From Looney Tunes and iCarly to Shrek and SpongeBob SquarePants, Xbox 360 Launches Massive Library of Family Games and Entertainment

Today Microsoft Corp. expands its selection of family-oriented programming on Xbox LIVE with more than 100 new episodes of popular Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Nickelodeon TV shows. Now families looking for the ultimate entertainment experience need look no further than Xbox 360.

More than any other next-generation video game console on the market, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft offers a wide variety of fun-for-all content with more than 700 episodes of TV shows specifically for the family and more than 200 family-friendly games the whole household can enjoy. The company also introduced two new game titles, “SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam” and “SHREK-N-ROLL™,” based on the popular animation characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Shrek®, for Xbox LIVE Arcade, the premier destination to download high-definition games for Xbox 360.

“What’s Up, Doc?”

Starting today, Warner Bros. for the first time offers more than 50 episodes of the classic Looney Tunes library in high definition for on-demand download to own. Fans of all ages will be able to digitally download Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck episodes and all the other classic characters episodes directly to their TV via Xbox LIVE. In addition, 10 episodes will be available in Spanish.

“Looney Tunes cartoons have been family favorites for generations, and now everyone can download them anytime on Xbox 360,” said Michele Edelman, vice president of marketing for Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “We are particularly proud to offer programming in Spanish as well as high definition, both of which help enhance the appeal of these great shows for Xbox 360 owners.”

Exclusive Content From Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon delivers three top shows to Xbox LIVE, also available today, including programming for the Nick Jr. hit series “The Backyardigans.” The show’s double-length “Super Secret Super Spy” episode featuring the vocal talents of special guest star Cyndi Lauper will be exclusively available for download on Xbox LIVE. In addition, kids of all ages can download the entire first season of the educational and imaginative, play-to-learn, top-rated preschool series “Blue’s Clues.” Tweens will love episodes of the network’s latest smash “iCarly,” as new episodes will be added to Xbox LIVE immediately after they air on Nickelodeon’s TEENick.

Xbox LIVE Arcade Adds New Family Games

Also being introduced today are new kid-friendly game titles, “SHREK-N-ROLL” and “SpongeBob SquarePants: Underpants Slam,” based on two of the most popular family icons in animation. These new games will both be available soon for download from Xbox LIVE Arcade.

“To truly entertain our audience, we know we have to seed our content on every platform they are using, and the Xbox 360 is a great entertainment console for our target demographic,” said Steve Youngwood, executive vice president of digital media for Nickelodeon-MTVN Kids and Family Group. “We’ve seen tremendous response to the Nickelodeon content already available on Xbox LIVE, and we expect ‘Blue’s Clues,’ exclusive content from ‘The Backyardigans’ and our newest TEENick series, ‘iCarly,’ to perform just as well.”

All these developments coincide with the announcement today of a new Xbox 360 console for families, Xbox 360 Arcade. Available in stores beginning today, the Xbox 360 Arcade console includes five arcade games, a wireless controller and 256 MB of memory — useful for storing games and entertainment content — all for an estimated retail price of just $279.99 (U.S. estimated retail price). Xbox 360 Arcade console invites everyone in the family to play and comes with five best-selling games: “Pac-Man Championship Edition” (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.), “Uno” (Carbonated Games), “Luxor 2” (MumboJumbo), “Boom Boom Rocket” (Electronic Arts Inc.), and “Feeding Frenzy” (Sprout Games).

In addition to this great value, this holiday season families will have a selection of more than 200 “E”- and “T”-rated games appropriate for everyone from kids to teens for Xbox 360, including “BEE MOVIE™ GAME” (Activision), “Guitar Hero III®: Legends of Rock” (Activision), “Naruto: Rise of a Ninja” (Ubisoft Entertainment), “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action” (Screen Life Games) and “Viva Piñata: Party Animals” (Krome Studios). No matter what type of content users decide to play or watch on their console, every Xbox 360 comes equipped with leading Parental Controls, known as Family Settings, to let parents control the access their children have to games and entertainment, as well as who they can play with on Xbox LIVE. More information about Family Settings is available at http://www.xbox.com/isyourfamilyset.com.