Cartoon Network New Media Maximizes Social Gaming with Mini Match
Virtual world built around social gaming is free to explore at CartoonNetwork.com
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cartoon Network New Media today announces Mini Match, an
action-packed virtual world that offers adventure on a whole new scale. Mini
Match features a vibrant 3-D-rendered world where players can
challenge their friends in multiplayer games, start impromptu “tag”
battles, work together to solve social puzzles and enjoy a unique,
unfolding mystery about the microscopic world in which Mini Match
is set. After “mini-mizing”
themselves into customizable avatars, players can navigate intricately
designed environments based on adventure themes in Cartoon Network shows
including lost cities, haunted jungles, underwater bases and more.
Mini Match is one of the few virtual world destinations to focus
on multi-player match-ups in a social gaming environment, along with the
inherent chat and exploration features. The two-player Mini Match
games are easily accessible, intuitive to play and branded to popular
Cartoon Network content. Kids earn reward points for playing games, and
they can use these reward points for further avatar customization and
in-game abilities.
“Mini Match opens up a whole new world
of gaming to our online audience,” said Paul
Condolora, senior vice president, digital for Turner Broadcasting System
Inc.’s Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media
Group. “The action-adventure theme complements
some of our most popular shows and provides kids with a safe virtual
destination for social gaming. Kids can come and enjoy the multiplayer
games or insert themselves into the fabric of the Mini Match
story by joining the ranks of ninjas, pirates, space pilots and other
characters, customizing their ‘Minis’
with the gear those adventurous characters bring.”
At launch, Mini Match features four distinct game-play
environments: Haunted Garden, Tower of Heroes, Underwater Lab and Alien
Zoo. As they explore each setting, Mini Match players can
interact with other “Mini-zens”
by playing action-packed multiplayer games featuring characters from fan
favorite shows such as Ben 10 and Foster’s
Home for Imaginary Friends. Players can chat with one another using
a custom dictionary that allows only kid-appropriate words and phrases.
By chatting, players can also work together to discover more about the
overarching fantasy storyline of the Mini Match world and earn
new avatar gear, some of which will help players navigate different
parts of the Mini Match landscape.
About Cartoon Network New Media
Cartoon Network New Media is responsible for the production of Cartoon
Network’s popular Web sites, which include
CartoonNetwork.com, ToonamiJetstream.com, Awesomehouseparty.com and
CartoonNetworkYa.com (the Spanish-language site for kids). These sites
are some of the most popular entertainment sites in the world for kids,
currently attracting an average of more than 5 million unique users each
month in the United States (Nielsen//NetRatings). The top attraction is
their roster of games, which drew more than 2 billion game plays in
2007. In addition, Cartoon Network New Media is the creative force
behind Cartoon Network’s video-on-demand
offerings, interactive TV and mobile offerings, which include
partnerships with such major carriers as Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.
About Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in more than 91
million U.S. homes and 160 countries around the world, is Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported
cable service offering the best in original, acquired and classic
animated entertainment for kids and families. Overnight from 11 p.m. to
6 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday (ET, PT),
Cartoon Network shares its channel space with Adult Swim, a late-night
destination showcasing original and acquired animation for young adults
18-34.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and
programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media
environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the
world.
mPRm Public Relations
Jessica Wolf
323-933-3399
JWolf@mprm.com
or
Cartoon
Network
Tim DeClaire
404-575-9283
tim.declaire@turner.com