Nickelodeon to launch 1,600 games

In July 2007, the Nickelodeon television network announced that it would be investing about $100 million into online casual games over the following two years. Now the company has revealed that around 1,600 games will be coming before the end of 2008.

These will include 600 original titles, which will be exclusive to Nickelodeon's sites, with 1,000 bought in from outside publishers to "expand the variety of offerings." These 1,600 games will join the 5,000 or so already playable across the various Nickelodeon sites.

The games will include numerous multiplayer titles, cooperative 3D Slimeball, Spin Art (which allows kids to create art online), Diego's Snowball Rescue, and the Wonder Pets Storybook.

Neopets will also expand into multiplayer and will "converge into retail" with Key Quest--presumably meaning that toys bought from stores will also enable advancement in the game.

Nickelodeon will be launching an Avatar multiplayer game in autumn, where gamers can choose to play as characters such as Aang and Zuko and battle each other online to unlock new Avatar content. Launching in August will be Avatar University, the sequel to Avatar High, a simulation game where gamers control a college full of students.

AddictingGames will be expanding its news and celebrity games products across the sites, such as by allowing the usage of a title called Paris Oh Paris where, according to the AddictingGames site, people have to "throw greasy meat" at Paris Hilton to "fatten her up."

The-N.com, a Nickelodeon site aimed at girls aged 12-17, will be launching a teenage-girl-focused game site, N-Games.com. According to the press release, "N-Games.com endeavours to address the underserved demographic of teen girls with games like Slasher!"

There are also three virtual worlds in development, along with expansion plans for the group's current projects within that the burgeoning space.

In addition, tools will become available to allow kids to build their own games, and there will be more downloadable games, following on from the SpongeBob SquarePants UnderPants Slam game on Xbox Live Arcade.