Santa Clara, Calif., (April 16, 2008) – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that they have partnered with National Geographic to bring National Geographic Panda exclusively to the Nintendo DS™ this fall. Nurture and play with your own cuddly panda bear using intuitive touch screen controls in this virtual pet simulation game. Learn more information about pandas with the game’s library of recent and past National Geographic articles, each accompanied by gorgeous visuals. Players are sure to fall in love with their panda’s lighthearted nature and humorous reactions.
“We are excited to partner with National Geographic to take the virtual pet genre to a greater level of immersion,” said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations of NAMCO BANDAI Games America. “National Geographic Panda is a unique opportunity for two highly regarded companies to produce such an entertaining product. The amount of interaction and fun to be had with your panda beats everything else on the market.”
“Our first partnership with Namco Bandai is right in the National Geographic wheel house,” said Paul Levine, senior vice president, National Geographic Corporate Strategy, Development and Extended Platform. “We’ve covered pandas for much of our 120-year history in all our media, and we’re thrilled to extend that into the world of gaming.”
In National Geographic Panda, help nurture and play with a cuddly panda bear in the serene Panda Park. How you interact with them will determine their behaviors. Mistreatment will have pandas running away from you so nurturing fun is the best way to keep them happy. As you play, new pandas will join in on the fun and an assortment of playground toys will become available to keep them entertained including balls, slides and tire swings. Use a daily allowance to purchase food and new toys immediately for your virtual pet or order through mail via Panda Delivery.
Players can step inside the Panda House to learn about all aspects of panda life with daily National Geographic articles. New editorial content will become available to read each day with corresponding pictures from recent and past National Geographic magazines. National Geographic Panda will offer countless hours of fun for panda lovers everywhere when it is released this fall.
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About NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. is a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a part of the NAMCO BANDAI group of companies known for creating and publishing many of the industry's top video game franchises including the PAC-MAN®, SOULCALIBUR®, Naruto™ and Tekken® brands. For more information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., and our products log onto http://www.namcobandaigames.com/.
About National Geographic Ventures
National Geographic Ventures (NGV) is a wholly owned, taxable subsidiary of the National Geographic Society, one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the National Geographic Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. NGV includes National Geographic Television documentary production and distribution, National Geographic Television International, National Geographic Digital Media including nationalgeographic.com and Digital Motion (formerly the Film Library), as well as National Geographic Maps. NGV creates and distributes content across multi-platforms and media, providing outlets for the hundreds of scientific and expedition-based grants awarded each year. For more information, go to www.nationalgeographic.com.
Press Release © 2008 NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
Contacts
Nick O’Leary
Namco Bandai Games America
(408) 235-2134
noleary@namcobandaigames.com
Maral Kaloustian
Weber Shandwick
310-854-8241
mkaloustian@webershandwick.com
Ellen Stanley
National Geographic
(202) 775-6755
estanley@ngs.org
