He's Popeye The Sailor Man... Namco To Publish Popeye: Rush For Spinach
Popeye Racing to the Game Boy® Advance this Spring
Santa Clara, Ca., (February 15, 2005) - Leading video games publisher and developer Namco Hometek Inc. announced today that Popeye: Rush for Spinach will be available exclusively for the Game Boy® Advance in April 2005.
In Popeye: Rush for Spinach, the Sea Hag witch has stolen the world's supply of spinach to feed her ghosts. Now Popeye and three other playable characters, Olive Oyl, Bluto and Wimpy, must race to defeat her. Players can choose to compete in a series of races within the storyline, compete in 1-on-1 races against each character on each level, race one level or compete against a human opponent.
"We're thrilled to have Popeye join the Namco family," said Jeff Lujan, Business Director, Namco Hometek Inc. "Popeye: Rush for Spinach is sure to entertain fans of all ages. "
Players navigate through 7 lands including the docks, the desert, the jungle and the moon on their quest to find the Sea Hag witch. Throughout the races, players will be able to use vehicles including chickens, pogo sticks, boats, skateboards, dinosaurs, cars, jet packs and rockets, but must watch the clock as they only have limited time with each vehicle before it disappears. Players can also take advantage of power ups, which can be used to gain advantages such as instant acceleration or used against foes - opponents can even be turned into chickens!
The Popeye character was licensed to Namco Hometek Inc. by King Features Syndicate. Popeye: Rush for Spinach will be available for Game Boy Advance this April. For more information on Popeye: Rush for Spinach, please visit: www.namco.com.
About Namco Hometek Inc.
Namco Hometek Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited, a Tokyo-based world leader in the high-tech entertainment industry. Based in Santa Clara, CA, Namco Hometek Inc. is an award-winning video games publisher for next generation game consoles. Namco has created some of the industry's greatest video game franchises: Tekken®, SOULCALIBUR®, Dead to Rights®, Pac-Man WorldTM, Ridge Racer®, Time Crisis® and ACECOMBATTM. For more information about Namco and its products log onto www.namco.com.
About Popeye
Countless fans worldwide have embraced Popeye since his introduction to the public on Jan 17, 1929 in Thimble Theatre, Elzie Crisler Segar's then-10-year-old comic strip. Created as a minor walk-on character, Popeye quickly eclipsed the older characters in popularity and he eventually became the strip's star. With Popeye came a host of new, offbeat and famous characters, including his "goil," Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea, Bluto, Popeye's combative competitor for Olive Oyl's distracted affection, and the Sea Hag, the last true witch on earth and Popeye's No. 1 enemy. During the Sailor Man's 75th Anniversary year in 2004, King Features Syndicate launched its most aggressive and wide-reaching licensing, marketing and promotional program to date with a yearlong series of high-profile events designed to bolster the popularity of the world's most famous sailor man. Headlining the campaign was "Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy," an all-new Popeye 3-D CGI (computer-generated imagery) animated special that was released in a DVD premiere by Lions Gate Entertainment and aired in primetime on FOX during the holiday 2004 season.
For more information, please visit www.kingfeatures.com
About King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate is a member of Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group, which combines The Hearst Corporation's cable network partnerships, television programming and distribution activities and syndication companies. King Features is the world's premier distributor of comics, columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games, distributing some 150 features to nearly 5,000 newspapers around the globe. It is one of the largest and most experienced organizations in merchandising licensing. Among its most beloved and successful classic characters are "Popeye" and "Betty Boop."
TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, PAC-MAN WORLDTM, Ridge Racer®, Time Crisis® and ACECOMBATTM are trademarks or registered trademarks of Namco Limited in the United States and/or other countries.
Dead to RightsTM is a trademark or registered trademark of Namco Hometek Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
TM, ® , Game Boy Advance is a trademark of Nintendo. ® 2004 Nintendo.
Popeye ® 2005 King Features Syndicate, Inc. TM Hearst Holdings, Inc. Game program ® 2005 Namco Hometek, Inc.