Avanquest's pre-school line-up

8th October 2009

Avanquest Software Publishing, a leading consumer software and games publisher, has signed with three popular children’s brands to bring a range of new pre-school Nintendo DS titles to retail. Roary the Racing Car, Fifi and the Flowertots and Postman Pat are now available to complement the development of key early years skills through methods such as exploration and investigation, imaginative play, calculating and linking sounds and letters.

Roary the Racing Car

The Roary the Racing Car brand is the number two boys’ pre-school license by value*, making the character an obvious choice for Avanquest to publish on Nintendo DS. Players can join Big Chris, Roary and the gang at the Silver Hatch race track to take part in games such as Musical Mayhem, Big Christine's Tyre Challenge, Cici’s Track Challenge and Rusty Remembers.

Each of the 15 games features a motivational reward system that encourages young players to win three trophies and continue the development of memory and letter recognition skills. Roary the Racing Car on DS promotes the same values as the TV show, assisting children with problem solving and also road safety, as part of ‘knowledge and understanding of the world.’

Fifi and the Flowertots

The popularity of Fifi and the Flowertots is reflected in the TV programme’s high viewing figures with over 117 episodes currently airing on Channel Five’s Milkshake! and Nick Jr. As the number one girls’ pre-school license by value*, retailers can expect the new DS title to be a great success.

Fifi fans can explore the Flowertot garden to enjoy a range of themed games such as Honeypot Tower, Dress the Flowertots, Stingo’s Race, Diggly’s Treasure, Grubby’s Big Adventure, Signing Flowertots and Primrose’s Lessons, to help further the development of important skills including memory, logic, problem solving and creativity.

Val Fry, Director of Licensing at Chapman Entertainment comments, “We are excited to expand our product range with Avanquest Software. They are a great licensee and we are confident that our partnership will continue to blossom with Fifi and that Roary will race off retailers’ shelves in the lead up to Christmas.”

Postman Pat Special Delivery Service (SDS)

Avanquest has signed one of the most established children's characters and a top selling pre-school license in the UK to publish Postman Pat Special Delivery Service on Nintendo DS. This is the first official game to be created based on the new Postman Pat TV episodes, which currently air on CBeebies during the ‘Get So Go’ morning time slot.

The game promotes the brand values of fun and humour, community, work ethic, morality and trust. Players can enjoy guiding Pat, Jess and all the other characters from Greendale & Pencaster through a range of games including Driving, Pat’s Path Game, Hidden Objects, Sudoku and Spot the Difference, to assist with developing skills in the areas of language, literacy and numeracy.

“We are delighted to be continuing our long and successful relationship with Avanquest,” comments David Tovey, Manager of Licensing at Classic Media. “This deal is a very welcome addition to our most successful Postman Pat consumer products campaign to date.”

Simon Reynolds, European Games Director of Avanquest Software says, “We are confident that these new pre-school titles will be extremely popular sellers. We've already seen other children’s TV characters making a very successful transfer to Nintendo DS and these will be no exception. We expect the titles to be a big hit with parents, who can purchase the games to help their children learn and develop early key skills in a fun and interesting way. The titles will also help to extend our broad category range, as we aim to publish top quality products that appeal to as wide a scope of customers as possible.”

Retailers can expect each of the titles to be highly sought after due to:

• Each title being supported by an accompanying popular TV series

• Packaging and content of the games have been designed based on consumer feedback to ensure each title meets customer demand

• The games will be cross promoted on the official brand websites

• A large range of promotional merchandise on offer to strengthen brand awareness

• Each title includes all the characters, locations and music from the official TV series to ensure popularity with fans of each show

• Roary the Racing Car and Fifi and the Flowertots were created by Keith Chapman, maker of the highly successful Bob the Builder

Notes to Editors

Distributor information for all three titles:

RRP: £19.56 each

Available from: Centresoft, Gem, Ideal Software and Interactive Ideas

Published by: Avanquest Software Publishing

*Year to date (YTD) August 2009 according to the NPD Group, Inc, a leading North American market research company

About Avanquest Software

Avanquest Software is one of the world’s leading software developers and publishers, with operations in Europe, North America and China, and marketing its software titles through Retail, Corporate, OEM and Direct-to-Consumer channels. The company is committed to innovation in the design, development and publishing of world-class, easy-to-use and affordable software. Avanquest Software is listed on Euronext (ISIN FR0004026714) since December 1996. Additional information is available at http://www.avanquest.com or http://about.avanquest.com.

About Chapman Entertainment

Chapman Entertainment was formed in 2002 by the successful trio, Greg Lynn, Keith Chapman and Andrew Haydon. It is a rapidly growing company specialising in the creation, production and IP management of original, quality children’s and family entertainment properties. Creativity is key for Chapman Entertainment and there is a raft of future projects for a range of age groups in development.

For further information and review copies please contact:

Sarah Holden / Matt King

Media Safari

Tel: +44 (0)1225 471202

sarahh@mediasafari.co.uk / mattk@mediasafari.co.uk