Vivendi Games Mobile, a division of Vivendi Games, today unveiled its first-half 2008 lineup of mobile games featuring big brands and representing a variety of gaming genres, from first-person shooters to casual games. The titles featured in the first-half include popular film and television licenses – The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Bourne Conspiracy and Prison Break – that will bring non-stop action to mobile phones around the world.
“The titles that launch over the next few months position us strongly for the start of our second full year in the industry,” said Paul Maglione, president of Vivendi Games Mobile. “The lineup features a wide range of genres, as well as an ideal balance between big licensed brands and owned IP.
“Coupled with the continuing strong performances of the titles launched in ’07, which culminated with a 2007 Spike TV Video Game Award for Best Casual Title for The Incredible Machine, the games we’re announcing today will provide a strong opening quarter for us in 2008, and will pave the way for more blockbusters to come,” added Maglione.
First-Half 2008 Lineup
Celebrity Hangman
The first mobile game featuring user-generated content within the universally known gameplay mechanics of hangman, and featuring a unique “pencil & paper” graphics look. Celebrity Hangman allows users to write their own pop-culture themed hangman lists and submit them to the Celebrity Hangman Web site for selection as new weekly download packs to which users are entitled to with download.
Crash Nitro Kart 2
A major sequel to Crash Nitro Kart®, the best-selling Crash Bandicoot® mobile game to date, incorporates best-in-class 3D graphics and gameplay. Players can choose from eight different characters, eight unique karts and 16 different track options. Crash Nitro Kart 2 features sensations of extreme speed with Turbo Plane mode and Mega Boost mode; a range of effects including weightlessness in underwater and outer space levels; oil splat projections on the mobile screen; falling rocks on the track; and other twists and turns. Players can choose from game modes including Cup, Arcade, Challenges, Sudden Death and Monster Truck.
Prison Break
Based on the hit Fox TV show, Prison Break, the mobile game is an action-adventure challenge that takes place in the Fox River prison. Players will embody the most famous captive from the TV show, Michael Scofield, to help him and his brother make their way to freedom. The game incorporates all the winning TV show elements, including the original plot and characters. Players prepare to escape by collecting items, conspiring with other inmates and gaining their support. In the escape attempt, players will solve puzzles by using collected items and their prison mates’ skills.
Pub Darts 180
Pub Darts 180 marks a long-anticipated return to the mobile gaming market for the “Pub Darts” franchise, first introduced in 2004. Pub Darts 180 lets players show off their flicking skills in a cozy tavern-like environment that recreates the atmosphere of a typical English pub. Players can choose from single and multi-player (hotseat) modes. A selection of fun in-game characters and an intuitive control system builds on the successful gameplay of the title’s best-selling predecessor.
The Bourne Conspiracy
Based on Robert Ludlum’s best-selling books and blockbuster film franchise, The Bourne Conspiracy mobile game is a unique action-adventure espionage game where players become rogue agent Jason Bourne. As the game advances, Bourne unlocks special moves to add to his already powerful combat techniques and will have to use them to surpass increasingly challenging enemies. The game features a range of gameplay mechanics, such as fast-paced on-foot pursuit scenes, sniper evasion and rappelling. The stunning animation re-creates Bourne’s perfect mastery of his body, allowing him to perform acrobatic moves while fighting. The Bourne Conspiracy will also be available on console from Sierra Entertainment.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Based on the upcoming film by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies adapted from the best-selling books of the same name, The Spiderwick Chronicles mobile game allows players to experience and explore the visible and invisible worlds of the Spiderwick universe. Players can control up to five different characters, each with special abilities, and use their skills to solve mysterious riddles and to uncover the truth about the enchanted world of Spiderwick. The Spiderwick Chronicles will also be available on console from Sierra Entertainment.
Wordox: Word Snatcher
Vivendi Games Mobile’s first network-connected multiplayer game, Wordox: Word Snatcher is based on the popular Wordox online game which reached a peak of 2.5 million players in 2002. The title brings a competitive strategy twist to the word challenge genre by allowing the stealing of opponent’s letters to score extra points, and features an extended dictionary with more than 100,000 words. Online players can choose the multiplayer version and challenge real players, or the game can be played in single player mode against a virtual player.
Vivendi Games Mobile’s first-half 2008 lineup reinforces its commitment to being a major player in the European market for mobile games. Vivendi Games Mobile is known for innovative titles including Surviving High School and Surviving Hollywood (episodic games which offer updated content each week); People’s Choice Hangman (enables user-generated content) and the critically acclaimed first-person shooter Urban Attack.™
About Vivendi Games Mobile
Vivendi Games Mobile (www.vgmobile.com), a division of Vivendi Games, creates and publishes quality titles for the mobile games market. The division runs a global business, with its headquarters, operations and an internal development team in Paris, a US-based team in Los Angeles and its Centerscore studio in San Mateo, California. The company publishes games based on original IP, popular entertainment licenses and classic Sierra Entertainment IP, which are distributed by more than 90 operators and dozens of Web portals in 60 countries around the world.
About FOX Mobile Entertainment
Fox Mobile Entertainment (FME) is a leading mobile content provider for wireless carriers and consumers, providing mobile content in all forms from top FOX TV shows such as 24, Prison Break, and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? and from such recent films as Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem and The Simpsons Movie. An industry pioneer, FME created American Idol’s text-message voting system and the now-pervasive term Mobisodes™ Series, defining short episodic programming designed exclusively for mobile phones. Additionally, the Company runs mobile video channels on all major US carriers.