The first title, based on SAT prep curriculum, is indeed coming to DS as we heard at the first announcement, but as you can expect from Aspyr, the companies also confirmed PC and Mac versions too, all for the Fall of this year.

It's been just about ten years since I was a high school senior, and I know I took the SATs, but I have no recollection. I still remember the nooks and crannies of the video games I played in 1999, though, so maybe if my SAT prep had been a game, I'd still remember how to multiply fractions or whatever.

Actually, I'm a little surprised that it took this long for a notable game developer to hook up with a test prep company. Seems kind of like a no-brainer, right?

Full announcement follows the jump.

SAT* Prep Enters the Videogaming World

Kaplan and Aspyr Team Up to Create

Dynamic Interactive Entertainment

AUSTIN, TX – April XX, 2008 – High school teens may soon be able to play their way to a higher SAT* score, thanks to a new collaboration between Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions and videogame developer and publisher Aspyr Media.

Kaplan and Aspyr have entered into a multi-year agreement in which Aspyr will bring Kaplan-branded interactive entertainment products to market. The first game under the deal will be an engaging, visually dynamic and unconventional title that is rooted solidly in Kaplan’s SAT prep curriculum. The game marks the first ever widely-released SAT prep video game in the market.

“Students learn best when they’re engaged with the study content. While a videogame shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for a full prep course, it’s an innovative and effective way to reinforce preparatory learning,” said Anthony Manley, General Manager of Pre-College Programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. “At Kaplan, we seek to adapt our offerings to students’ lifestyle needs. In Aspyr, we found a partner with a proven track record of creating engaging, dynamic titles that appeal to today’s teens.”

“Aspyr has proven over the years that it excels in caring for huge brands and successfully extending those brands to new audiences,” said Ted Staloch, Executive Vice President for publishing at Aspyr. “We couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Kaplan, a trusted, high profile brand and a company that is the undisputed leader in its field. Aspyr will create games under this brand that will truly surprise and excite people with their originality.”

Scheduled for release in 2008, the SAT prep game is currently in development at Aspyr Studios and will be published by Aspyr Media for Nintendo DS™, PC and Mac. Additional information on Kaplan branded games from Aspyr will be announced later this year.

Last year, Kaplan introduced interactive SAT* prep programs that can be purchased and downloaded from iTunes®, as well as a unique SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga (Japanese word for comics and print cartoon) series.

###

*SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product.

**iTunes® is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. All rights reserved.

About Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions

Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions (www.kaptest.com), a division of Kaplan, Inc., is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings and a complete array of books and software, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as English language and professional licensing exams. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and college and graduate admissions consulting services.

About Aspyr Media

Aspyr Media, Inc. is a leading video game publisher that creates, packages and delivers fun to millions around the world. Hailing from Austin, Texas USA, Aspyr strives relentlessly to ensure a quality experience for consumers and industry partners.

To fall more deeply in love with Aspyr and its amazing line of products, visit www.aspyr.com and see just how much fun you can legally have.

If high school didn't represent some of the most stressful and awkward years of my life, I'd go back in a flash to play this SAT game on my DS! Think of it as Brain Age with a real tangible result. Would you be more likely to prep for the SATs on your DS than through a book or browser?

SAT Prep Game Coming to DS [GamelLife]

• Former Microsoft exec Peter Moore on Red Rings of Death:
"You know, things break."

• Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in May 2004:
"Customers do not want online games."

• SCEA boss Jack Tretton on post-launch PS3 availability:
"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on store shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it."

• Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan on Wii owners running out of memory space:
"But if your refrigerator's full, you've got to pull something out and put something else back in. I mean, really, are you using everything thing there?"

• PlayStation Father Ken Kutaragi on the PS3's intial price tag:
"It's probably too cheap... We want consumers to think to themselves, 'I will work more hours to buy one.'"

Hey, at least most game execs are not boring!
Crazy Executive Quote Award [Game|Life] [Image]

We don't have any plans to reach out to them at this juncture. No, Nintendo's got it's hands full... I think it comes down to innovation and creativity. I think they [Bungie] would have to present what it is their idea would be... You know, we love all good innovative companies but we don't have any plans on the table right now with Bungie.

A major insight that Nintendo had early on was that they saw that gamers were getting bored, even though they didn't know it yet...

She noted how she used to try to give me hugs over the years and I would always be stiff about that. (I have always thought it awkward to hug the people I write about). But Perrin gave me a hug as I walked out and I pretended to be stiff.

Exit interview: Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan to bow out at year end: That's All Folks [The Mercury News A+E Interactive]

George Harrison quit. Beth Llewelyn quit. It was inevitable, today Reuters reports that the last of the three Nintendo execs on the verge of ditching NOA over a force move has left the building.

Veep of marketing Perrin Kaplan said today that she plans to leave Nintendo by the end of the year, ending her 15-year career with the company.

"I finally will be leaving Nintendo at the end of the year. Until then, I am focused on getting a great transition team in place and handling all of my normal responsibilities as well," Kaplan said in an e-mail to Reuters.

And that's about it. Looks like Nintendo just saved themselves three salaries.

Nintendo losing another veteran U.S. executive [Reuters]

Today's Star Tribune profiles former real-life tennis player and stroke victim Jerry Pope as he strives to make his way back to the court by playing Wii Sports Tennis. His therapist, Matthew White, began experimenting with the Wii after reading reports of those suffering from strokes using them at home.

Nintendo's own Perrin Kaplan is summarized in the piece, noting that while the company isn't officially/actively pursuing Wii Rehab development, "anything is possible." C'mon, Wii Fit has gotta be at least somewhat applicable here.

Stroke victims find 'Wiihab' [Star Tribune, thanks Ted!]

It's possible that the two could simply be moving to different roles within the company, as I hear Nintendo is on the hunt for a new Cassamassina Wrangler, but it seems to lend weight to rumors that these folks are staying put and not making the move to northern California.

If you think you've got the neckerchief-wearing, question-dodging skills to pay the bills, why not forward your resume and score one of these highly coveted positions. Applicants must be able to generate enthusiasm for all things Pokemon, even after a few gin and tonics.

Nintendo of America Looking for New VP of Corporate Affairs; Perrin Kaplan Gone? [GameDaily Biz]

Remember that rumor that Beth Llewelyn, Perrin Kaplan and George Harrison, were among the 60 percent who decided to leave Nintendo of America rather than relocate to San Francisco or New York?

It isn't true, well not yet at least. All three of the execs were at E3. True, the rumor was they were sticking around until E3 and then packing up their offices, but I had a chance to talk to Llewelyn about the rumor during a Nintendo executive mixer.

She said they were still "working things out." I suspect, or at least hope, that's code for Nintendo realized that moving people all over the country, especially valued executives, isn't worth forcing them out of the company.

Game Informer spoke with Nintendo of America Vice President of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan who confirmed that while the company is moving certain folks out of Redmond, Nintendo Power is not shutting down. Instead, the magazine will become a "licensed property" still owned by Nintendo.

If there's any confusion about that, Kaplan says that details are forthcoming, including information on who the new owner of the magazine will be. Your subscription lives to see another day. Michael McWhertor

Taking A Spin With Perrin: The Perrin Kaplan Interview [Game Informer]

Hear that knocking sound? That's the GameCube, desperately kicking at the underside of its coffin lid as the gaming community tries to bury it based solely on the word of one woman - Nintendo of America's VP of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan. Silly us. What would a VP of marketing know about console and software production? Not much at all apparently, as Nintendo has confirmed with Eurogamer that the platform is still alive and well.

"I can confirm that globally, Nintendo is still continuing production of GameCube hardware and GameCube software," a spokesperson for Nintendo UK told us.

Nintendo denies Cube axing [Eurogamer]

Matt does a good job of holding his own, making sure to get in the obligatory dig at the PS3 while delving into the pertinent questions. Perrin, despite her goofiness, manage to dodge several questions like the pro she is. The most interesting information comes at the end once she takes over the interview and starts asking him questions...that bring the potential for original content from the Wii Shop Channel. It's not as bad as our tipster, who said, "It was like watching a bad press junket with some mindless bimbo interviewing a celebrity on Extra." Come on now, Matt is a very mindful bimbo. Don't sell him short! Michael Fahey

Perrin Chats about Wii, Flirts with Matt [4 color rebellion - Thanks Carl]
The IGN Interview

Don't let Mario's overalls fool you, Nintendo likes money just as the next console maker. No surprises there — Memories do come flooding back to when Nintendo announced Wii pricing and many flipped out at parting with US $250 as opposed to the rumored $199. Newsweek's got a piece up on the Wii about demand for the machine, the radio contest fiasco and a few blurbs from Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan. Regarding the contest, Kaplan offered her condolences and stressed that Nintendo had nothing to do with it. Regarding the shortages, she said:

We produce a healthy number, with more shipments coming weekly. We're not sure what more we could have done to meet such overwhelming demand... We try to minimize that [airlifting in consoles as Sony did with the PS3], as air is costly. We're a profit-oriented company.

Yup, that you are. And turning a pretty penny from what we hear! Brian Ashcraft

Thanks Batmundo for the scan!

Priced online at the official Nintendo store for $29.95 (USD) and sold out within hours, two days before the launch, bids for the sold out cables are easily fetching over five times their original price. It's almost as if people really wanted them!

What a bizarre turn of events! Let's hope Nintendo can replenish supply online and in store before the holidays (or before I get my Sharp Aquos LCD delivered, whichever comes first). Michael McWhertor

We're in the midst of a format war with HD-DVD and Blu-ray duking it out and me wondering why the hell they can't get along. There's money to be made, consumers to be screwed and some Nintendo exec doesn't like it. Good for him.

Nintendo Canada's version of Perrin Kaplan (minus the woman part) Pierre-Paul Trépanier not only uses three names, but also has had it with these big multi-national corporations forcing their money making formats on me and you. Pierre-Paul says:

When I'm buying a gaming system, I'm focused on the games; I want to play games, and I think that's the primary reason why someone would buy a gaming system. I think forcing a decision on consumers would certainly not be part of Nintendo's strategy, because we want to get more people into gaming and we want to make it affordable. Forcing people to adopt a technology and a model that's proprietary and still not established is unfair to gamers.

A gaming system is for playing video games? *GASP* Brian Ashcraft

Format War is Not Cool, Just So Not Cool [Games Industry]

Remember when we said that Wii component cables would be an online only affair? And that I got a little cranky and stomped around like an infant on Kotaku about it? Well, either we were fed bum info, or Nintendo has decided to throw caution to the wind and sell component cables at brick and mortar stores.

That's what Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, half-woman, half-press release, said to Game Informer recently:

GI: Will component cables be available on day one?
Kaplan: Yes, at retail and online. Best Buy, GameStop, Circuit City, etc... and Nintendo.com.

Hmm. But she also said that Wii would be region free and she was wrong. Plus she answers interview questions like this:

GI: As far as Virtual Console pricing how it breaks down in Europe, Japan, and here, it seems most expensive in the U.S. when you check exchange rates...
Kaplan: Do you drink lattes?

GI: Yeah.
Kaplan: How much do you spend on lattes?

GI: I spend a lot.
Kaplan: There you go.

Oh, Perrin! What will you come up with next? Let's hope Mrs. Kaplan is right on this whole retail component cable thing. I need me some 480p on day one! Michael McWhertor

Countdown to Wii: The Perrin Kaplan Interview [Game Informer]
Wii Component Cables Online Only [Kotaku]

Just in case there was still a hope fleeting through that last ounce of grey matter that Nintendo UK's David Yarnton was drunkenly ranting over a pint about the Wii not being region-free, you can officially dash it.

According to Nintendo of America — the same guys who told Wired last week that region-free Wii was a certainty — comes an official correction.

"Wii will be region encoded by territory."

Which I'm sure is excellent news for all the people who pre-ordered an Asiatic Wii via Lik Sang seconds after Perrin Kaplan randomly blurted out a complete lie. Florian Eckhardt

In an interview with Forbes, Nintendo's vice president of marketing and corporate affairs for Nintendo of America, Perrin Kaplan reveals some interesting tidbits about the Revolution's virtual console and additional WiFi plans for the system. She also discusses Nintendo's Blue Ocean strategy, which essentially boils down to the creation of unique properties designed to meet the needs of others outside of the "Red Ocean" (Microsoft and Sony's cannibalizing of eachother's business). In Kaplan's own words: "Seeing a blue ocean is the notion of creating a market where there initially was none—going out where nobody has yet gone."

When asked about the Revolution's additional online plans Kaplan said, "More will be described soon. We will use the Wi-Fi component in a different way for each game, just like with the DS." It seems that the progressive and aggressive Nintendo WiFi online strategy will continue with the Revolution. For me, at least, that is excellent news.

Nintendo's New Look [Forbes]

The New York Times has an interesting Q&A conversation with Jeff Kaplan, the lead game designer behind World of Warcraft. The key to WOW's success has been the balance between making the game easy early (to satisfy the n00bs) and harder—much harder—after Level 60 to appease the l33t. As Kaplan points out, "People talk about the game fundamentally changing at Level 60, and they are right." He goes on to discuss how to keep people interested who aren't interested in forming guilds to progress, and what's new in the expanded areas.

Also, this isn't news but hearing Kaplan describe it makes it friggin' awesome:

Q. What can you tell me about Naxxramas?

A. Naxxramas is going to be the most difficult thing in the game until the expansion pack comes out. It will be the pinnacle, and it's absolutely massive. You'll see this big necropolis floating above Eastern Plaguelands. It's a 40-man raid zone, and it's bigger than the Undercity [one of the main cities in the game]. Things could change, but we're up to something like 18 bosses in there, and they are really cool, too. But it's going to be hard. Really hard. We're hoping to release it in the spring.

Kill the Big, Bad Dragon (Teamwork Required) [The New York Times]