The Wizard Of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road Shipping for Nintendo DS

Press Release from XSEED Games

XSEED Games announced that THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and rated E for Everyone, has started shipping to retailers today in North America exclusively for the Nintendo DS™. Released as RIZ-ZOAWD by D3 Publisher in Japan, THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road is an RPG inspired by the beloved tale of Dorothy and her magical journey through the Land of Oz, revealing a new perspective on what happened after reaching the end of the Yellow Brick Road.

THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road takes gamers through an all-new take on the trials of Dorothy and her lovely dog, Toto, turning these charming characters into classic RPG heroes. A sudden tornado uproots Dorothy and Toto in one fell gust, only to drop them hours later in an eerie land far from Kansas. It is here that Dorothy learns that the only way to return home is to follow the disembodied voice beckoning her to the end of the Yellow Brick Road. On her journey, Dorothy encounters some unlikely characters that eventually join her in her homeward bound quest.

Dorothy and Toto, joined by their newfound companions – the Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man— embark on a trying and obstacle-filled journey to the castle at the end of the Yellow Brick Road. Upon arrival, the group learns from a mysterious wizard that the magical land has been usurped by four evil witches. Dorothy and her cohorts are tasked with defeating the witches, and will earn a trip home in return. But is this new mission and its consequences everything it seems to be?

“We couldn’t be more excited about bringing a twisted new take on a classic tale to the Nintendo DS platform,” stated Jun Iwasaki, President of XSEED Games. “Together with Warner Bros. Home Video’s release of The Wizard of Oz Ultimate Collector’s Editions on Blu-ray and DVD today, now is an exciting time to be a Wizard of Oz fan.”

THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road presents an unorthodox yet accessible method of gameplay in a beautifully realized 3-dimensional Land of Oz with an original soundtrack. Utilizing the touch screen capabilities of the DS, all actions are completely controlled by the stylus, including Dorothy’s movement and speed which respond to the rotation of a large trackball on the bottom screen that is spun using the stylus. THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road also features turn-based battles from a first-person viewpoint, with multiple customization options allowing the game to recommend the best actions per turn for expedited play, or manual entry for more involved gameplay.

XSEED Games partnered with D3 Publisher to secure the North American rights to publish and distribute THE WIZARD OF OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road. The title was developed by Media.Vision and will be available on store shelves later this week, exclusively for the Nintendo DS for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

For more information on the game, please visit the website at www.wizardofozds.com [1]

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About XSEED Games:

XSEED Games was formed in November 2004 by a small group of industry veterans by president Jun Iwasaki with a common vision: to cross pollinate the avid gaming cultures of Japan and North America. Delivering unique, innovative titles across multiple platforms and genres, XSEED Games is dedicated to publishing products that appeal and enrich the North American market. More information on XSEED Games can be found at http://www.xseedgames.com [2]