Nick, Warner Bros. Add Kids’ Content to Xbox 360

REDMOND,
October 23: Microsoft Corp. has expanded its selection of family-oriented
programming on Xbox LIVE with the addition of more than 100 new episodes of
popular TV shows from Warner Bros. Entertainment and Nickelodeon.

Starting today,
Warner Bros. offers, for the first time, more than 50 episodes of the classic Looney
Tunes library in high
definition for on-demand download to own, including episodes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. 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, the VP 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.”

Nickelodeon
will deliver three of its top shows to Xbox LIVE, also available today,
including programming for the Nick Jr. 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 can
download the entire first season of the educational preschool series Blue’s
Clues. New episodes of
the network’s tween-targeted series iCarly will be added to Xbox LIVE immediately after
airing on Nickelodeon’s TEENick.

“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, the executive VP 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.”

In addition,
Xbox LIVE Arcade will also add two new kid-friendly game titles, SHREK-N-ROLL and SpongeBob SquarePants:
Underpants Slam. Both
of these new games will soon be available for download. These announcements
coincide with a new Xbox 360 console for families, Xbox 360 Arcade, which will
be available in stores beginning today. The Xbox 360 Arcade console includes
five arcade games, a wireless controller and 256 MB of memory, for an estimated
retail price of $279.99.

—By Irene
Lew