RealNetworks Inc. Monday unveiled nine new
language versions of two of its media players, a move that opens the service
to major markets in Europe and Asia.
French, German and Japanese versions of RealPlayer 7 and RealJukebox were introduced Monday. Rollouts are set next month for editions in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese,
and Korean, as well as both simplified-character and traditional-character
Chinese.
The RealPlayer Japanese edition offers users access to 22 in-language
audio/video channels, and Japanese users will also be able to use a
localized edition of Real.com Take5. The company intends to provide 50 local
channels and radio stations for the international versions of the free
download.
“We are thrilled to provide our RealPlayer 7 and RealJukebox customers the
opportunity to experience RealPlayer 7 and RealJukebox in their native
languages, with easy access to culturally relevant Internet audio/video
media sources,” said Dave Richards, vice president of Real’s consumer division.
According to RealNetworks (RNWK), around 40 percent of RealPlayer users and 30 percent of RealJukebox users reside outside of North America. The company claims RealPlayer 7 has brought in 95 million users and that RealJukebox has enrolled 29 million.