Business Wire Virgin Roswell Press Release

What follows is Virgin Interactive's press release for Cover-Up At Roswell. It was recovered from here.

Virgin Sound and Vision inks licensing agreement with Turner New Media; VSV brings Hanna-Barbera's The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest into computer age with CD-ROM

Business Wire, March 18, 1996

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 18, 1996--Software publisher Virgin Sound and Vision (VSV) Monday announced it has signed a licensing agreement with Turner New Media (TNM) to bring the characters from Hanna-Barbera Cartoons' new animated series The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest into the computer age, with a new CD-ROM.

The deal gives VSV adventure-game licensing rights to Jonny Quest and the other Quest characters, who originally gained popularity in the 1960s and whose new, action adventure series is poised to become a favorite for kids in the '90s and beyond.

A welcome addition to VSV's adventure series designed for 8 to 12 year-old girls and boys, the Jonny Quest animated graphic adventure title will provide families with hours of entertainment using breakthrough animation sequences spanning across many worlds combined with enticing and imaginative clues and games.

"Our agreement with Turner New Media will allow us to continue opening doors to an entirely new genre of software," said Tom Turpin, CEO, Virgin Sound and Vision. "As the only software publisher creating adventure games specifically for girls and boys in the 8-12 year-old category, we are excited by the limitless potential for kids to have fun and use their imaginations and problem-solving skills as they assist Jonny and the Quest Team to explore legends of the supernatural, lost civilizations, and the virtual reality of cyberspace."

The Jonny Quest interactive CD-ROM will contain an original storyline with television quality animation, multiple adventures across known and unknown worlds, and unlimited replayability. It is scheduled for release in late August of this year, in conjunction with the launch of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest television series.

The partnership with VSV is one of several licensing and promotion agreements Turner has secured as part of the launch of Jonny Quest. Hanna-Barbera has announced that in the United States, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest will run an unprecedented 21 times each week in four Monday through Friday strips and one weekend airing on three of the Turner Networks; TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network, beginning Aug. 26.

The new series takes the best of the classic '60s series -- global adventures, cutting-edge technology and teamwork -- and updates it to the 1990s as an evocative mystery-adventure, featuring teenage heroes caught up in extraordinary dangers in the real world and in virtual reality. Jonny travels with his father, Dr. Benton Quest, a globe-trotting phenomenologist who investigates unusual scientific occurrences. The group also includes Hadji, a boy from India; Race Bannon, a former government secret operations agent; Race's daughter, Jessie and Jonny's dog, Bandit.

"In searching for a company that could best reflect via computer the exciting, multi-world adventures experienced by Jonny and the Quest team, Virgin Sound and Vision was a perfect choice," stated Doug Barry, senior vice president and general manager of Turner New Media. The company's creative philosophy -- namely to incorporate cutting-edge graphics, rich gameplay and enticing clues -- combined with its commitment to create non-violent adventure games suitable for pre-teen girls and boys, fits ideally with our vision of what family entertainment should be."

Virgin Sound and Vision is the content-driven, multimedia publishing arm within Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Virgin Sound and Vision was created specifically to publish outstanding family entertainment and children's software and plans to develop and distribute their titles on multiple platforms throughout 20 countries and in up to 10 languages.

Turner New Media, a division of Turner Home Entertainment (T.H.E), handles interactive development, licensing and publishing of copyrights owned by Turner Broadcasting System Inc. (TBS), for both retail and on-line distribution. T.H.E. is a wholly owned subsidiary of TBS, which is based in Atlanta. T.H.E. handles interactive media development and distribution, worldwide home video and nontheatrical distribution; international theatrical distribution; book publishing; retail operations; and licensing and merchandising of TBS-owned properties.

CONTACT: Shandwick USA

Tom Tanno/Jennifer Hansen

800/444-6663 or 310/479-4997

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