News

Vivendi Universal Delivers Unbridled Fun with Barbie Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue

New Game Marks First Jump For Barbie Onto PlayStation2 and Xbox Platforms

LOS ANGELES (November 4, 2003) - Saddle up for adventure as Vivendi Universal Games trots out Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Wild Horse Rescue, the first Barbie(tm) video game created for the PlayStation(r)2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox(tm) video game system from Microsoft. Featuring Barbie(tm), the #1 girls software brand*, this all-new 3D horse riding adventure challenges players to help Barbie(tm) and her friends find lost horses from the local riding school, delivering hours of action-packed play with breathtaking visuals. Girls are invited to join Barbie(tm) on a ride through 10 beautiful adventure areas, jumping over fallen trees, crossing rickety bridges and avoiding other potential hazards throughout their quest. Finally, players must chase the loose horses, lasso them and return them to safety!

"We are very excited about expanding the world for Barbie(tm) fans to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox game systems," said Philip O'Neil, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Vivendi Universal Games. "The platform capabilities have opened up new opportunities for our developer to create a beautiful title that offers girls action/adventure game play."

Perfect for girls ages seven and up, Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Wild Horse Rescue enables players to customize their horses through creative play options. Guiding Barbie(tm) and her horse across thin cliff edges, around logs and through rivers, girls can take an active role in the 3D excitement. Girls can even guide Barbie(tm) to dismount her horse and explore trails on foot for more adventure. Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Wild Horse Rescue also encourages trust between rider and horse, rewarding careful handling and nurturing.

Key Features:

  • Race after missing horses, lasso them and lead them to safety

  • Girls can customize their horses by selecting the coat, mane, tail, eye color and riding tack

  • Nurture lost foals by petting and feeding them and coaxing them to safety

  • Engage in multi-player games that allow girls to play together collaboratively or competitively; challenge friends to a race or play together to gather all the coins

  • Explore a real time 3D world by galloping through river valleys, trotting carefully across slippery ice, narrow bridges and more

  • Nine levels plus an unlockable bonus level offer a variety of gameplay across forest trails, shorelines and snowy mountains

  • Gallop past your friends as you collect the gold horseshoe to increase your speed in the two-player race

Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Wild Horse Rescue is part of an exciting new round up of equestrian games featuring Barbie(tm), including Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Blue Ribbon Race for the Game Boy(r) Advance video game system and Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Mystery Ride(tm) CD-ROM.

Availability and Pricing
Barbie(tm) Horse Adventures(tm) Wild Horse Rescue is available now on PlayStation 2 for a suggested retail price of $49.99 and Xbox for a suggested retail price of $39.99. For sales and ordering information, customers can call (800) 545-7677 or visit www.vugames.com.

About Mattel
Mattel, Inc., (NYSE: MAT, www.mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products, including Barbie(r), the most popular fashion doll ever created. Leading the toy and game market, the Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Hot Wheels(r), Matchbox(r), American Girl(r), Tyco(r) R/C and Scrabble(r), as well as Fisher-Price brands (www.fisherprice.com), including Little People(r), Rescue Heroes(tm), Power Wheels(r) and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than 27,000 people in 36 countries and sells products in more than 150 nations throughout the world. The Mattel vision is to be the world's premier toy brands --- today and tomorrow.

About Xbox
Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Vivendi Universal Games
Headquartered in New York, Vivendi Universal Games (www.vugames.com) is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. A leading publisher of PC, console and online-based interactive content, Vivendi Universal Games' portfolio of development studios includes Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Fox Interactive, Knowledge Adventure, NDA Productions, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Through its Partner Publishing Group, Vivendi Universal Games also publishes and/or distributes interactive products for a number of strategic partners, including Crave Entertainment, Interplay, Majesco, Mythic Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, among others.