficionados can become an official Diner Dash Fan on Facebook (facebook.com/dinerdash) and follow Diner Dash and Flo on Twitter (twitter.com/PlayFirst).
Since the debut of the franchise in 2004, the Diner Dash series has been downloaded more than 550 million times across the globe, making it one of the most popular and recognizable gaming franchises of all time. Diner Dash has been successful on multiple platforms including mobile, iPhone®, Xbox® Live Arcade, PlayStation® Network, WiiWare®, and Nintendo® DS. With the launch of Diner Dash 5: BOOM!, PlayFirst is marking its commitment to growing its presence in the social gaming space.
About PlayFirst
PlayFirst, a leading publisher of emotionally engaging interactive entertainment, is committed to providing compelling experiences that always delight customers. By creating engaging story worlds that capture the imagination, PlayFirst teams publish quality gaming experiences across popular platforms worldwide including PC, Mac, iPhone, Facebook, and consoles. The company's game portfolio includes world-renowned titles, such as Diner Dash, Wedding Dash®,Cooking Dash®, Chocolatier®, and Dream Chronicles®. PlayFirst games are available in major retailers and on more than 500 sites in 20 languages. For more information, visit www.playfirst.com.
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6184332&lang=en





