News

October 31, 2007

UBISOFT'S "GREAT AMERICAN WORD CHALLENGE" TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF MY WORD COACH VIDEO GAME AND NATIONAL FAMILY LITERACY DAY

National Center for Family Literacy and Meredith Baxter Partner with Ubisoft to Demonstrate the Fun and Importance of Improving Vocabulary

Tomorrow Ubisoft, the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and Meredith Baxter will officially kick off a nationwide contest, the "Great American Word Challenge," in celebration of National Family Literacy Day (Nov. 1). As part of the celebration, Ubisoft will officially announce the launch of its new vocabulary-building video game, My Word Coach, which will be available beginning Nov. 6.

National Family Literacy Day is an annual event championed by NCFL and held on Nov. 1 to illustrate the importance of family literacy. NCFL and Ubisoft acknowledge that video games like My Word Coach make it fun and easy for parents everywhere to improve their own vocabularies while setting their children up for future academic success.

"Our mission is to improve family literacy," said Sharon Darling, the president and founder of NCFL. "We are thrilled Ubisoft is committed to having a positive impact on literacy with My Word Coach and the 'Great American Word Challenge.' Both prove that improving your vocabulary and communication skills can be fun and educational for families."

According to the National Center for Family Literacy:

• A mother's level of education influences the child's academic achievement

• Vocabulary is foundational to more complex oral language skills that are strongly related to later reading success

• Vocabulary is essential to effective communication throughout life

Tony Key, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft, commented, "My Word Coach, part of Ubisoft's 'Games for Everyone' line, was designed to reinforce the benefit of playing video games; it is not only entertaining for the whole family, but also serves as a tool by which people can strengthen their communication skills. We support and applaud the efforts of NCFL toward improving family literacy and are honored that Meredith Baxter is lending her time to this important cause."

The "Great American Word Challenge"

The "Great American Word Challenge" (www.greatamericanwordchallenge.com) is an online contest that pits cities against one another to measure their greatness not by the height of their skyscrapers but by the depth of their vocabularies! People across the United States are encouraged to compete by playing an online version of the My Word Coach video game for the chance to establish their hometown as the city with the best vocabulary in the country.

The city that achieves the highest cumulative average score takes the title and the prize: a Ubisoft donation of My Word Coach video games and Nintendo DS(TM) systems to local NCFL learning centers. Everyone who plays the "Great American Word Challenge" will also be entered to win a Grand Prize trip for two to Washington, D.C., and have the chance to win one of two Wii(TM) home video game systems awarded each month for the duration of the contest.

"There is nothing more powerful than the ability to express yourself with confidence. Building that confidence starts with a strong vocabulary, and the foundation for vocabulary — and future academic success — starts at home," said Meredith Baxter. "The 'Great American Word Challenge' and My Word Coach make building vocabulary and improving everyday skills fun, interactive, and a perfect way to come together with friends and family."

To mark the contest kick-off and recognize National Family Literacy Day, My Word Coach street teams will be holding My Word Coach word challenge contests in New York City, with a special event taking place at Broadway between 42nd and 43rd streets on Nov. 1 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. New Yorkers will have the opportunity to play for the chance to win My Word Coach games and a Wii system.

My Word Coach

Ubisoft's My Word Coach for Wii and Nintendo DS is a video game that anyone can play to improve vocabulary and increase confidence in verbal expression. The game consists of six different training exercises, four "Coach" personalities and a database of more than 15,000 words to master. My Word Coach can help people in a number of ways in their daily lives, whether it's writing an e-mail, interviewing for a job, taking a test or making a persuasive argument.

Working closely with linguist Dr. Tom Cobb of McGill University, Ubisoft developed My Word Coach to provide a fun and engaging path for individuals, friends or families to increasing their personal communication skill set. My Word Coach can be played with teams and is highly interactive, encouraging friends and family members of all ages to engage in a healthy and fun activity that improves vocabulary.

My Word Coach will be shipping to video game retailers on Nov. 6. The "Great American Word Challenge" kicks off Nov. 1 in celebration of National Family Literacy Day and runs until Jan. 31, 2008. The winning city will be announced in early February 2008.
For More Product Information
My Word Coach (NDS)
My Word Coach (WII)