Southpeak Interactive, who are known more for games like Two Worlds II and nail’d, will start publishing more educational games starting in November, after noticing what CEO Melanie Mroz called a “large untapped market”.
Southpeak will publish Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah’s Ark will be the first in the Tap and Teach series, and is set for an indefinite November release. It will be developed by Razorback Developments (Dragonology, Xiaolin Showdown), and is intended to help 3 to 6 year old children develop their reading and spelling skills, using a fully narrated story along with minigames and age-specific animations.
“The introduction of Noah’s Ark and subsequent learning oriented titles, are key to advancing our strategic initiatives designed to capture share of the rapidly expanding educational gaming sector. Given its large install base of millions of young users, Nintendo DS is an ideal platform for delivering educational content and introducing interactive teaching tools that parents and children can enjoy.”
The company has come under some criticism for choosing a Bible-centric story for their first game. I asked Aubrey Norris, PR Manager of Southpeak, about this, and she was able to address the issue.
“One thing we’ve recognized [is] that people may question whether or not Noah’s Ark is “educational” but we thought Noah’s Ark would be an excellent story to start with – it’s easily recognizable as one of the oldest and most cherished tales of Western civilization, regardless of one’s religious preferences.
“We’re not trying to approach the telling of noah’s ark as the teaching of religion, we’re approaching noah’s ark as a widely recognized story – from more of a cultural point of view vs. a religious one.”
Mrs. Norris has informed me that there’s no set plans on what the next Tap and Teach game will be, but they are looking at all sorts of stories and cultural reference points, not just ones in the Bible.
I know Mrs. Norris, and I can almost never say this about anyone in our industry, but her word is gold. Let this put to rest any speculation that this is a “religious” game, and hopefully, Southpeak can put out the first good educational game we’ve seen since Carmen Sandiego.
The full press release is under the cut.
Midlothian, VA – October 27, 2010 – SouthPeak Interactive Corporation (OTC BB: SOPK) today announced that they will publish a new line of interactive educational products for Nintendo DS™ created by Razorback Developments. The first game in this series will be Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah’s Ark, scheduled for release in November 2010.
“Interactive education games represent a large untapped market opportunity and a natural fit for our Company,” said Melanie Mroz, President and CEO of SouthPeak Interactive, “The introduction of Noah’s Ark and subsequent learning oriented titles, are key to advancing our strategic initiatives designed to capture share of the rapidly expanding educational gaming sector. Given its large install base of millions of young users, Nintendo DS is an ideal platform for delivering educational content and introducing interactive teaching tools that parents and children can enjoy.”Â
Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah’s Ark is an interactive storybook designed to improve the reading skills of 3-6 year old children via a fully narrated read-along version of the classic story. Charming interactive illustrations depicting adorable characters and creatures bring each reading session to vivid life, all the while extending vocabulary and letter and word recognition. In addition to the storybook aspect of the program, supplemental activities include exercises in spelling, creativity, music and more.
“The Tap and Teach titles are all about those special moments shared by parents and young children,” said Jeff Tawney of Razorback. “They offer good, wholesome fun that parents can trust to help develop those basic everyday skills their kids need. We are very proud of the work our team has done with this modern interpretation of such a well-loved story and we are excited at the prospect of extending the Tap and Teach range.”Â
SouthPeak plans to release Razorback’s Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah’s Ark exclusively on Nintendo DS in November 2010. For more information, visit http://www.southpeakgames.com
About SouthPeak Interactive Corporation
SouthPeak Interactive Corporation develops and publishes interactive entertainment software for all current hardware platforms including: Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Wii™, Nintendo DS™, iPhone and Windows PC. SouthPeak’s games cover all major genres including action/adventure, role-playing, strategy, racing, puzzle, sports and edutainment. SouthPeak’s products are sold in retail outlets in North America, South and Central America, Europe, Australia and Asia. SouthPeak is headquartered in Midlothian, Virginia, and has offices in Grapevine, Texas and Leicester, England.
SouthPeak’s extensive portfolio of over 60 interactive entertainment games spans a variety of platforms and genres including RPG, simulation, FPS, sports, strategy, puzzle and fighting.
For additional information, please visit SouthPeak’s corporate website: www.southpeakgames.com
If you would like to be added to SouthPeak’s email list to receive news directly, please send your request to southpeak@tpg-ir.com.
About Razorback Developments
Razorback Developments is a specialist developer of handheld games. Based in the UK, it was founded in 2003 and is owned and managed by David Leitch and Jeff Tawney.
Nominated for the “Best Handheld Games Studio” in the 2006 UK Develop Awards, Razorback’s team has many years’ experience in developing both original and licensed games in virtually all categories and on virtually all key formats.
With a track record of charming its players, Razorback’s “Tap and Teach” division is currently focussing on new ways of entertaining and educating 3-6 year old children.
For more information please visit www.razorback.co.uk
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Media Contact:
SouthPeak
Aubrey Norris
PR Manager
817-305-0055
anorris@southpeakgames.com
Investor Contact:
Brandi Floberg or Lee Roth
212-481-2050
southpeak@tpg-ir.com
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