Ubisoft brings Cranium to the Wii
SAN FRANCISCO — AUGUST 22, 2007 — Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced an agreement with Cranium, Inc., five-time Toy Industry Association T.O.T.Y. Game of the Year winner, to create a Cranium video game for the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo. Designed specifically for Wii by Ubisoft’s development studios, Cranium® Kabookii will be one of the richest Wii gaming experiences to date, bringing friends and family together through an interactive family party experience with something for everyone. Cranium Kabookii debuts worldwide December 2007.
Cranium sets itself apart by creating award-winning games that celebrate natural talents connecting people through laughter and play,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. This kind of experience is exactly what we want to provide with our Games for Everyone line, and we are pleased to partner with Cranium, Inc., who for nearly a decade, has proven itself the experts in creating unique enduring experiences for friends and family.”
Cranium Kabookii brings a new dimension to Wii play by celebrating the amazing things friends and family can do as they create, perform, discover and connect with one another. Using the Wii Remote™ and special Kabookii Decoder Glasses, Cranium Kabookii changes the television screen into a living canvas where teams jam, draw, act, puzzle and even crack codes to win.
New questions and activities get players to spray paint the solar system on a wall (you actually hear the can shaking in your hand!); use the Wii Remote as a mallet to hammer out Auld Lang Syne” on a xylophone; solve word puzzles (what word is both a face card and car lifter?); or trot the globe to test their knowledge of world flags, landmarks and national anthems (frequent flier miles not included!). Kabookii Decoder Glasses add an extra twist, allowing one player at a time to view hidden clues on the screen.
With Ubisoft, we’ve found a partner as passionate about changing the rules as we are,” Cranium cofounder and chief noodler Whit Alexander said. Ubisoft’s creative team has a deep appreciation for our brand and the expertise to translate Cranium’s high touch, multiple activity play in an interactive, clever and, most importantly, fun way. Together, we’ve created a video game to transform ‘We’ time into ‘Wii’ time, giving everyone the chance to shine.”
Cranium Kabookii will play globally and act locally. Cranium Kabookii is the first Wii game with custom international questions crafted to celebrate the unique culture and sense of humor of players in Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. All Cranium Kabookii editions are created specifically by and for people from the countries for which the game is created.
