Creatures 2 Hits Stores Worldwide; Sequel to Popular Virtual Life Sim Cements New Category of Entertainment Software.NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 1998--The Mindscape mind·scape n. A mental or psychological scene or area of the imagination. division of The Learning Company, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :TLC TLC total lung capacity; thin-layer chromatography. TLC abbr. 1. thin-layer chromatography 2. ), a leading software developer and publisher, has released the sequel to Creatures, a virtual life simulation that has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. Creatures 2 is now available in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , the UK, Europe and Canada. Creatures 2 will delight users with the most realistic virtual pets in the world. Norns(TM) still learn, talk and reproduce, but they are much smarter now. A dramatically expanded vocabulary and 120 new facial expressions let them tell their owners when they are happy, sad, hungry, depressed or frightened. A new interface also makes it much easier to play with them. Mindscape President John Moore John Moore may be: Clergy
"The appeal of virtual pets reaches far beyond the traditional market for computer games, and Mindscape will continue to lead this new genre by using the world's most advanced artificial life technology in the Creatures product line." UK-based CyberLife Technology Ltd., creator of Creatures, developed the sequel for Mindscape. CyberLife has been commended by scientists around the world for its groundbreaking advancements in artificial life. Richard Dawkins Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. , noted Oxford University zoologist and author, has commented that Creatures "is the most impressive use of artificial life I have ever seen." Features Creatures 2 offers a bundle of fun new features in a brand new world that is twice the size of the original Creatures environment. A virtual ecosystem includes plants, cacti, insects, sea creatures, butterflies, fish, caterpillars, bees and ants, plus wind, temperature, clouds and seasonal weather patterns that affect the Norns' health and behavior. New toys and objects include a volcano, a fishing rod, a dog to chase balls and be tickled, and a fully functioning water wheel. Also new in Creatures 2 is a scavenger hunt scavenger hunt n. A game in which individuals or teams try to locate and bring back miscellaneous items on a list. that activates five new features as the Norns pick up a variety of items. These features are: -0-
-- A neuroscience kit
-- Ability to scroll all around the map of the Creatures 2 world
-- Chemicals to inject into the creatures
-- Ability to select Grendels and a brand new species called
Ettins -- and run applets with them
-- A genetics slicer to cross-breed Norns, Grendels and Ettins
-0- The internal systems of Creatures 2 Norns are more complex than those of their predecessors. The new Norns have improved digestive and immune systems, as well as actual organs. New brain lobes and neurotransmitters Neurotransmitters Chemicals within the nervous system that transmit information from or between nerve cells. Mentioned in: Bulimia Nervosa, Impotence, Pain, Withdrawal Syndromes increase their intelligence and learning ability. An import tool will safely upgrade original Creatures Norns into the Creatures 2 environment. About Creatures 1 First introduced in December 1996, Creatures is a virtual world of fuzzy little characters called Norns, which hatch from eggs and live inside the computer. Norns learn, talk and breed, and eventually, they die. They also have to face the occasional bad guy -- Grendels -- mean-looking green monsters who bring disease and trouble into the Norns' world. The Grendels of Creatures 2 are even more vicious than their ancestors. Norns Online The ability to trade Norns on the Internet has spawned an enormous online community of Creatures fans and contributed greatly to the continued interest in the product. CyberLife's original Creatures Web site, which is housed under www.cyberlife.co.uk, still receives 700,000 hits a week and hundreds of e-mails from loyal users with questions about how to care for their Norns. More than 400 additional independent sites allow users to share and trade their Norns with other Creatures aficionados around the world. The official Creatures 2 Web site is at http://creatures.mindscape.com. CyberLife's Creatures 2 Web site is at www.creatures2.com. Availability and System Requirements To be used efficiently, all computer software needs certain hardware components or other software resources to be present on a computer system. These pre-requisites are known as (computer) system requirements and are often used as a guideline as opposed to an absolute rule. Creatures 2 is available at all major computer software resellers in the United States, the UK, Europe and Canada. It comes on a CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). that runs on Window 95/98 and Window NT 4.0. A Mac version will be released early next year. Customers interested in inquiring about Creatures 2 or other Mindscape products may call the company at 617/761-3000. Product information and technical support is also available over the Internet at www.mindscapegames.com. Mindscape and Virtual Life The Mindscape division of The Learning Company is the leading marketer of virtual life software in the United States. In addition to publishing Creatures and Creatures 2, The Learning Company recently acquired PF.Magic, creator of the Petz(TM) (Dogz(TM)/Catz(TM)) family of products. Dogz was the world's first virtual pet when it hit stores in 1995. Since then PF.Magic has sold more than two million Petz worldwide for the personal computer market. Dogz3 and Catz3 will ship this fall. Mindscape also publishes the AQUAZONE line of virtual aquariums, including AQUAZONE DELUXE. AQUAZONE was originally published in Japan and is one of the best-selling PC products in Japanese history. CyberLife Technology Ltd. CyberLife Technology Ltd. is a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. with headquarters in Cambridge, England. It first brought its groundbreaking artificial life technology to market in 1995. CyberLife's mission is to lead a major change in the development and use of computer technology: the power to synthesize intelligent behavior in the form of biologically based software organisms and environments. CyberLife is pioneering the new field of cyberbiology -- the convergence of biological concepts with modern computer technology. This trend beckons a new era of people-friendly, intelligent, self-sufficient technology brought about by living computer systems. Mindscape, Inc. Mindscape, a division of The Learning Company, develops and markets educational, personal productivity, and entertainment software for the entire family. Mindscape's owned and licensed brands include National Geographic, Mavis Beacon, PrintMaster, American Greetings American Greetings Corporation, Inc. NYSE: AM is the world's largest publicly-traded greeting card company. It is based in Cleveland, Ohio and sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, party products (such as wrapping papers and decorations), and electronic , Chessmaster, Compton's, and SSI (1) See server-side include and single-system image. (2) (Small-Scale Integration) Less than 100 transistors on a chip. See MSI, LSI, VLSI and ULSI. 1. (electronics) SSI - small scale integration. 2. . The Learning Company, Inc. The Learning Company, Inc. (NYSE:TLC) develops, publishes, and markets a family of consumer software brands that educate across every age, from young children to adults. The company's products are sold in more than 23,000 retail stores in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and through multiple distribution channels including school sales, online, direct marketing and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and . The company also develops, publishes and distributes products internationally through subsidiaries in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Holland, and Japan, and with distributors throughout Europe, Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , and the Pacific Rim Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important and interconnected economic region. . The company's headquarters are located at One Athenaeum ath·e·nae·um also ath·e·ne·um n. 1. An institution, such as a literary club or scientific academy, for the promotion of learning. 2. A place, such as a library, where printed materials are available for reading. Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02142. The corporate Web site is located at www.learningco.com.
CONTACT: The Learning Company
John Suske, 617/494-5816 (IR)
jsuske@learningco.com
or
Strategy Associates
Maria Murnane, 650/653-2771 (PR)
maria@prstrategy.com
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