Microsoft Is 4Kids Entertainment

The game industry sometimes has strange bedfellows. Take, for instance, the announcement of Microsoft pairing up with children™s entertainment company, 4Kids Entertainment. The company, is not a household name to many, but its portfolio of clients is familiar to kids such as YU-GI-OH!, The Dog product franchise, Monster Jam, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and formerly, license managers for the popular Pokemon products. 4Kids will be the agent for licensing upcoming children-family entertainment titles from Microsoft Games Studios. The product line will include home video, music, broadcast medium, and merchandising rights. 4Kids Entertainment acquires, develops and markets children’s properties globally and seeks to maximize economic returns through a vertically integrated platform. No specific product titles have been announced as of yet. The move by Microsoft indicates they are confident that this new venture will pay off for them. The game plan to enter this market may not be that surprising to some. Nintendo has proven that their emphases on family-children-casual-games are paying off in spades. Nintendo has garnered bumper crop profits in a game industry that has experienced some hard times of late. Microsoft™s move to enter the children™s market only confirms the fact that there is plenty of success to be gathered in a niche which was once dismissed as marginal at best, by video game companies. Alfred Kahn, CEO of 4Kids Entertainment said, “We are thrilled to serve as the partner of choice and act as the vehicle for Microsoft to broaden its appeal among a more mainstream market focusing on children and family entertainment. We are confident our strong track record in developing integrated marketing and merchandising programs designed specifically for kids will enhance the future success of Microsoft Game Studios.” The director of franchise development at Microsoft, Ed Ventura said of the partnership, “We are excited to explore the opportunities our collective efforts can create when we combine 4Kids’s proven expertise in bringing engaging children’s properties to life with Microsoft’s leadership and knowledge of interactive entertainment.” Move over HALO, the Turtles are coming. Cowabunga!