Matt Martin
10:34 (BST)
07/04/2008
Nickelodeon to develop new virtual worlds
Following success with Neopets and Nicktropolis, Nickelodeon has announced plans to develop new virtual worlds based on its popular animated properties.
The company is developing worlds based on SpongeBob SquarePants and Monkey World, as well as Neopia, expected to launch in the next twelve months. All will be developed at the company's Virtual Worlds Studios.
"For our audiences, virtual worlds are the convergence of gaming, entertainment and community online, and by announcing these new worlds, we are ensuring that our content pipeline is going to remain fresh and vibrant," commented Steve Youngwood, executive vice president of Digital Media of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks.
"We are very fortunate to have a digital production studio that, like our linear animation studio in Burbank, will be dedicated to creating great new content experiences for our audiences both with our existing brands and properties and new, original ones."
The company, a division of Viacom, has recently announced plans to bolster is casual games offering with a further 1,600 online titles in 2008.
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