NAViGaTR Announces Video Game Cruise With Cloris Leachman

The nonprofit National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers has announced a video game-themed cruise featuring a music performance by Video Games Live and an appearance by actress Cloris Leachman. The Carnival Cruise Lines trip is scheduled to take place November 14th-17th, 2008, from Long Beach, California to Ensenada, Mexico. Video Games Live will feature its usual video game scores presented by an orchestra and choir, with synchronized video and lighting, and interactive segments. The NAViGaTR cruise will also include an audience participation game show featuring "physical activity in a virtual reality experience." The game show is aimed at helping parents understand their kids' video game enjoyment, and the live show will feature sound effects and gameplay competition among passengers and Leachman. Leachman is most recently known for playing Grandma Ida in“Malcolm in the Middle,” Mrs. Norris in Scary Movie 4 and the prison warden’s secretary who spanks Adam Sandler in The Longest Yard, among other roles. Additionally, Dr. Albert “Skip” Rizzo will demonstrate how gaming technologies are used to rehabilitate stroke survivors, distract children from pain during surgery, and help veterans of Iraq deal with post traumatic stress disorder. The cruise will also benefit industry charities, with 10 percent of cruise proceeds to be split between the International Game Developers Association and the Game Audio Network Guild. Thomas J. Allen, President of NAViGaTR, commented, “The multi-generational mix is a growing trend for both games and cruises. The mainstream media constantly reports on senior citizens discovering the Nintendo Wii, and National Geographic Kids and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) research shows that one third of cruising grandparents are taking their grandkids.” Added NAViGaTR board chairman George Wood, "The NAViGaTR Cruise has something for everyone. We really want to show the positive aspects of the video game medium, from the artistry of its music, to the social and cooperative aspects of its multiplayer entertainment, to its therapeutic applications that have real world benefits.”