If the first thing you think about when you think of Super Monkey Ball is bananas, you’re not alone! We’re excited to be partnering with Chiquita on Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll. Starting early February, you’ll see Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll stickers on Chiquita bananas in your supermarkets. You’ll also see some Chiquita bananas in the game!

In addition, you have a chance to win a family gaming room makeover and other great prizes in Chiquita’s “Super Bananza Sweepstakes”! The sweepstakes will be on Chiquita’s website.

The full press release is below.

Press Release

SEGA PARTNERS WITH CHIQUITA BRANDS FOR THE RELEASE OF SUPER MONKEY BALL STEP & ROLL FOR Wii

Over 180 million Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll-Branded Chiquita Bananas to Be Sold in Grocery Stores Nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO (January 19, 2010) – SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that they will be partnering with Chiquita Fresh North America for a nationwide promotion with Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll™ for Wii™.

Beginning in February, supermarkets across the country will feature special stickers to promote Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll on over 180 million Chiquita bananas. Heart-healthy, nutrient-dense Chiquita bananas will also appear in select sequences in the game itself, promoting healthy snacking for the whole family. In addition, SEGA and Chiquita are announcing a “Super Bananza Sweepstakes” to support the partnership. Consumers will be able to enter online at www.chiquitabananas.com to win prizes, including the grand prize of a family gaming room makeover. One lucky family will receive a 50” HDTV, a sofa and four gaming chairs, a copy of Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, a Wii console, Wii Balance Board™ (includes Wii Fit Plus™) and other great prizes from Chiquita.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Chiquita,” says Sean Ratcliffe, Vice President of Marketing for SEGA of America. “This is a fun way to get the whole family together and we are proud to have AiAi and MeeMee featured on clusters of Chiquita Bananas.”

“Chiquita is excited to partner with Sega to help families play together and support healthy living. We’re thrilled to have AiAi and MeeMee on our bananas to encourage nutritious eating and a fit lifestyle among kids and families,” said Craig Stephen, Vice President and General Manager, North America Bananas.

Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, the latest game in the fan favorite Super Monkey Ball franchise, will offer a whole new way for people to play using the Wii Balance Board. Players will feel like they are the monkey in the ball as their movements on the Wii Balance Board move their favorite characters through more than 70 brand new stages in the main game and 21 multiplayer mini-games. Players who do not own a Wii Balance Board will still be able to play through the entire game using their Wii Remote™ and Nunchuck™ controllers. The game also features the all-new two-player co-op mode where friends work together to blast away obstacles using the Wii Remote to clear a path for their monkey-rolling teammate on the Wii Balance Board. The game is perfect for people of all ages providing incredible entertainment and promoting active movement and a great way for the family to bond—all together.

Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll™ will be available for the Wii February 9, 2010. For more information about Chiquita visit http://www.chiquitabananas.com. For more game information please visit http://www.supermonkeyballstepandroll.com. For assets from Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, please visit the SEGA Press FTP site at: http://segapr.segaamerica.com.

About SEGA® of America, Inc.:
SEGA® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA of America’s Web site is located at www.sega.com.

About Chiquita Fresh North America, L.L.C:
Chiquita Fresh North America L.L.C. is a subsidiary of Chiquita Brands International, Inc., which is a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products from energy-rich bananas and other fruits to nutritious blends of convenient green salads. The company markets its healthy, fresh products under the Chiquita® and Fresh Express® premium brands and other related trademarks. With annual revenues of nearly $4 billion, Chiquita employs approximately 23,000 people and has operations in more than 80 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit our web site at www.ChiquitaBrands.com.
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