Dive Into SQUIDS Odyssey RPG on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS This Spring

The Game Bakers’ underwater heroes sling onto new platforms in enhanced release with brand new “Wakame” campaign and other bonus content

MONTPELIER, France – February 13, 2014 – Have a hankering for fresh squid? Skip the sushi bar and pay a visit to the Nintendo eShop instead when SQUIDS Odyssey arrives on Wii U™ and Nintendo 3DS™ this spring. In this fanciful role-playing game from The Game Bakers, an insidious black ooze is seeping into the Squids’ lush underwater kingdom, turning ordinary crabs and shrimp into dangerous monsters. For the first time on consoles, join a brave shoal of Squid heroes on their quest to protect their homeland.

In this tactical RPG, the heroes’ squishy bodies become their best weapons: simply stretch a Squid’s tentacles, then let go to fling it across the battlefield. Choose among 15 Squids in four classes, each with unique abilities and attacks, to build the perfect party. Then lead your team into turn-based battles against corrupted crustaceans using the party’s strengths, the environment, and enemies’ weaknesses to devise strategic attacks. The game’s captivating adventure storyline and 90+ missions promise at least 15 hours of gameplay, while 65+ stat-boosting helmets provide numerous ways to customize.

As the ultimate SQUIDS compilation, SQUIDS Odyssey includes two campaigns previously released on PC and mobile devices with tons of improvement and tweaks, along with a brand new campaign in the Japanese kingdom of Wakame. SQUIDS Odyssey also includes a new Squid hero named Oktoku and four exclusive themed helmets. The controls have been completely reimagined for the Wii U console: players can use the Left Stick to aim and shoot, go hands-on with the Wii U GamePad touch screen, or even play exclusively on the GamePad. The Nintendo 3DS version features a choice between the +Control Pad or the Nintendo 3DS stylus, plus a gorgeous layered 3D effect that shows off the Squids’ underwater utopia like never before.

“We originally conceived SQUIDS with classic Nintendo games in mind. It’s an RPG with a colorful world, a fun story, and simple controls, but lots of gameplay depth like in the Zelda games,” says Emeric Thoa, The Game Bakers’ creative director. “We’re thrilled that Nintendo has supported our dream of bringing our Squids to their hardware and can’t wait for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS players to dive in with these brave heroes.”

SQUIDS has become a globally recognized brand with more than two million game downloads to date. A digital comic book series is underway from APE Entertainment and a children’s television series is in early production. Learn more about SQUIDS on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SquidsTheGame

SQUIDS Odyssey press assets: http://thegamebakers.com/vip

About The Game Bakers

An independent video game studio founded and staffed by industry veterans, The Game Bakers make games like they cook food: with a lot of care and a lot of love. After making a name for themselves with mobile games SQUIDS, SQUIDS Wild West, and Combo Crew on mobile devices, the studio is turning their focus to console development starting with SQUIDS Odyssey shipping for Wii U™ and Nintendo 3DS™ in Spring 2014. They are also working on an unannounced licensed game to be released in 2014 alongside a major motion picture. To learn more, visit the company’s website at http://thegamebakers.com.

Nintendo 3DS and Wii U are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2012 Nintendo.

‘YOU DON’T KNOW JACK^®’ STUDIO HITS THE TEE WITH ‘WORD PUTTZ™’, A WORD GAME WITH BALLS 

New F2P iOS and Android Game Is Jackbox Games’ First Word Game

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – February 13, 2014 – Independent developer Jackbox Games today announced the official launch of Word Puttz™, a F2P mobile game for iOS and Android that takes the word game somewhere it has never gone before: the mini-golf course.

“Word Puttz is our own twisted spin on the genre,” said Mike Bilder, GM, Jackbox Games. “After some hard work in the studio, we’re confident that Word Puttz will be the only octopus-hosted, wordtile/mini-golf mashup you’ll ever play.”

In Word Puttz, players use letters from their tray to build cross words that score points based on the combined letter value, just as in other word games. Sounds pretty simple, right? But, the Octoputtz, a spelling-obsessed octopus and mini-golf course owner, loaded each course with obstacles, challenges and bizarre surprises preventing the player from sinking that crucial putt.

Players progress through the holes of various courses that offer different layouts, missions and obstacles with increasing degrees of difficulty. The game is entirely F2P and players earn stars that enable them to continually unlock additional content. A variety of boosts are available for in-app purchase, as is an upgrade that removes ads and provides a stockpile of boosts.

Word Puttz will launch with four courses, including more than 70 levels, and additional courses will be added in the future. Facebook Connect integration allows players to compete with friends on the leaderboard and sharing of boosts and lives is fully integrated into the app.

This new game is the latest innovation from the Chicago studio that has evolved from developing the original YOU DON’T KNOW JACK for PC, which sold more than five million total units, to the SPIKE TV 2012 Social Game of the Year (YOU DON’T KNOW JACK for Facebook), to last year’s release of Lie Swatter™, Clone Booth™ and YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Party.

About Jackbox Games

Jackbox Games, formerly Jellyvision Games, is a developer and publisher of games on leading consumer gaming platforms. The company is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Valentine’s Day: The West invites for a Heart Hunt

Hamburg, February 13, 2014. InnoGames’ online role-playing game The West launched a Valentine’s Day event today, leading players on a hunt for hearts! With those hearts, players can unlock up to ten rewards with increasing heart requirements. The first special item to unlock is a traveling fair, with which the players can win unique item sets. Hearts can be earned via regular jobs or in duels with other players until March 2nd.

As appropriate for a day of love event, players will also be rewarded for cooperative behavior. Hearts can be sent to other players via a friends bar, which will be part of a special quest line. Furthermore, all hearts collected on one world will be accumulated. The more successful the community is here, the more valuable the rewards given to them will be. Those community rewards can be items given to every single player on that world, and include things like a new questline.

The West is a role-playing browser game set in the Wild Frontier. More than 18 million registered players worldwide are placed on a hunt for adventure, gold and fortune. Cowboys and cowgirls partake in interesting and exciting stories, help settlers and collect bounties. The role-playing game also incorporates some strategy aspects, as players can join big fort battles.

With more than 110 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and publishers of online games. In addition to The West, the Hamburg-based company has scored major success with games such as Tribal Wars, Forge of Empires and Grepolis.