Empire, PlayFirst Ink Diner Dash Casual Licensing Deal

UK-based game publisher Empire Interactive and PlayFirst announced an exclusive, worldwide development and publishing partnership for the console installments of several of PlayFirst's casual titles. Empire already has a few games in development, such as Diner Dash: Flo on the Go, Wedding Dash, Dream Chronicles, and Chocolatier, all of which are for the Nintendo DS and are expected to ship in 2009. Empire also recently secured a multi-year deal with Atari, who will distribute the UK publisher's games in North America, with the titles being jointly marketed by the two companies. "The popularity of and strong fan-base for PlayFirst’s games in addition to Empire’s dedication to growing players’ game options made it an obvious match for the partnership," says Empire Interactive VP of sales Karim Farghaly. PlayFirst's vice president of Sales and Business Development Rich Roberts adds, "Our partnership with Empire Interactive will allow us to reach DS owners looking for revitalized gaming options."