To celebrate the game's launch, 2K Play, Nickelodeon, and Nintendo World will host a special sneak preview for families in the New York area. The event will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008, at the Nintendo World Store in New York City's Rockefeller Center from 12 to 4 pm.
"For Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue, we've created an entirely new interactive experience for preschoolers that is only possible on the Wii," said Steve Lux, Vice President of Business Development for 2K Play. "Nickelodeon's intensive study of how two through six-year-olds experience the new technologies offered by the Wii helped us create an all-new play pattern that extends beyond current games. Physical activity is an integral part of the fun and the new title is perfectly suited for the younger gamer."
"We are thrilled to combine the fun and adventure of our top-rated Diego property with true gaming innovation for the Wii," said Steve Youngwood, Executive Vice President, Digital Media for Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family. "By combining Nickelodeon's kid expertise with 2K Play's creativity, we have engineered a game that allows preschoolers to develop their playing skills by turning up the fun, building confidence and bringing parents and older siblings into the gameplay experience."
Based on Nickelodeon research with preschoolers and their families to determine how the platform's motion-play capabilities are absorbed by younger children, Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue was designed with 13 intuitive Wii-centric motions that maximize the engineering of the Wii Remote™ for a preschooler. Taking on the role of Diego in a race across Africa, gamers stomp to scare away lions, jump with Baby Jaguar, paint stripes on zebras, climb up ladders and swim across the jungle river by mimicking those actions with the Wii Remote.
Research findings show that parents often chose to stay in the room and participate in gameplay; accordingly, the game has a unique feature which allows parents to collaborate with younger gamers by using the special Safari Guide Helper Feature and a second Wii Remote. Preschoolers can, by themselves, help Diego blow up a hot air balloon by pumping up and down, but their actions are enhanced with speed and vibrant animations when assisted.
Also available on February 12 is 2K Play's Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids for the PlayStation 2 system. In the new title, Dora and Boots need help bringing a Magic Crown to Marianna the Mermaid. By swinging, sliding and bouncing through the game, players travel over tropical land and sea to save Mermaid Kingdom. Along the way, Dora magically becomes a mermaid herself.
The Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue and Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids games feature the same voice actors as the popular Nick Jr. TV shows. In addition to pre-development research, the games were also tested by children and moms for age-appropriateness, fun factor and overall quality. The packaging on both titles features a "Kid-Tested" seal.
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