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Bandai America Incorporated Continues Ben 10 Alien Force Invasion with Out of This World Toy Line in Fall 2009
Award Nominated Increased Depth of Play Features Expanded Cast of Alien Action Figures, Vehicles, Role-Play and Play-Sets for Endless Ben 10 Action
(NEW YORK, NY – October 1, 2009) – Bandai America Incorporated and Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) captures the fun and imaginative spirit of Ben 10 Alien Force once again with an all-new, top-selling toy line in Fall 2009. Today at the annual Time to Play Holiday Showcase event in NYC, the expanded roster of Ben 10 Alien Force alien action figures was named an award nominee for the People’s Play Awards as one of the must-have toys this holiday season. The action figures joins a dynamic lineup of role-play, vehicle and play-set toys that allow kids to “go full force” with their own Ben 10 adventures and play experiences. Inspired by Cartoon Network’s hit original action-adventure series for boys, Bandai America’s Ben 10 Alien Force toy line is one of the top 10 action figure brands according to The NPD Group (based on dollar volume in the Action Figures & Accessories Supercategory, August 2009 YTD NPD).
“The imagination, action and creativity of the Ben 10 Alien Force brand have made it a huge success, and Bandai has captured all of that in this toy line,” said Colleen Sherfey, senior director of marketing, Bandai America Incorporated. “As content continues to expand, we continue to leverage our expertise in action figures to create global toy lines that delight and engage both new and long-time fans of Ben 10.”
Launched in summer 2009, Bandai America’s Ben 10 Alien Force Fall 2009 collection captures the excitement of the television series with new Alien Force action figure characters, as well as characters from the classic Ben 10 series. Season three of Ben 10 Alien Force launched on Cartoon Network September 11th with all new episodes, introducing even more characters and ways for kids to play with the brand’s figures and role-play toys.
Fall 2009 product highlights include:
- Alien Creation Figures– This award nominated line lets fans mix and match their favorite aliens to create over a million unique alien creatures. There are over 20+ characters to collect.
- Ultimate Omnitrix: Kids can pretend to be Ben 10 and help defend the planet against evil aliens with this incredible Omnitrix. Use the mini translucent bust. Collect the 4-inch alien figures (sold separately) with translucent bust to unlock alien sounds. The Omnitrix comes with an alien card and has LED lights.
- Alien Creation Challenge:: Kids can test their alien design skills with the Alien Creation Challenge playset. Kids race against a timer as they piece together alien torsos and limbs to recreate figures based on alien combo cards. If time runs out, the tray pops up along with all the alien pieces. Keep the challenge going by adding additional figures to the playset and creating additional alien combo cards online. The playset includes three alien figures and 10 alien combo cards, as well as a special key to unlock figures.
- The Alien Creation Transporter– The Ben 10 Alien Creation Transporter lets kids create thousands of unique alien figures with the slide of the shell – on-the-go! The set includes two figures with interchangeable alien parts. Using the Alien Creation Transporter, kids can mix and match parts to create a different custom Ben 10 alien creature every time.
- Galvanic Gunship:: The Galvanic Gunship allows Ben and his crew to embark on all-new out of this world adventures. Equipped with rockets and missiles, this spaceship is prepared to take on any attack and can transform into three smaller spaceships. The Galvanic Gunship includes an exclusive Ship Character, a popular sidekick character from the Planet Galvin B.
Fans of Bandai America’s lineup can check out the Alien Force website at Bandai.com/Ben10. The Alien Force website features alien character biographies, product information and games.
Bandai America’s toy line rounds out a robust Ben 10 consumer products program from a wide array of partners, which includes video games, games and puzzles, apparel, footwear, accessories, home furnishings, back-to-school items, consumer electronics and publishing.
About Cartoon Network Enterprises
Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) is responsible for building consumer products and merchandising programs for a wide range of brands by securing and supporting long-term licensing partnerships across all categories. As the global branding and merchandising arm of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, the division manages the consumer product programs for the networks’ award-winning original programming, brands and characters including Ben 10, The Secret Saturdays, Chowder, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adult Swim and more. CNE also serves as a third party licensing agent through strategic partnerships with Nelvana Enterprises and Spin Master for the award-winning Bakugan brand, CAKE Entertainment and Fresh TV for the hit Total Drama franchise and the PGA of America for the youth marketplace.
Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in more than 97 million U.S. homes and 166 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic animated entertainment for kids and families. Nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (ET, PT), Cartoon Network shares its channel space with Adult Swim, a late-night destination showcasing original and acquired animation for young adults 18-34.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
About Bandai America Incorporated
A leader in introducing Japanese toy trends to the United States, Bandai America Incorporated is a subsidiary of NAMCO BANDAI Holdings (USA) Inc., an entity that resulted from the integration of Namco Ltd. and Bandai Co. Ltd. of Japan. Global interests encompass six strategic business units: toys and hobby (toys, models, apparel and sundries), amusement facilities, game content (home and arcade console gaming), network (mobile phone and PC content), visual and music content (including home entertainment), and an affiliated business group. Bandai America is the manufacturer and master toy licensee of some of the most popular brands in children’s toys and entertainment today, including Power Rangers™, Ben 10™, DragonBall Z® and Tamagotchi®. The company is headquartered in Cypress, California and information is available at www.Bandai.com.
Ben 10 Alien Force TM and © CARTOON NETWORK. Bandai logo: ® and © 2009 Bandai. All Rights Reserved.
