GAME ON EXHIBITION TO DISPLAY THE NEXT GENERATION OF VIDEO GAME SYSTEMS

Monday 27th November/... The Science Museum's Game On exhibition will be home to a complete line-up of next-generation video gaming hardware, as the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 are installed on Wednesday 29th November well ahead of their public release.

With the Nintendo Wii to go on sale on December 8 and the PlayStation 3 unavailable in Europe until March next year, the Game On exhibition is the only place where the public will be able to compare the differing strengths and capabilities of the machines that represent the cutting edge of video gaming hardware.

Both will be installed on Wednesday 29 November and the exhibition will be open to the public from 11:00am. With Microsoft's Xbox 360 already in place, Game On will provide the public with an unprecedented opportunity to experience the future of interactive entertainment.

Gaetan Lee, programmes developer at the Science Museum said, said: "The future is here."

"Visitors will now be able to see and play all three of the platforms which will dominate the future of video gaming. The Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii will all be in Game On, plugged in and ready to play. Visitors can experience the graphics, interactivity and intensity that are to form the next stage of gaming's technological and cultural development."

Game On is a major interactive exhibition exploring the history and culture of gaming. Sponsored by Nintendo, the exhibition runs at the Science Museum until 25 February 2007. Game On includes more than 120 classic and modern games, which visitors can play, transporting them back to their gaming pasts, as well as introducing younger gamers to the history of current gaming software and hardware. The new arrivals to the exhibition will provide a stark contrast to the first exhibit, the world's first computer game, Spacewar!, from 1962.

Game On is designed to appeal to both families and gaming fans and gives Science Museum visitors the chance to understand the complex design processes which go into creating cutting edge games and the developments in hardware technology from the colossal computers of the early 1960s to the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3. It illustrates how content and technology rely on each other to move forward successfully. Sections of the exhibition are devoted to the different influences Europe, North America and Japan have had on gaming and game design. It shows how games have been conceived and designed for children and the importance of music and sound in the gaming experience.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Game On runs until 25 February 2007

Tickets are on sale on 0870 906 3890 and at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/gameon

Ticket prices Adults £8.50; Children and concessions £6.50

Discounted family, group and combination tickets will be available.

The Science Museum is open every day 10am - 6pm.

Nearest tube: South Kensington

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Game On is organised and toured by the Barbican Art Gallery, which is funded and managed by the Corporation of London

It is sponsored by 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 Mario® and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda® and Pokémon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Game Boy family, 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.

Nottingham-based artist Jon Burgerman uses drawing, painting, print and animation to create 'doodled' characters inhabiting their own colourful worlds. His work has been published and exhibited widely, including exhibitions in London, Dusseldorf, New York, Hong Kong and Paris and projects for the BBC, MTV, Pepsi, 55DSL, Gortex, Snickers and Puma. www.jonburgerman.com