On April 23, Nintendo is partnering with Nickelodeon to bring a SpongeBob SquarePants-themed Splatfest competition to the Splatoon game for the Wii U console. Players will be asked to declare their allegiance to either the world’s most lovable sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, or his starfish sidekick, Patrick Star, from Nickelodeon’s animated television show SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob and Patrick will feel right at home in the squid-themed Splatoon game. Squidward was not invited.
“Two international pop culture sensations meet when the SpongeBob SquarePants Splatfest comes to Splatoon,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “Fun partnerships like this take advantage of the crossover appeal that family-friendly franchises like Splatoon and SpongeBob provide. Personally, I’m team SpongeBob all the way.”
Splatfest is a recurring online competition that asks players to pick a team – in this case, either SpongeBob or Patrick. Once players choose a side, they’ll receive a free in-game T-shirt adorned with an image of SpongeBob or Patrick for their character to wear as they compete in the online multiplayer Turf War mode to see which team comes out on top. At the end of the Splatfest competition, the side with the most points is awarded Super Sea Snails (no relation to SpongeBob’s pet, Gary), items that allow them to upgrade gear in the game. The SpongeBob SquarePants Splatfest competition kicks off in Splatoon on April 23 at 6 a.m. PT and runs until April 24 at 12 p.m. PT. This also marks the first Splatfest in which players from North America and Europe can be matched together. Splatfest is open to all Wii U owners who have the Splatoongame and an Internet connection.
Splatoon, which is exclusive to Wii U, represents Nintendo’s take on the action-shooter genre. Characters called Inklings can transform into non-Squidward squids as they attempt to cover the play area with their team’s colorful ink and splat opponents. Using an array of inventive weapons, players cover the playing surface with as much of their team’s colorful ink as possible before time runs out. More than 4 million units of the game have been sold worldwide.
SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a global pop culture phenomenon since first premiering on Nickelodeon in July 1999. The series has been the most-watched animated program for more than 14 consecutive years, and is seen in over 185 countries and translated in more than 50 languages. The character-driven cartoon chronicles the nautical and sometimes nonsensical adventures of SpongeBob, an incurably optimistic and earnest sea sponge, and his undersea friends.
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