Village Gamer

Hasbro and Electronic Arts today announced that big things are just around the corner for the millions of Littlest Pet Shop fans this fall. Hasbro will release an expanded Littlest Pet Shop Online (LPSO) toy line-up to retail this month. In addition, EA is set to launch a new virtual pet collection program within LPSO.com. Together, the growing Littlest Pet Shop Online experience will offer a blend of real-world and online play designed to capture the essence of the globally popular tween girl brand — collectability.

Building on the success of the Frima Studio developed Littlest Pet Shop Online, an immersive online world launched by EA in September 2009, Hasbro has added two new Littlest Pet Shop Online toys to its fall line-up that will allow girls to extend their real-world Littlest Pet Shop collections while also giving them special LPSO.com virtual benefits when they enter special codes included with toy purchases. Landing on retail shelves this month, the LPSO Dancing Dog and the LPSO Starter Pack toys further integrate the two play styles and enable girls to collect their favourite Littlest Pet Shop pets, connect online with friends, play games, and embark on fun adventures. Additionally, EA’s upcoming LPSO.com collection program, “Collect- a-Pet”, will broaden the online play experience with a series of in-game activities and challenges that girls must complete to unlock new adorable “Reward” pets that can be added to their growing virtual collections.

The LPSO Dancing Dog is an interactive pet that plugs into the computer or an MP3 player and boogies to the music on girls’ digital playlists. It also functions as a speaker and lights up and flashes to the beat creating instant Littlest Pet Shop fun. In addition, the LPSO Dancing Dog comes with a secret code to LPSO.com that unlocks special virtual in-game gifts. The LPSO Dancing Dog will carry an approximate retail price of $24.99.

Also on retail shelves this month will be the LPSO Starter Pack, which will allow girls to collect toy versions of their beloved LPSO.com star characters. Girls can assemble up to six of their favorite in-game characters such as Felina Murchent, the fashion-forward kitty who purrs with style and sass and Woolma O’Chic, the charismatic artiste who creates the trendiest designs available in LPSO fashion. Each LPSO Starter Pack pet will also come with a unique LPSO.com code to unlock a 30-day Premium Membership subscription as well as virtual gifts for a girl’s in-game pet. The LPSO Starter Pack will carry an approximate retail price of $9.99 for each of the six characters including a one-month Premium Membership for each pet purchased.

“Hasbro and EA have created an integrated suite of Littlest Pet Shop Online products that takes girls’ affinity for collection, meaningful play and social engagement to a new level,” said Valerie Jurries, Global Senior Vice President of Marketing at Hasbro. “Whether listening to music, spending time on the Internet or just hanging out, these latest LPSO offerings have been designed to allow girls to have their Littlest Pet Shop pets tag along right beside them.”

Adding to the fun and excitement of Hasbro’s new LPSO toys, EA will roll out major enhancements in LPSO.com this month, including the new “Collect-a-Pet” feature which will allow girls to unlock “Reward Pets” when they complete certain in-game activities such as performing multiplayer pet tricks, starting dance parties, or completing a challenging level in one of the many games. The LPSO.com “Reward Pets” will be a very special stand-out addition to girls’ online pet collections as many are inspired by their adorable on-shelf toy counterparts. The LPSO.com “Collect-a-Pet” feature will debut with four “Reward Pets” that will be accessible to all LPSO.com players like the Spotted Dalmatian, inspired by the Dalmatian that comes with the Littlest Pet Shop Rescue Tails Centre playset, also arriving at retail this fall. Additionally, 15 special edition pets such as a Strawberry Hamster and a Candy Zebra will be available exclusively to Premium Members.

“We anticipate the ‘Collect-a-Pet’ feature to be a big hit with our Littlest Pet Shop Online players as it really speaks to the core play pattern of the brand, which is all about building a delightful collection of wonderful pets,” said Chip Lange, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Hasbro Division at Electronic Arts. “With collection as a main pillar of gameplay within LPSO.com, girls will now have the opportunity to add to their virtual Littlest Pet Shop family, just as they have enjoyed doing with their toy collection over the years.”

Littlest Pet Shop fans can create an LPSO.com account and play for free under Basic Membership or purchase a Premium Membership subscription with exclusive features and benefits for $5.95 per month.

Ubisoft and Rodale Inc., publisher of Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines, have solidified a partnership to create workouts specifically tailored to men’s and women’s individual fitness goals and needs for the new video game, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. Available exclusively on Microsoft’s Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, the game will launch alongside Microsoft Kinect™ for Xbox 360® in November, 2010.

Bringing together gaming and fitness industry leaders, this partnership marks the first foray into the video game business for Men’s Health and Women’s Health and the first in-game magazine partnership for Ubisoft. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved will deliver dynamic, interactive, customizable and convenient at-home workouts, created by Men’s Health and Women’s Health fitness experts.

The programs from Men’s Health include “The Sleeve-Busting Arms Workout,” and “The Ultimate Men’s Health Fat Loss Workout.” The workout programs from Women’s Health include “The Perfect Legs and Butt Workout,” “The Toned Arms and Shoulders Workout,” and “The Skinny Jeans Workout”. All workouts are designed so that users can integrate free weights into the programs.

“Microsoft’s Kinect platform allows us to deliver precise fitness instruction and form-based feedback into the home,” said David Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health and Editorial Director of Women’s Health. “We’re excited to partner with Ubisoft to further expand the Men’s Health and Women’s Health brands beyond the pages of the magazines and give gamers everything they need to shape up.”

“Most people probably don’t associate killer abs and weight loss with video games, but, now they can,” said Tony Key, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at Ubisoft, U.S. “The partnership between Ubisoft’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Men’s Health and Women’s Health leverages their fitness know-how to develop the most effective workouts possible.”

As part of the partnership, the game will be co-marketed by Men’s Health, Women’s Health and Ubisoft. In addition, some of the featured workouts from Men’s Health and Women’s Health will be available as a free application on Apple’s iPhone and iTouch devices.

Twenty-five years ago today, Nintendo’s original Super Mario Bros.™ video game made its debut in Japan and changed the world of video games forever. Since then, Mario™ has become one of the most renowned and beloved video game characters around the globe.

Mario is all but synonymous with Nintendo. It’s difficult to think of one without thinking of the other. Super Mario Bros. contains a magical blend of characters, graphics, challenges, music and action that still captivates players today. The original game sold 40.24 million units worldwide, and remains one of the best-known, best-loved video games in the world. It popularized the side-scrolling format and established elements of the Mushroom Kingdom that are still used in today’s Mario games. Super Mario Bros. frequently appears on lists of the best games of all time.

“Stimulated by advancements in technologies, we have always enjoyed developing the Super Mario Bros. series,” said Nintendo designer and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. “The Super Mario Bros. series has always taken advantage of the latest technologies and is the fruit of the creativity of a number of my hard-working friends working as a team.”

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., fans can visit Mario’s birthday page to see a special video that shows game-play footage from Super Mario Bros. all the way through Super Mario Galaxy™ 2.

After a very successful midnight launch at two Canadian EB Games outlets, EA Sports™ NHL® SlapShot and NHL® 11, developed by EA Canada, are now in Canadian stores. EA Sports NHL 11 for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360® is rated E10+, while the E rated NHL SlapShot is available exclusively for the Nintendo Wii™.

“We are extremely excited about our hockey offerings this year,” says Brent Nielsen, executive producer, EA Sports. “Our NHL product is consistently one of our strongest titles on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and this year with NHL SlapShot, we feel we’ve created a hockey experience that is unlike anything that has come before it on the Wii.”

NHL 11 marks the 20th Anniversary of the award winning EA Sports NHL franchise, by introducing a genre changing real-time physics engine that replicates the real sport like never before. With real physics powering NHL 11, every check, broken stick and bounce of the puck will now react like it does in the real world. NHL 11 also introduces a revamped faceoff system to the franchise. Now players will be given all the options that an NHL center has in the faceoff circle, giving users even more control than they have ever had in an EA Sports NHL game. In addition, the EA Sports Ultimate Hockey League makes its debut in NHL 11. In the EA Sports Ultimate Hockey League, players collect cards that represent the players on their team. With 4000 cards to collect and use, representing players from the CHL, European leagues and NHL, users must manage chemistry, training, and a salary cap as they build their squad, and take them to the ice to challenge the world.

EA Sports NHL SlapShot is the franchise’s first outing on the Wii, and it skates onto the platform by literally putting a hockey stick into the player’s hands. The hockey stick accessory*, which is included in all copies of NHL SlapShot, will allow players to pull off shooting, checking, stick handling and many more moves in the game by performing real life motions that the pros use on the ice. In addition, Peewee to Pro mode allows users to start as a youngster playing on a backyard pond and grow through Bantam leagues and the CHL before stepping on to the NHL ice. With skill growth and unlockable boosts, the Peewee to Pro Mode is one of the deepest single player career modes in an EA Sports title to date. NHL SlapShot also features Wayne Gretzky on both the cover, and in-game. Players will have a chance to play through the Great One’s career, from his humble beginnings on a frozen pond to his dominating NHL presence.

I was recently asked to go to EA Burnaby and play NHL Slapshot for  the Wii.  So Chuck Beaman (camera operator) and I grabbed the camera and headed to Burnaby (see part 1 of my video preview),We were greeted by Rick Brown a designer on the game to talk about NHL Slapshot and the new NHL Slapshot controller, and the new game modes it offers.

NHL Slapshot has been in development at EA Burnaby for a couple of years due to launch this Tuesday September 7th for the Nintendo Wii, and this game has many things going for it.

“The Great One” Wayne Gretzky (cover athlete) is available to any team you want, so just choose him from the free agent pool and add him to your squad. CHL teams are also available to play as.

EA really wanted to bring back the feeling of being a kid with one of those small sticks in your hand and the craze of living room hockey, so their solution was the NHL Slapshot game and controller.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLw59U20Puc] Part 1

The NHL Slapshot controller is a hockey stick in your hand, with the nunchuck in the top to control your player and the Wii mote in the shaft of the stick to detect the motions. prepare to shoot,pass and hit with the stick. Taking shots is extremely easy just by flicking the stick you take a wrist shot and to take a slap shot just wind up and shoot. To hit you do a crosschecking motion with the stick holding it parallel. You can also play goaltender with the stick when you pop out the nunchuck and hold it in front of you, which all felt really well tuned and responsive.

The first prototype of this stick was actually made with a 300 dollar composite stick with the Wiimote and nunchuck inside it.

The Slapshot stick comes in the box with the game and additional ones can be bought at the place of purchase of the game.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbS_55M7obg] Part 2

The game looks and plays a little different too compared to its big brother NHL 11. The designers had a common phrase as they made this game “What would nintendo do” so when you take a really hard slapshot or big hit you get some flames behind the puck or a satisfying thump with a hit.

One big difference is the ability to play their Peewee to Pro mode in which you can create a character and lead him/her through 5 different leagues (Peewee,Bantam,Junior,CHL and NHL), complete with different  game rules and team sizes. In Peewee it’s 3 on 3 but arcade style,  CHL/NHL is full 5 on 5 with all the rules and team members available.

With 4 different player models as you advance your career through Pee Wee to Pro you will visibly see your character grow with your eyes. Adding to that is their boost system which allows you to unlock for your character over 200 boosts available for completing things in the game such as getting all A’s in a game. You will also be able change your attributes as you upgrade your player.

Another first for a hockey sporting game on the Wii is online rosters and schedules, Day one players will be able to download current rosters and schedules that will update as they change over the season using the Wii’s wifi internet capabilities. It was also mentioned that it would be supported for at least 2 years so you would be able to come back to the game and update even after this current season is over and then to the next this is EA’s strategy on the WIi.

Other game modes include Stanley Cup Playoffs (best of 7 series), Free 4 all and 3 other mini games. Free 4 all has you and up to 3 friends lace up your skates and go against one goaltender to score 3 goals first  while all fighting for one puck.

The 3 other mini games are Shooter vs Goalie,2 on 2 and classic shootout. Shooter vs Goalie is player VS player where one player is the shooter and the other is the goalie using the goalie controls.

2 VS 2 is the regular game of hockey played 2 on 2.

Classic shootout is a shootout with 5 players on either side that can be played by 4 people with multipliers and bonuses for consecutive goals.

After playing 2 games against Rick (see part 2 of my video) I think Im able to say that EA provided a very high quality NHL game to the Wii that far exceeded my impressions of what a hockey game for the Wii was like. I would definitely recommend this to any one with a Wii or a great stocking stuffer for that special hockey player in your family.

So make sure you check it out and look for it on store shelves on September 7th

James Karg
email: James-at-villagegamer-dot-net

EA Black Box and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. today announced that Need for Speed™ World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game will incorporate Dolby® Axon voice chat technology before the December holiday season. Need for Speed World combines the rush of illicit street racing, deep RPG style progression, and vehicle customization into an immersive, socially connected experience. The game will be featured at the Penny Arcade Expo in Dolby’s booth, number 612.

“In Need for Speed World, we’re able to continually update the game with new technology to provide the best MMO racing experience for our players,” said Stephane Grefford, Producer, Need for Speed World. “Working with Dolby Axon, we can give gamers a seamless channel of communication enabling in-game collaboration towards becoming the top racer. We’re excited to be the first title in North America to incorporate Dolby Axon to help enhance our players’ overall racing experience.”

“Dolby Axon helps ensure that communication among team members happens clearly and quickly when racing at over 100 miles an hour in Need for Speed World,” said Matt Tullis, Marketing Director, Games, Dolby Laboratories. “We’re really excited to be working closely with EA in bringing a new level of voice chat to their game.”

By integrating Dolby Axon into online game titles, game developers can provide players with a new level of realism in online gaming:

* Improved audio chain processing (noise suppression, echo suppression) for clear voice communication
* Surround sound voice chat over stereo headsets, stereo speakers, and 5.1 playback systems delivering realistic and exciting in-game communication with teammates
* Compatibility with any stereo headset, enabling gamers to experience clear, crisp voice quality without specialized equipment

Hothead Games is also down at PAX, featuring their two latest video games at the Penny Arcade Expo. You will find them giving hourly live game play demos of Swarm and DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue at their Sky 1 booth on the sky bridge. Hothead’s PAX booth will also contain kiosks where show attendees can play the newest DeathSpank adventure and enter to win a number of prizes including limited edition Hothead merchandise.

“We’re really excited to be at PAX to show off Swarm and DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue,” said Ian Wilkinson, President of Hothead. “PAX has always been a show for gamers and we appreciate the opportunity to connect directly with fans.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hg0bVLdRgA]

DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue is Hothead’s all new rapid-fire action-RPG game and is the perfect companion to Hothead’s original hit game DeathSpank that launched in July 2010. In the continuing story of venerable hero DeathSpank, players must recover six mystical thongs and bring balance and harmony to the universe. Thongs of Virtue launches on September 21 on PlayStation Network and September 22 on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Swarm is an action platformer like no other. Players control a herd of fifty daft, pudgy and utterly fearless Swarmites, driving them through an intense and often suicidal gauntlet of death and destruction. The game features innovative mass character control, fast-paced action and comic mayhem, offering players a unique experience that will keep them playing again and again.

Congratulations to Big Blue Bubble, whose iPhone/iPad application Thumpies won the award for Mobile Entertainment of the Year at the Mobile Content Awards 2010 in Seoul, Korea.

Facing some stiff competition that included more than 110 companies from 15 countries, Thumpies emerged victorious against semi-finalists Fallen EP-1 from 7th Sense Studios in the United Kingdom and UBC Mobile from UBC in Korea. Present to accept the award and the prize money, Big Blue Bubble CEO, Damir Slogar stated “After receiving nothing but absolutely glowing reviews from the media, Thumpies reached another milestone – formal recognition from industry professionals. This will just fuel our enthusiasm to bring the game to many new platforms.“

Thumpies is a unique rhythm-based music game for players of all ages. By correctly matching the beat of bouncing Thumpies the player progresses through a song. Unlike typical rhythm based games, Thumpies uses a mechanic of bouncing in time instead of just a series of notes. The quirky art design of Thumpies XL is accompanied by a unique musical score composed by award winning, industry veteran David Kerr. The music was crafted with game play in mind, giving the player a harmonizing experience.

Vancouver Film School’s Game Design Expo 2011 is now accepting speaker proposals from game industry professionals who have a passion to share their expertise. Past speakers at the consistently sold-out Industry Speaker Day at Game Design Expo have included the makers of games such as Dead Rising 2, Halo, Mass Effect, ModNation Racers, and Saints Row 2 (amongst many others). The deadline for submissions is October 4th 2010, so download the Speaker Proposal Package (PDF) today and send your completed proposal in as soon as possible.

Telefilm Canada announced today a streamlined approach to submitting corporate information as part of an application.

Previously, four documents were required in order to provide all required corporate information with an application; now only one is required. The new Canadian Status of Corporation and Corporate Information Affidavit (doc file) now online replaces the following forms:

* Corporate secretary’s certificate naming the shareholders and the number of shares held by each
* Corporate secretary’s certificate naming the officers and indicating their signing authority
* Declaration of Corporate Information
* Canadian Status of Corporation Affidavit

Telefilm Canada is committed to providing effective and efficient service to its clients and as such continuously works to provide new ways in which to work with the industry.

New indie house Wild Games Studio Inc. has announced the title and genre of their first game in production, an open-ended RPG/Adventure game. The game, which will release a trailer in October, will be set in third person view. Dhaila’s Adventures will be a game for PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360, with a playable demo coming soon.

Featuring Dhaila, a young fairy whose powers are bound to nature, the game will rely on gameplay taking place in an open world where the player will update the origins of Dhaila and help fulfill her destiny. In addition to the main quest, Dhaila could fill hundreds of side quests depending on the choices and actions proposed. Puzzles and large dungeons filled with traps and monsters will be part of her adventure to enhance the gameplay. Furthermore, Dhaila will be accompanied with a friend that can be controlled by another player to help Dhaila during certain puzzles through teamwork.

Orphaned in the fantasy world of Martania, Dhaila possesses unknown extraordinary powers. She has special skills, including one which can absorb the energy of nature directly through its DNA. She can also absorb the DNA of other creatures, making the heroine able to acquire their shape at any time. Living in one of these valleys, the village seems protected by an unknown magical force, more powerful than in other villages. Dhaila will leave to research her origins, while trying to release Martania of the influence of Dysan, a tyrant who has subjugated the people, forcing them to labour under the threat of the dragons he also holds sway over.

Selected as one of the glorious PAX 10, Retro City Rampage from VBlank Entertainment will be showcased at PAX Prime this weekend at booth 3017, where visitors can meet the dev team, play the game and get some fantastic swag.

This unbelievable FREE swag includes:

* Retro cartridge labels (stick ’em on NES carts)!
* Retro game boxes* (stick your cart in it)!
* Retro plastic case inserts (with BLURST processing)!
*Retro game rental case inserts (“INDESTRUCTIONS”)!

As an added Bonus, the team will also be having a daily draw to win a Retro City Rampage cartridge case in the box! The team does caution, however, that due to the indie budget and a recent price increase on Ramen Noodles, the “box” is a cleverly designed and exciting arts and crafts project. Simply cut out and fold it yourself for some analog fun Alternatively, you could frame it and stick it on the wall of your local museum.

Capcom will be taking up residence at PAX in Booth 652, where you can drop by and try out their upcoming lineup of titles including Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Okamiden and Blue Castle Games‘ Dead Rising 2 – shipping on September 28.

Ubisoft will have three booths at the show. You will find them in spaces 632, 622 and 712. Each booth will feature a variety of Ubisoft’s upcoming releases and lots of fun prizes for booth visitors.

For the first time in the U.S., PAX attendees will get to try out various titles from Ubisoft exclusively for Kinect™ for Xbox 360®, including Your Shape™: Fitness Evolved and MotionSports™, in addition to seeing the first public demo of Child of Eden™. Consumers will also get an opportunity to play H.A.W.X® 2 multiplayer, and see a sneak peak of Outland™, one of Ubisoft’s digital games for PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. In addition, Just Dance® 2 will be available to play onsite at the show.

PAX attendees will have a chance to play Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood, which will be playable on Xbox 360 and the PlayStation®3 at the Ubisoft booth before its November release. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood fans who pre-order the game onsite at PAX will receive an exclusive Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood T-shirt, and there are also opportunities for consumers who fan the Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Facebook page to win Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood posters. Other giveaways include a Just Dance–themed t-shirt for anyone who pre-orders the October release of Just Dance 2 at PAX. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you ready for some SUMO? Frima Studio has announced a slew of updates and new features for its recent Facebook game, Rock Paper Sumo! Launched in June of 2010, Rock Paper Sumo has wrestled its way into the hearts and Favorite Apps List of thousands of players across the world with its hilarious take on the classic game of Rock Paper Scissors.

This new series of updates will allow players to fight more and earn more in-game currency, eat more meals (bento) to gain weight (increase rank) and give a larger sense of progression while still maintaining the game’s focus on Rock Paper Scissor challenges sent to and received by friends and fellow Facebook users.

Rock Paper Sumo updates include:

* The entire scoring system has been revamped – new Weekly Tournaments start every Thursday, and each week, players get a chance to be on the top of the pyramid (leaderboard) and win weekly prizes. Everyone in the top 6-10% will win a bronze medal, the top 2-5% will win a silver medal and the top 1% will earn the coveted gold medal. The number one player of the week will receive an exclusive crown that shows off your sumo prowess to everyone.

o Even if you don’t get to the top 10%, every week different items can be unlocked only by increasing your score, with a total of three exclusive items becoming available each week.
o All these items can be used to customize your sumo proudly. They will be unique from week to week, so collect them all! And since they will be given only as special rewards, none of them will be available for purchase in the shop, which is sure to turn your rival sumo wrestlers green with envy.

* All “old-timers” that had started playing before this update will receive a complete kit of exclusive items for free to thank them to their tremendous support.

* A new energy system is put in place to send fight challenges to your friends. Your energy will decrease when sending these challenges…BUT, when your energy gets low, your sumo gets hungry and it’s time to eat bentos that increase your weight level. When gaining weight, your maximum level of energy increases and allows you to send even more challenges to friends and rivals.

* The whole balancing of the game has also been tweaked to allow new players to progress faster and make sure that anybody has their chance to succeed even against the top players.

* More updates are planned for the coming weeks…stay tuned for more info.

Rock Paper Sumo embarks players on a quest to become the ultimate rikishi, and wrestlers must live by the ancient ways of sumo: train hard, eat lots of calorie-rich bento to pack on the pounds, engage in sparring sessions against a deadly dummy and fulfill dojo duties with honor! Spend hard-won Bento Bucks and Dojo Dollars on hysterical makeovers with over 200 accessories to choose from, like cowboy hats, pink Mohawk, fu manchu, assorted tattoos, or even a chest fro! Each player must challenge his or her Facebook friends to fight in order to win battles and unlock achievements, brawling their way up the global leaderboard to ultimately be hailed as the best rock-paper-scissors player in the world!

The Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that it has expanded its North American virtual world, Littlest Pet Shop Online (LPSO), to the UK this September. Developed in partnership with Frima Studio, Littlest Pet Shop Online is an innovative, beautifully designed, online entertainment and community destination for girls based on Hasbro’s globally popular Littlest Pet Shop brand.

The web-based Littlest Pet Shop Online is a world of adorable islands filled with fun and exciting online games and activities. There are tools for girls to create, customise and play with their favourite Littlest Pet Shop pets, connect with friends and make new ones too.

Littlest Pet Shop Online embraces its essence of collectability with the Collect-a-Pet feature; enabling girls to unlock unique special edition “Reward Pets” through the completion of fun in-game activities to grow their virtual pet collection

“Littlest Pet Shop Online is all about providing girls with a place to bring their favourite LPS pets to life online,” said Stuart Lang, UK Marketing Director. “We’re excited Littlest Pet Shop fans have embraced and enjoy the game in North America, and are delighted to offer fans in the UK a new and exciting way to connect online with friends through their favourite pets too.”

Excitement and adventure unfold at every turn when girls explore Littlest Pet Shop Online’s islands of Waggington and Kittywood as they customise their virtual pet collection, decorate their pets’ home, play mini-games, discover hidden objects, and connect with friends both old and new. Players earn Kibble Coins, the game’s virtual currency along the way, which they can spend at boutiques like “Wooly Couture,” run by Woolma O’Chic, the most fashionable lamb in town. Players can take a ride between islands on Guppy the whale and meet featured pets, like Harmony Groovemore, the dancing dog who can Cha cha cha and owner of the Sassy Steps Dance Studio.

For girls who want to join the online fun while also expanding their growing offline Littlest Pet Shop collection Hasbro is launching an LPSO toy line in Europe this autumn. LPSO toys include LPSO Pets, which are cuddly plush, and the LPSO Dancing Dog, the groovy pet who dances to your music when plugged into your computer or MP3 player. Each toy comes with a code which unlocks virtual gifts.

Anyone can play by creating an account in just two easy steps, and enjoy many Littlest Pet Shop Online features. Premium Members have access to special features including extensive pet customization, ability to unlock all “Reward Pets” in Collect-a-Pet, games, spending Kibble Coins on exclusive clothes, food, and accessories, and much more.