2K Play, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, today announced that Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue for the Wii home video game system and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system will be available at retailers in North America beginning on February 12, 2008. The title represents 2K Play's first Wii game engineered specifically for preschoolers and is based on extensive Nickelodeon in-home research that focused on how to best match the abilities and needs of younger children with the capabilities of the platform.
To celebrate the game's launch, 2K Play, Nickelodeon, and Nintendo World will host a special sneak preview for families in the New York area. The event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008, at the Nintendo World Store in New York City's Rockefeller Center from 12 to 4 pm.
"For Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue, we've created an entirely new interactive experience for preschoolers that is only possible on the Wii," said Steve Lux, Vice President of Business Development for 2K Play. "Nickelodeon's intensive study of how two through six-year-olds experience the new technologies offered by the Wii helped us create an all-new play pattern that extends beyond current games. Physical activity is an integral part of the fun and the new title is perfectly suited for the younger gamer."
"We are thrilled to combine the fun and adventure of our top-rated Diego property with true gaming innovation for the Wii," said Steve Youngwood, Executive Vice President, Digital Media for Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family. "By combining Nickelodeon's kid expertise with 2K Play's creativity, we have engineered a game that allows preschoolers to develop their playing skills by turning up the fun, building confidence and bringing parents and older siblings into the gameplay experience."
Based on Nickelodeon research with preschoolers and their families to determine how the platform's motion-play capabilities are absorbed by younger children, Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue was designed with 13 intuitive Wii-centric motions that maximize the engineering of the Wii Remote for a preschooler. Taking on the role of Diego in a race across Africa, gamers stomp to scare away lions, jump with Baby Jaguar, paint stripes on zebras, climb up ladders and swim across the jungle river by mimicking those actions with the Wii Remote.
Research findings show that parents often chose to stay in the room and participate in gameplay; accordingly, the game has a unique feature which allows parents to collaborate with younger gamers by using the special Safari Guide Helper Feature and a second Wii Remote. Preschoolers can, by themselves, help Diego blow up a hot air balloon by pumping up and down, but their actions are enhanced with speed and vibrant animations when assisted.
Also available on February 12 is 2K Play's Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids for the PlayStation 2 system. In the new title, Dora and Boots need help bringing a Magic Crown to Marianna the Mermaid. By swinging, sliding and bouncing through the game, players travel over tropical land and sea to save Mermaid Kingdom. Along the way, Dora magically becomes a mermaid herself.
The Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue and Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids games feature the same voice actors as the popular Nick Jr. TV shows. In addition to pre-development research, the games were also tested by children and moms for age-appropriateness, fun factor and overall quality. The packaging on both titles features a "Kid-Tested" seal.
Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue was developed by High Voltage and will be available for the Wii for a suggested retail price of $39.99 and the PlayStation 2 system for $29.99. Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids was developed by Totally Games and will be available for the PlayStation 2 system for a suggested retail price of $29.99. All games are rated E for Everyone.