Avanquest Software's Nova Development Unit Now Number Two in Unit Sales in Imaging & Graphics Software Category

CALABASAS, CA--(Marketwire - October 29, 2009) - Nova Development, a consumer software unit of leading global software developer and publisher Avanquest Software (EPA: AVQ), today announced that data from foremost global consumer and retail market research provider NPD Group confirm that Nova holds the Number Two position in NPD's Imaging & Graphics category in both unit and dollars sold in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending August 2009.

Nova Development also earned the Number One vendor ranking for sales in the Home Graphics sub-category, capturing 80 percent of the unit volume and 87 percent of the dollar volume, according to the same NPD data.

The NPD Group collects and reports actual sales data from retailers and distributors for a wide range of industries. NPD's Imaging & Graphics category is one of eight major software categories tracked by the research firm.

"The recent 12-month ranking of Nova's Imaging & Graphics titles is a testament to the work and dedication of our product development team as well as our retail partners," said Roger Bloxberg, CEO, Avanquest North America. "Particularly given the current challenging economic climate, consumers are increasingly turning to do-it-yourself solutions in the graphics software space, and we are thrilled to be providing high-quality, affordable solutions to fuel their creativity."

Among Nova's leading graphics products are Photo Explosion, Print Artist, Hallmark Card Studio, Scrapbook Factory Deluxe, and Greeting Card Factory.

Avanquest and Nova software products are available at more than 10,000 U.S. and Canadian retail locations including Staples, Best Buy, Costco, Walmart, OfficeMax, Target, Office Depot, Sam's Club, Micro Center, Army and Air Force Exchange as well as from leading online stores including Amazon.com. For more information, visit: www.avanquest.com and www.novadevelopment.com.

About Nova Development

Based in Southern California and founded in 1984, Nova Development is a market leader in consumer software for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Nova Development is the retail publisher of best selling software for desktop publishing, print creativity and many other purposes, as well as educational titles both for both children and adults. Nova Development was acquired by Avanquest Software in 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.novadevelopment.com/ and http://www.avanquest.com.

About Avanquest Software

Avanquest Software (EPA: AVQ) is one of the world's leading software developers and publishers, with operations on three continents and marketing through Retail, Corporate, OEM and Direct-to-Consumer channels. Avanquest's presence in North America, consisting of Avanquest Software USA and Avanquest North America (which includes the Nova Development division), places it among the top ten retail software publishers in the United States. With more than 100 software titles, the combined companies offer one of the largest and most diversified product portfolios in the software industry, available at more than 10,000 North American retail locations, on the Web, and through OEM partnerships. Additional information at http://about.avanquest.com

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Alan Penchansky Michael Tangeman The Pen Group (305) 529-1944 alan@thepengroup.com