REDWOOD CITY, Calif., October 26, 2009 – Get ready to have your passport stamped on an African adventure! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced SimAnimals™ Africa for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ shipped and will be available Worldwide this week. In SimAnimals Africa, players tame exotic animals including lions, gorillas and elephants by befriending, petting, playing and even controlling their movements as they explore landscapes like savannas, jungles and river deltas.
“SimAnimals Africa transports players to the African wilderness where they must restore the balance of nature to win the game,” said Tim LeTourneau, General Manager of the SimAnimals Franchise. “Throughout their journey, they’ll interact with exotic animals, learn to unlock their unique abilities, discover new locations, and uncover interesting collectables. It brings the current focus on the environment home in a safe and entertaining way.”
SimAnimals Africa for the Wii allows players to interact with wild African animals while they venture across jungles, deserts, savannas, river deltas and more. Each brand new animal has their own unique skill and it’s up to the player to find their secret abilities. Kicking zebras, rock-breaking rhinos and crocodiles that excel at hunting are all part of the cast of characters that will assist players in keeping the environment happy and help them unlock new areas, animals, and special items. Mini-games give players more ways to interact with the animals. The ring toss, drumming, and petting games help the animals hone their unique skill and assist players in achieving their goals more quickly. Additionally, there are over five dozen rare objects for players to collect including bugs, fruits and flowers. If players feed one of these rare items to an animal they may get an unexpected surprise. Players can now choose to play as an animal as well where they can water the terrain as an elephant, kick fruit off trees as a zebra or jump over riverbeds as a gazelle.
SimAnimals Africa on the Nintendo DS allows players to bring the African adventure with them anywhere and play with friends. Featuring all of the animals included in the Wii adventure, the Nintendo DS version also features exclusive animals including cheetahs, meerkats, aardvarks, a parrot and even a surprise secret animal as a reward for finishing the game. Build relationships with these wild, African animals, discover their secret abilities and use them to help solve challenges. Collect items to earn each reward badge in the game. The stylus and microphone allow players to interact with the animals and environment in a totally unique way. A friendly parrot is the guide through the African landscape—players can talk to the parrot through the Nintendo DS microphone and hear their words repeated back. Kids will conquer the African kingdom in co-op mode, where they can trade plants and animals and play together with friends to achieve goals faster.
Developed by The Sims Studio in the EA Play Label, SimAnimals Africa is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, 3+ by PEGI, and has an MSRP of $39.99 and $29.99 for the Wii and Nintendo DS, respectively. For more information about SimAnimals Africa, visit www.simanimalsafrica.com.