Over 400 Sudoku Puzzles In The Palm Of Your Hand!

23rd August 2006 - Not since the Rubik's Cube craze of the 1980's has a puzzle generated this much madness! Played on buses, trains, planes and for a spare five minutes in the coffee shop, Sudoku is the game that has griped the nation for the past year and is now set to hit the Nintendo DS. Sudoku Master launches across Europe on 27th October 2006.

Sudoku Master is the ultimate collection of more than 400 Sudoku puzzles and allows you to play a different game at any time!. If you haven't played it before, the rules are fairly simple. The aim of the numerical logic-based puzzle is to enter a number ranging from one to nine in each cell of a nine by nine grid, made up of nine three by three sub-grids. Each puzzle starts off with some numbers already provided in a few cells - these are the hints. As the puzzles increase in difficulty, players find the number of hints given decreases. It is then up to the player to make sure that each row, column and three by three sub-grids have only one instance of each number. Sudoku Master requires patience and lots of lateral thinking ability to complete it successfully!

Sudoku Master contains three difficulty settings so every player will find puzzles to suit them. Solving time varies from player to player; depending on their skill and experience a puzzle can take anywhere between 10 - 30 minutes to complete. For those new to Sudoku, the game offers a practice mode where numbers that are incorrectly entered automatically turn red, thus telling players that they have entered the wrong number. On top of this, there is also a thorough tutorial explaining the rules as well as offering some helpful tips along the way.

By using the Nintendo DS touch screen players have two methods for entering the numbers into the cells; either by writing them in or by selecting the appropriate number by touching the keys on a number pad. Sudoku Master also contains many helpful features to aid the player. Players can highlight entire rows or columns, making it possible to keep an overview of where the numbers are on the grid. It is also possible to highlight all instances of the same number at once, and to store notes (in a smaller font size) inside the grid to keep track of the problem's structure. All provide a useful edge for solving complex puzzles.

When players successfully solve puzzles they also earn stars. The faster a problem is solved the greater the number of stars received. When enough stars have been collected, players gain access to Rank Mode. Here they are challenged to complete puzzles in a set period of time and awarded a rank. The faster the challenge is completed, the higher the rank received.

Test your brain's logic as Sudoku Master goes on sale across Europe on October 27th 2006 at the estimated retail price of around £20.

Click onto www.nintendo-europe-media.com for all of the most up to date official information on Nintendo.

For further information please contact the Nintendo Press Office

on 020 7307 3103

Touch! Generations

Nintendo recognises that everyone is different and has different interests and requirements from their games. Touch! Generations is a new range of software developed by Nintendo, which will appeal to people of all age groups, irrespective of ability or experience. All Touch! Generations software will be clearly labelled with the new Touch! Generations logo, allowing people to instantly identify these unique titles.

Touch! Generations titles currently available for the Nintendo DS include: Nintendogs, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? Electroplankton, Big Brain Academy, Tetris DS

About Nintendo

Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 2.2 billion video games worldwide and more than 375 million hardware units globally, creating such industry icons as MarioÆ and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of ZeldaÆ and PokÈmon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Nintendo 64, NINTENDO GAMECUBE, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy - the world's best-selling video game system which has sold over 193 million units. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.