Nintendo Introduces New Line of Robotic Helpers
With the help of his lounge-singer-wannabe sidekick Telly, Chibi meets and communicates with a host of wacky toys that come to life at night. These include a pirate, a mummy, Space Hunter Drake Redcrest (a legendary action hero) and the Free Rangers, a battalion of egg-shaped soldiers. Each character has a distinct personality that shines through as Chibi works to help his family achieve happiness. That’s not always easy to do in a home where the parents are having marital troubles, their daughter thinks she’s a frog and the teddy bear has an unhealthy addiction to honey.
“Chibi-Robo represents a great blending of American and Japanese pop-culture sensibilities,” said George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Its freewheeling approach lets players progress at their own pace while they explore a huge, adventure-filled world.”
Chibi can don a variety of different suits that give him new abilities and help him communicate with other characters in the game. For instance, while wearing his dog outfit he can interpret what the family dog is saying when he barks. Chibi can scare people while wearing his ghost outfit or even turn day into night after putting on his pajamas.
Players can focus solely on their main goals or wander off to do side tasks that help increase the happiness of the household. Whether they fly through the air on their Chibi-Copter or target small obstacles with their Chibi-Blaster, the only restriction they have is a limited power supply. If it runs low, they just plug themselves into the nearest outlet. Chibi-Robo offers the kind of nonlinear approach that Nintendo has pioneered with other games, such as the puppy-training Nintendogs or the music-making Electroplankton. Players can proceed at their own pace and decide how much they want to accomplish at a given time.
The gaming media already has singled out Chibi-Robo as much more than a cute cartoon adventure. According to 1UP.com, “…there’s a subversive streak of humor to the game, as well as the ever-fascinating premise of being a tiny creature in an outsized real-world environment…” And IGN.com says”Chibi-Robo is a colorful and lighthearted affair that is appropriate for just about any age group, young or old.”
Chibi-Robo is Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older. For more information about the game, visit www.chibi-robo.com.
The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS and Nintendo GameCube systems extend Nintendo’s vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 2 billion video games and more than 360 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere.
For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.
