National Geographic Gets In The Game

National Geographic is gearing up for the holiday gift-giving season by teaming up with game manufacturers and debuting its first video game releases this month. The organization today debuted National Geographic Games (NGG), a newly announced division that will publish and develop games across major gaming consoles, handheld, online and mobile platforms. This month's games include: "National Geographic — Herod's Lost Tomb," "National Geographic: Panda" and "National Geographic: Africa." "Herod's Lost Tomb," was developed in-house and is a free download for PC, Mac and the iPhone. "Sudoku Traveler: China" is slated for next month.

NGG will develop content for the games with partners Namco Bandai Games America and Sony Computer Entertainment. They will publish and distribute globally National Geographic-branded titles on major gaming consoles and handheld devices, including the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS handheld, PlayStation 3 and PS3 Network, PCs and mobile devices such as the iPhone.

According to National Geographic, the organization hopes to position its brand and content to drive its mission of promoting geographic education. NGG's goal will be to create games that entice gamers of all ages to experience and explore their world.

Chris Mate, former Take2 Interactive and Bethesda Softworks executive, with more than 25 years' experience, has joined as vice president and general manager for NGG. Mate will oversee and manage the group's daily global operations.