Nickelodeon’s Animated All-Stars Go Yard with Baseball’s Best as 2K Play’s Nicktoons MLB Video Game Swings into Stores

Proving that baseball is now "the universe’s favorite pastime,” fans from the ivy-covered Wrigley Field to the barely-hospitable planet Zeenu can step up to the plate as 2K Play, Nickelodeon, the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball Properties® announce Nicktoons MLB is available in stores for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft featuring support for Kinect™ for Xbox 360®, Wii™ system from Nintendo, and Nintendo DS™. The battle between Nickelodeon’s animated all-stars and baseball’s best has been brewing for months and was stoked by a fans-at-home vote at www.2kplayball.com to determine who should be in the starting lineup of The Showdown, a special online video game simulation based on one of the game’s modes.

Controller-free pitching and batting with the Kinect for Xbox 360(R) sensor option is a hallmark of Nicktoons MLB from 2K Play. (Photo: Business Wire)

"It’s on,” said Steve Lux, vice president of business development for 2K Play. "At long last, this epic face-off can be played out on video game systems everywhere to determine which team will bring home bragging rights and who should report to the Minor Leagues.”

"The Nickelodeon Nicktoons have been petitioning to ‘go yard’ with the best players in Major League Baseball,” said Shaan Kandawalla, Vice President of Digital Games for Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. "These characters have been training this entire season and are fielding a team of All-Stars to make history with the newest rivalry in all of baseball.”

It’s fastball versus stinkball in Nicktoons MLB as SpongeBob, ZIM, Dudley Puppy, Fanboy, Chum Chum, Stimpy and a dugout full of Nicktoons compete with more than 300 players from all 30 MLB® clubs, including Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals), Andre Ethier (Los Angeles Dodgers), Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers), Jason Heyward (Atlanta Braves), Cliff Lee (Philadelphia Phillies), and Robinson Cano (New York Yankees). MLB® ballparks, including Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium, and out-of-this-world Nicktoons venues like Frosty Freeze Field and the Poseidome, add new meaning to the term "home field advantage.”

Nicktoons MLB features play-by-play commentary by Perch Perkins, anchorman for the Bikini Bottom News, and the IRKEN EMPIRE’s irrepressible GIR, as well as multiple gameplay modes, including Pick-up Game, Tournament, Showdown and the swing-for-the fences Distance Derby. For the first time, Xbox 360 gamers will be able to experience controller-free pitching, batting and fielding with the Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor option. Wii gamers can utilize the Wii Remote™ to bat, pitch and slide, while the optional Nunchuk controls allow for precision throwing.

Specially marked packages of Nicktoons MLB contain exclusive Topps trading cards that spotlight both a Nickelodeon character and an MLB player, allowing fans to collect all nine cards in the series. Gamers who play out their own Showdowns at home are invited to report their scores, achievements and heroic moments at www.2kplayball.com.

Nicktoons MLB was developed by High Voltage Software for consoles and Black Lantern Studios for Nintendo DS and has been rated E for everyone by the ESRB. It is now available at retail for the suggested retail price of $29.99 (Wii/DS) and $39.99 (Xbox 360). For more information on Nicktoons MLB please go to www.2kgames.com/2kplay or visit us at Facebook (facebook.com/2kplay) and Twitter (twitter.com/2kplay).

2K Play is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO).

About Take-Two Interactive Software

Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a global developer, marketer and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™, Nintendo DS™, iPhone®, iPod® touch and iPad®. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K, which publishes its titles under 2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com.

About Nickelodeon Consumer Products

Nickelodeon Consumer Products manages the world's number-one TV-based licensing business, representing leading properties such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer, and managing merchandising for Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTVN International, and Spike TV.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

About Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., and MLB Advanced Media, L.P., respectively. All rights reserved. Visit MLB.com. ©MLBPA – Official Licensee, Major League Baseball Players Association. Visit the Players Choice on the web at www.MLBPlayers.com.

About Major League Baseball Players Association

The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com ) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League baseball players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and the Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust, a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League baseball players.

Kinect, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft.

Wii and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo.

All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.

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