Where the Wild Things Are? Retail

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have just launched Where the Wild Things Are the videogame, based on the classic and (for some youngsters) creepy children’s story by Maurice Sendak, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.

As an added bonus, consumers who purchase a copy of Where the Wild Things Are the videogame on any platform (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS), will receive a voucher inside the box good towards $7.50 off one movie ticket to see Where the Wild Things Are the movie debuting on Friday. The offer is valid at hundreds of movie theaters in the US and Canada and is valid through Dec. 1.

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EA FLIPS out for kids

Electronic Arts is developing FLIPS, a new book range created for the Nintendo DS for children. FLIPS has been designed to give children of all ages a new way to read their favorite books. EA has worked with some of the UK’s leading publishers of children’s books and magazines, including Egmont and Penguin Publishing, to bring modern classic titles from authors such as Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer, Enid Blyton, and the various writers from the popular boys series, Too Ghoul for School to the DS. Each FLIPS title features multiple books and the first four titles will be released exclusively on Nintendo DS in the UK on December 4th.  Titles include:
Enid Blyton (Egmont) - The Enchanted Wood(R), The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World - Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World - Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World - Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)- Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) - Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) - Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

To today’s parents video games are the new Rock ‘n Roll

That’s how Stamford, CT., psychologist Eric Schleifer described them in a discussion with 50 parents about video games recently. This forum, called “Using Video Games to Your Advantage: A Parent’s Guide,” was co-sponsored by Wilton Parent Connection, the Wilton PTA Council, the Wilton Youth Council, and the Wilton Library.

The forum proved what kids already know and what kids our generation and every other generation before it endured: parents don’t always understand the culture kids are immersed in and its importance. In this generation parents don’t understand their kids’ fascination with games and, because of the media’s portrayal of them as being violent and catalyst for laziness and unhealthy behavior, often feel like video games are dangerous or at the very least, an unnecessary distraction. Schleifer compared gaming to rock music and comic books, both thought to be somehow evil or a waste of time by our parents and the parents of our parents.

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Where the Wild Things Are? A web site, perhaps?

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the official web site for the video game based on the film Where The Wild Things Are. The game is based on the books of the same name featuring a boy and his scary looking monsters who aren’t all that scary. As a little kid they scared the hell out of me. Those books were just creeptastic!

Inspired by the Warner Bros. theatrical release based on the best-selling children’s book by Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are: The Videogame lets players take on the role of Max as he journeys across the land of the Wild Things, which is on the brink of destruction. Max joins forces with the Wilds Things to find a way to escape to safety before it’s too late. Where the Wild Things Are: The Videogame launches on Oct. 13 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.

Crisp Thinking: keeping Free Realms players safe

Crisp Thinking is helping Sony Online Entertainment make Free Realms safer for kids; in fact it has been doing so for quite some time. Free Realms is using Crisp Thinking’s online threat protection software, NetModerator to accomplish this. The product identifies and blocks predators and other threats in online games in real time as well as providing analysis of veiled online communications which might be a “well-disguised wrong-doer” or an escalating situation of bullying.

Since Free Realms is geared towards adults and kids, a solution like this is probably for the best because it could be a potential breeding ground for Internet predators. NetModerator analyzes the intent of dialogue between players as well as the actual words they are using. According to its makers, the software can identify potentially escalating situations such as potential self-harm or cyberbullying as well as immediately calling attention to predators. In tests undertaken by Cambridge University in the UK in 2007, NetModerator proved 98.4 percent accurate.

“We take our responsibility to ensure child safety in our products very seriously and that makes it a priority in Free Realms especially. We feel strongly that it’s up to us to implement protections for children while they’re playing our games,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “After installation and weeks of testing, we found Crisp NetModerator is a high-quality product that works well. It goes far beyond anything else we’ve seen. We are looking to implement it into other SOE games in the future.”

Crisp clients include Cartoon Network’s FusionFall, ZulaWorld and SuperSecret, along with Internet service providers, Sky and Tiscali. Full details of all Crisp Thinking solutions can be found at www.crispthinking.com.

Wizard101 celebrates one year of service and five millionth player milestones

 Wizard101, the magic-themed Massively Multi-player Online game from KingsIsle Entertainment, celebrates its one-year anniversary this month. KingsIsle Entertainment says that since its launch a year ago the game has garnered five million registered players worldwide. That’s a pretty impressive number for a game and a company that isn’t necessarily considered brand name. It probably didn’t hurt that KingsIsle has been doing targeted marketing for the game on some of the most popular children’s television networks including Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network since its launch. It also doesn’t hurt that the game doesn’t suck and is fun to play for both kids and adults.

As part of its one year celebration, several decorations are being added to the game this month as well as a special surprise for all players to be revealed at a later date. Wizard101 combines collectible trading card game-based combat with the social interaction of an online multiplayer game and a parental control system that allows adults to restrict communications options for younger players, while allowing more freedom to older players.

You can learn more about the game by visiting www.Wizard101.com.

EA signs deal with Claire’s for Charm Girls Club games

Electronic Arts has entered into what it calls “an extensive advertising and promotional campaign” with tween retailer Claire’s for the company’s tween themed CHARM GIRLS CLUB game series. Included in the deal is in-game branding like banners and product placement and in-game product placement. Claire’s will apparently have a store in the game’s mall where players will be able to play mini-games, and buy Claire’s branded charms.

EA will also promote Claire’s on the video game’s Web site, for whatever that is worth. As you can tell from this post I am extremly excited about this.