EA brings books to Nintendo DS with FLIPS

11:20 AM on 10.09.2009   |   Colette Bennett

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When it comes to reading books, I'm totally old fashioned: I don't like the Kindle, I don't want to read them on my iPhone, I don't want an audio book. I want the delicious experience of opening a book with a nice hard cover, turning the pages manually, smelling that new (or even better, old) book smell and enjoying everything about the reading experience. I appreciate the new ways to read, but they just aren't my cup of tea.

Even though I think that, I have to admit the idea of FLIPS is neat. A new concept from EA for the Nintendo DS that launches in the UK on December 4th, each game will contain multiple children's books from writers such as Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer, Enid Blyton. Even if I prefer to read physical books, I can't deny it would be awesome to be able to pack a few on the Nintendo DS if I was a mom and needed a way to keep my kids busy.

I wonder if there's anything in the works in future to bring books for adults to the Nintendo DS?

EA Announces FLIPS on the Nintendo DS
A New Way for Kids to Have Fun With Books

GUILDFORD, England, Oct 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announces the development of FLIPS(TM), an innovative new book range created for the Nintendo DS(TM). FLIPS has been designed to give children of all ages a fun new way to read their favorite books. EA has worked with some of the UK's leading publishers of children's books and magazines, including Egmont and Penguin Publishing, to bring modern classic titles from critically acclaimed authors such as Cathy Cassidy, Eoin Colfer, Enid Blyton, and the various writers from the popular boys series, 'Too Ghoul for School' to the DS. Each FLIPS title features multiple books and the first four titles will be released exclusively on Nintendo DS in the UK on 4th December 2009.

Titles include:
Enid Blyton (Egmont) - The Enchanted Wood(R), The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree, Enchanted World(R) - Petal and the Eternal Bloom, Enchanted World - Melody and the Enchanted Harp, Enchanted World - Silky and the Rainbow Feather

Cathy Cassidy (Penguin)- Scarlett, Angel Cake, Sundae Girl, Shine on Daizy Star, GingerSnaps, Driftwood

Eoin Colfer (Penguin) - Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception, Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox

Too Ghoul For School (Egmont) - Silent but Deadly, The In-Spectres Call, Ghoul Dinners, The Bubonic Builders, Attack of the Zombie Nits, School Spooks Day, French Fright, Terror In Cubical Four

FLIPS uses the DS touch screen and stylus to enable children to read and interact by combining the world of storytelling with quizzes and references to characters, encouraging greater concentration and incentive to finish every chapter. Within the books, links appear to give the reader a unique way of interacting with the story and enhancing their experience.

"FLIPS is a brilliant way of getting children into reading who may love their DS but may not normally pick up a book," commented Cally Poplak, Director, Egmont Press. "At Egmont we are passionate about bringing stories to life for children, so the development of new platforms for reading are incredibly exciting for us. We are proud to be at the heart of this innovation and thrilled to be a part of this first collection bringing authors such as Enid Blyton to the digital world, and encouraging more children to take up reading for pleasure rather than seeing it purely as part of their homework."

"FLIPS offers a great way to bring books to life on a platform that is incredibly popular with kids," said Keith Ramsdale, VP and General Manager, UK, Ireland and Nordics for Electronic Arts. "With multiple books on each game card, FLIPS makes a great value Christmas gift for children of all ages."

"Our job as publishers is to bring authors' work to as many readers as possible and we are increasingly looking at platforms other than the book to do this," said Jeremy Ettinghausen, Penguin Digital Publisher. "So it's incredibly exciting to be working with Electronic Arts to bring some of the best writing for children to one of the bestselling devices in the world."

"I'm over the moon to see my stories and characters brought to life on the Nintendo DS with EA's new FLIPS range," said Eoin Colfer, author of the award-winning Artemis Fowl series. "Everyone knows that reading improves literacy skills. I have two children who are DS fanatics and cannot wait for the FLIPS to arrive, so EA might finally get them reading my books!"

Each FLIPS title featuring six to eight books will be sold separately with an RRP of £24.99.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA(TM), EA Mobile(TM) and POGO(TM). In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.eagames.co.uk. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.eagames.co.uk/press.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Too Ghoul for School © 2007, 2008 Egmont. © Cathy Cassidy 2009. The moral rights of the author have been asserted. Produced under licence from Penguin Books, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. All rights reserved. © Eoin Colfer 2009. The moral rights of the author have been asserted. Produced under licence from Penguin Books, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL. All rights reserved. Enid Blyton, The Enid Blyton signature, Enchanted Wood, Enchanted World and the Enchanted World logo are registered trademarks of Chorion Rights Limited. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.