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Cartoon Network Launches Mini Match

Cartoon Network New Media, cable television channel Cartoon Network's online publishing division, has announced Mini Match, a new 3D virtual world focusing on multiplayer match-ups and social gaming.

Players create customizable avatars in Mini Match, exploring environments based on adventure themes in Cartoon Network shows, such as Ben 10 and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. They will also play multiplayer games featuring characters and content from the channel's programs.

In the virtual world, players will be able to chat with one another using a custom dictionary loaded with only kid-appropriate words and phrases. By chatting, players can work together to solve puzzles and discover more about the Mini Match world, earning new avatar gear and in-game abilities.

Mini Match will be joined this fall by Cartoon Network's other MMO in the works, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall. Developed by Seoul, Korea-based studio Grigon Entertainment, FusionFall will focus on getting players to work in groups, featuring lots of platformer elements and a multitude of Cartoon Network characters.

Said Paul Condolora, senior vice president, digital for Turner Broadcasting System Inc.’s Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media Group: “Mini Match opens up a whole new world of gaming to our online audience. The action-adventure theme complements some of our most popular shows and provides kids with a safe virtual destination for social gaming. Kids can come and enjoy the multiplayer games or insert themselves into the fabric of the Mini Match story by joining the ranks of ninjas, pirates, space pilots and other characters, customizing their ‘Minis’ with the gear those adventurous characters bring.”

Comments (6)

Carlos Monzon:

Good Mini Match

i want a new mini match

My son tried playing MiniMatch yesterday with my husband's permission and it crashed our PC twice. My system is slowed down to a snail's pace and I believe the new spyware on my system may have been linked to MiniMatch. I now have to spend time running spyware on my computer to fix it!

I plan to blog this problem later today on my own blog.

I just visited the Cartoon Network Mini Match site and realized your article has a factual error.

The chat the kids do is free text but certain words are banned from being used. That is different from what you stated which is "will be able to chat with one another using a custom dictionary loaded with only kid-appropriate words and phrases".

Those are two VERY different things.

In the Mini Match and other sites that allow free text chatting but say they ban certain words from being typed in I wonder how they can get around so many abbreviations or even the abbreviations for "parent in the room" and "parenting watching".

Here is a list of such abbreviations if parents want a sample of what can and is being said with abbreviations in text message and in Internet chat.

http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm

My name is isidro what is your name.

megan:

hi!

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