National Geographic on Tuesday announced a new twist for the science and educational organization — video games.
National Geographic Games (NGG) will publish and develop games across major gaming console, handheld, online and mobile platforms. National Geographic also said it will work with premier game publishers and developers to create games based on its core themes and media properties.
The goal is to extend National Geographic’s mission of inspiring people to care about the planet and reach a new generation of consumers and families.
“This is a combination of what I call the mainstreamization of video games,” said Michael Cai, a video-game analyst at Parks Associates. “Many different types of media companies and household brands are leveraging video games to a certain degree, whether it’s driving people to their portals or using video games as an advertising vehicle.”
NGG Partners
National Geographic will have some help producing games that carry its name. NGG announced partnerships with Namco Bandai Games America and Sony Computer Entertainment to publish and distribute National Geographic-branded titles on major gaming consoles and handheld devices, including the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS handheld, PlayStation 3 and PS3 Network, PCs and mobile devices such as Apple’s iPhone.
“National Geographic Games has brought authenticity to the kind of family gaming we’re developing with them,” said Andrew Lelchuk, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Namco. “Our collaboration is enabling us to tailor the content, so we can offer games to our customers that are relevant, entertaining and that bring a unique experience only the National Geographic brand can deliver.”
The Gaming Lineup
National Geographic is first introducing its own Herod’s Lost Tomb, which highlights content from the December 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine as well as its National Geographic Channel feature broadcast on the biblical figure King Herod, architect of the ancient world. The game…