BOCA RATON, Fla., Oct. 20, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Empire Interactive, an international publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software and a unit of Silverstar Holdings (Nasdaq:SSTR), will release the highly anticipated Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams for Nintendo DS(tm) on November 11, 2008. The title will be distributed by Atari, Inc. in North America under the terms of an exclusive, multi-year distribution deal between Atari and Empire Interactive which was signed in August 2008.
Hello Kitty is the pop culture icon from Sanrio Co, Ltd, the company founded on the concept that a small gift can bring a big smile to a child of any age. Sanrio fans will soon be able to take on the role of Hello Kitty as she sets out from her beloved home in Sanrio Town and begins a new adventure in The Big City. It's in players' hands to help Hello Kitty get from her small starter apartment into her dream penthouse by playing mini-games, making friends, and earning friendship points. Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams has an ESRB rating of "E" for "Everyone".
Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams offers two unique, yet complementary styles of play: exploration and mini-game. Exploration mode offers players the chance to take control of Hello Kitty and explore a 3D city, complete with streets, buildings, shops, neighborhood characters, and public transportation that Hello Kitty can ride. Different locations within the city will trigger a variety of mini-games for Hello Kitty to play. Completing these mini-games will earn friendship points which Hello Kitty can then use to ride the bus or train, purchase new outfits and items, decorate and customize her apartment, and progress in her journey. In order to keep her friends happy, Hello Kitty will have to stay in touch by checking her mail frequently.
"From the graphics and game play to the colors and characters, we have gone the extra mile to ensure that Hello Kitty's first 3D adventure on DS exceeds the expectations of our audience," said Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales for Empire Interactive. "The quality and variety of the mini-games, which all feature scaling difficulty, ensure that fans of Hello Kitty and fans of handheld adventure games in general will all find ample reason to enjoy Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams."
"Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams brings together some of Sanrio's most lovable characters in a fun interactive 3D environment," says Yat Siu, CEO of Sanrio Digital Ltd. "Sanrio fans are sure to enjoy navigating their favorite characters from one adventure to the next."
Visit Empire Interactive's brand-new North American website for more information about the game, including screenshots and the official game play trailer at www.us.empireinteractive.com.
Art assets for Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams can be downloaded at https://empireus.sharefile.com/d-s2c1a6d437b84bc1b.
About Atari, Inc.
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ATAR) publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The 1,000+ titles that are published and distributed by the Company include hard-core, genre- defining franchises such as Test Drive(r) and mass-market and children's franchises such as Dragon Ball Z(r). Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR - 0010478248), an interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.
About Sanrio Digital (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Sanrio Digital was founded in 2006, as a joint venture between Typhoon Games (HK) Ltd. and Sanrio Wave Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Sanrio Digital handles the expansion of Sanrio intellectual property assets into various digital and online media, capitalizing on over three decades of Sanrio original material. The company holds rights to produce offline products based on its online productions, providing synergy between the Sanrio traditional offline business and its digital venture. For more information please visit www.sanriodigital.com.
About Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive is a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software that has been established for 19 years. Headquartered in the UK, Empire Interactive also has offices in the US, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The company develops and publishes a varied range of titles for all current platforms in the US, Europe and Asia. Games such as Starsky & Hutch, Big Mutha Truckers, Ford Racing and FlatOut have all enjoyed success across the world. Its budget label, Xplosiv, is one of the fastest growing in Europe. Further information about Empire Interactive and its products can be found at www.us.empireinteractive.com.
The Empire Interactive logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3408
About Silverstar Holdings
Silverstar Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq:SSTR) is a leading international publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software. It currently owns Empire Interactive, PLC and Strategy First, Inc., a leading development and worldwide publisher of entertainment software for the PC. For more information about Silverstar Holdings go to www.silverstarholdings.com.
Nintendo DS(tm) is a trademark of Nintendo.