CULVER CITY, Calif., Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Interactive has launched the company's first premium social game, The Hotel Transylvania Social Game (facebook.com/hoteltgame), it was announced today by Bob Osher, president, Sony Pictures Digital Productions, and Emmanuelle Borde, executive vice president and general manager, Sony Pictures Interactive.  Featuring the iconic setting of the upcoming Sony Pictures Animation monster comedy Hotel Transylvania, the Hotel Transylvania Social Game capitalizes on the popularity of Facebook games to bring fans an exciting new way to play in the world of the film.  Hotel Transylvania opens in theaters nationwide on September 28, 2012.

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"This game was a natural brand extension for us and a great way to introduce our film and characters online," said Bob Osher. "It's the best possible scenario when those opportunities are created internally between divisions like Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Interactive."

In the Hotel Transylvania Social Game, players are tasked with building, decorating, managing and maintaining their own Hotel Transylvania, where a host of fun monsters, inspired by the upcoming animated film Hotel Transylvania, come to get away from the stresses of the human-inhabited world.  Grow zombies in your hotel graveyard to create hotel staff, and keep guests happy with a host of torturous amenities.  Players can check back daily to collect rewards, share gifts with friends and entertain their hotel guests.

"Social games are a key entertainment activity for millions of people online," said Emmanuelle Borde. "Sony Pictures Interactive has always focused on building digital experiences that drive community and conversation.  The move into social games was a logical evolution for our business."

The Hotel Transylvania Social Game was designed and developed entirely in-house by Sony Pictures Interactive.  "Our goal was to build a game that is fun to play while taking advantage of the full range of social tie-ins that experienced gamers expect from social games," said Scott Nourse, senior vice president of production, Sony Pictures Interactive.  "We are proud of our achievement in that regard and are excited about the framework we have built which will enable us to build more games in the future."

The Hotel Transylvania Social Game is free to play and available to anyone with a Facebook account at http://facebook.com/hoteltgame.  Players who wish to augment gameplay through purchase of in-game currency will have the ability to enhance and personalize their individual experience.

Sony Pictures Interactive is planning on launching one to two new social games a year.  The next game is currently set for launch in April 2013. 

About Hotel Transylvania
Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world's most famous monsters — Frankenstein and his wife, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more — to celebrate his daughter Mavis' 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem — but his world could come crashing down when a human stumbles on the hotel for the first time and takes a shine to Mavis.

Columbia Pictures presents a Sony Pictures Animation film, Hotel Transylvania.  The film features the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, and CeeLo Green.  Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.  Produced by Michelle Murdocca.  Screenplay by Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel.  Story by Todd Durham and Daniel Hageman & Kevin Hageman.  Executive producers are Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel and Allen Covert.  Music by Mark Mothersbaugh.  Music Supervision by Liza Richardson.  Imagery and Animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc.

About Sony Pictures Interactive
Sony Pictures Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing and production studio dedicated to building entertaining and impactful brand destinations in the online, mobile and social space.  Sony Pictures Interactive provides brand management, marketing strategy, creative campaign design and development for a diverse roster of clients across multiple business verticals, including entertainment, music, consumer products, sports and non-profit.  The studio also publishes games and mobile applications and is a leader in developing unique solutions for engaging consumers across social media platforms. Sony Pictures Interactive is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions. 

Website:  www.SonyPicturesInteractive.com.

About Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world.  The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits—the 2011 hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster, The Smurfs (3D) and the 2009 mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (3D)—with the family comedy Hotel Transylvania (3D) in September 2012 and the Smurfs 2 (3D) in July 2013.  Sony Pictures Animation, in conjunction with Aardman Animations, has produced two critically acclaimed feature films:  the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas (3D); and the stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (3D).  In 2007, Surf's Up received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.  The division, whose first feature film Open Season led to a very successful movie franchise, is turning 10 this year.  Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital.

• Website: http://www.sonypicturesanimation.com/
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• Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/sonyanimation
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SOURCE Sony Pictures Interactive