A New Way for Kids to Have Fun With Books
GUILDFORD, England, Oct 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announces the development of FLIPS(TM),
an innovative new book range created for the Nintendo DS(TM). FLIPS
has been designed to give children of all ages a fun 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 critically
acclaimed 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 4th
December 2009.
Titles include:
Enid Blyton (Egmont) - The Enchanted Wood(R), The Magic
Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted
World(R) - 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
FLIPS uses the DS touch screen and stylus to enable children to
read and interact by combining the world of storytelling with quizzes
and references to characters, encouraging greater concentration and
incentive to finish every chapter. Within the books, links appear to
give the reader a unique way of interacting with the story and enhancing
their experience.
"FLIPS is a brilliant way of getting children into reading who
may love their DS but may not normally pick up a book," commented Cally
Poplak, Director, Egmont Press. "At Egmont we are passionate about
bringing stories to life for children, so the development of new
platforms for reading are incredibly exciting for us. We are proud to be
at the heart of this innovation and thrilled to be a part of this first
collection bringing authors such as Enid Blyton to the digital world,
and encouraging more children to take up reading for pleasure rather
than seeing it purely as part of their homework."
"FLIPS offers a great way to bring books to life on a platform
that is incredibly popular with kids," said Keith Ramsdale, VP and
General Manager, UK, Ireland and Nordics for Electronic Arts. "With
multiple books on each game card, FLIPS makes a great value
Christmas gift for children of all ages."
"Our job as publishers is to bring authors' work to as many readers as
possible and we are increasingly looking at platforms other than the
book to do this," said Jeremy Ettinghausen, Penguin Digital Publisher.
"So it's incredibly exciting to be working with Electronic Arts to bring
some of the best writing for children to one of the bestselling devices
in the world."
"I'm over the moon to see my stories and characters brought to life on
the Nintendo DS with EA's new FLIPS range," said Eoin Colfer,
author of the award-winning Artemis Fowl series. "Everyone knows that
reading improves literacy skills. I have two children who are DS
fanatics and cannot wait for the FLIPS to arrive, so EA might
finally get them reading my books!"
Each FLIPS title featuring six to eight books will be sold
separately with an RRP of £24.99.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless
devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009,
EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold
more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.eagames.co.uk.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at www.eagames.co.uk/press.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
All rights reserved. Too Ghoul for School © 2007, 2008 Egmont. © Cathy
Cassidy 2009. The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Produced under licence from Penguin Books, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL.
All rights reserved. © Eoin Colfer 2009. The moral rights of the author
have been asserted. Produced under licence from Penguin Books, 80
Strand, London WC2R 0RL. All rights reserved. Enid Blyton, The Enid
Blyton signature, Enchanted Wood, Enchanted World and the Enchanted
World logo are registered trademarks of Chorion Rights Limited. Nintendo
DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
Notes to Editors
-
Nearly 2 million 8-11 year-olds in the UK own an NDS console.
-
Harvey Elliott, VP and GM Casual, EA Play is available for interviews.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6068912&lang=en
SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
EA Play Label
Deborah Coster, +44 1483 463664
dcoster@ea.com
or
EA UK
Jodie Van Hibb, +44 1483 463321
jvanhibb@ea.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009