It’s official: Blu-ray wins format war with a little help from 20Q, and Disney!

OTTAWA, CANADA, October 7, 2008—20Q.net and Disney have partnered to give Sleeping Beauty a wake-up call she won’t soon forget. Disney’s Blu-ray Edition of the classic film includes Maleficent’s Challenge, a mind-reading game powered by the web’s most addictive guessing game, 20Q. At last, it’s safe to say that Blu-ray has won the format war and the little website with the big A.I. has just tipped the scale.

Maleficent’s Challenge pits players against the evil Queen from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty film. Disney fans will try to outwit the infamous witch in the Bonus Features section of the Blu-ray edition by thinking of anything they can dream up and answering Maleficent’s questions as she attempts to read their minds. By giving simple answers to her questions, players will soon realize that the Queen possesses abilities that are downright spooky.

With more than ten languages to choose from, 20Q and Disney fans from around the world will get the chance test their mettle against Maleficent’s abilities in the Challenge when the classic film ships on October 7, 2008. To quote Disney: Match wits with one of Disney’s most nefarious villainesses in a fully interactive, high definition experience!” Sleeping Beauty is the first Disney Platinum title to ever release on Blu-ray and 20Q.net is proud to be a part of the package.

About 20Q
20Q is an artificial intelligence, a website, a company and a phenomenon that speaks for itself at http://20q.net. Players think of something, and 20Q guesses what is on their mind, in twenty questions or less.

Inventor Robin Burgener has nurtured this A.I. technology since he created it in 1988. In its first ten years it played 2,000 games. It’s popularity increased by leaps and bounds over the next ten years and by its twentieth birthday it had played more than 63 million games and asked more than half a billion questions.

Each time the online game is played it learns a little more. With its ability to learn and discern, 20Q has evolved from an experiment in artificial intelligence into marketable software, built on the capabilities of the A.I.

Mattel, Inc. makes the handheld versions of the original 20Q Classic game, 20Q Harry Potter, 20Q The Simpsons, 20Q People, 20Q TV, 20Q Rock & Pop, and more specialty versions yet to come. Millions of the popular and addictive handheld versions have been sold worldwide. Translated into more than 20 languages, players from around the world have the chance to train it and test its knowledge.

You can take the game with you wherever you go by downloading the mobile version distributed by Digital Chocolate, the mobile gaming company founded by Trip Hawkins.

Some accolades and awards that 20Q has received include the Toy Industry Association’s Electronic Toy of the Year, the Canadian Toy Testing Council’s Toy of the Year, the Oppenheim Platinum Toy award, and the U.K. Toy Retailers’ Association Special Recognition Award.

About The Walt Disney Company:
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with four business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products. Disney is a Dow 30 company, had annual revenues of more than $35 billion in its most recent fiscal year, and a market capitalization of more than $61 billion as of April 15, 2008.