Nickelodeon Gearing Up for Gamers
Cable Network, MTV Networks Kids and Family Group Launching New Online Gaming Initiative
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/18/2008 11:44:00 AM MT
Nickelodeon and the MTV Networks Kids and Family Group announced a dramatic increase in the production and distribution of online games.
Under the expansion plan, Nickelodeon will add 1,600 new games to its current library of just over 5,000 games by the end of this year, as well as launching development tools allowing users to create their own games.
The company will also launch targeted gaming sites geared toward specific demographics, in addition to an expansion of its existing gaming sites.
Of the 1,600 new games, Nickelodeon said 600 will be original, exclusive projects, while the other 1,000 will come from outside publishers. Nickelodeon is utilizing two of its game sites, AddictingGames and Shockwave.com to deliver many of the third-party games.
“We want to be the bookmark site for each of our target demographics, and we know that for our audiences, casual games are what they crave online,” said Steve Youngwood, executive vice president of digital media for Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, in a statement announcing the venture. “Not only do we want to entertain our audiences with a robust gaming portfolio and demo-focused gaming sites, but also tap into their creativity through game-development tools to enhance the gaming community and help them entertain each other.”
Nick.com will launch a “game of the week” franchise, premiering a new online game every week of the year.
Among the offerings will be “3D Nicktoons Slimeball,” as well as a multiplayer game set to debut in the fall based on Avatar.
For its demo-targeted gaming sites, the company will launch N-games.com in June targeting teen girls. NickJr.com will launch 35 new games geared toward preschoolers.
On the development-tool front, Nickelodeon will launch nickgamestudio.com in the third quarter of this year. The site will provide users with tools to create Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group-branded games, as well as new levels within existing games.
Nickelodeon said it plans to build community features around its games, including leaderboards, rankings, comments and profiles for users. AddictingGames will launch user profiles in the second quarter of this year.
