LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2001 — Building on its recent alliance with Sega Entertainment Inc., which will premiere 11 games for the Microsoft® Xbox™ video game system, Microsoft Corp. today announced that Sega is creating Xbox versions of its top-selling Sega Sports™
2K2 franchise, as well as
“Crazy Taxi™ Next”
(working title) and
“House of the Dead™ 3.”
The games will ship in the Xbox 2001 launch window in North America. Microsoft also announced that Sega plans to develop titles in its Sega Sports 2K3 franchise for the Xbox broadband online game service, which will launch summer of 2002. The alliance ensures that future Sega games for Xbox will take advantage of the broadband Ethernet connection and hard disk built into every Xbox system.
“Sega games will be awesome on Xbox this fall, and once the Xbox broadband online gaming service turns on in 2002, our 2K3 sports lineup will deliver some of the most powerful gaming experiences ever,”
said Peter Moore, president and COO at Sega of America.
“Xbox gives our developers a great deal of flexibility to develop games and gameplay that has never been played before.”
“Gamers should be really excited about what Sega’s talented game artists are creating on Xbox, now and in the future,”
said J Allard, general manager of the Xbox platform at Microsoft.
“Sega’s creative artists are imagining scenarios for the Xbox online service that will set new standards for what gamers should expect in video games.”
The news was made in advance of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E 3 ) 2001, one of the world’s largest annual games industry trade shows.
The current list of Sega games to be shipped for Xbox in 2001 includes the following:
-
“
Crazy Taxi
™
Next
”
(working title). Pedestrians will need to watch out when the
“Crazy Taxi”
franchise hits Xbox. -
“
House of the Dead
™
3.
” The horror has returned. Players will need every ounce of their reflexes and marksmanship skills if they hope to survive. -
“
JSRF — Jet Set Radio Future
™
”
(working title). Players should get ready for a cutting-edge soundtrack, a groundbreaking artistic look and insane new tricks. It’s all about extreme skating, extreme action and extreme style. -
“
Sega GT
™
2002.
” This adrenaline-filled car-racing game features amazingly real vehicles and graphics. -
“
Panzer Dragoon
”
(working title). Xbox owners will be the first to return to the stunning world of
“Panzer Dragoon.”
They can take flight once again to explore the lush beauty, fierce technology and mysterious dragon-breeding culture of one Sega’s most sought-after franchises. -
“
Sega Sports
™
NFL 2K2.
” The substance, realism and competition of
“Sega Sports NFL 2K2”
charges onto the powerful Xbox. -
“
Sega Sports
™
NBA 2K2.
” Touted as the best basketball game released last year,
“NBA 2K2”
makes its debut on Xbox and is sure to rise to the top of the basketball ranks.
Sega Sports games that will ship in 2002 and take advantage of the Xbox broadband online gaming service include
“Sega Sports™
NBA 2K3,” “Sega Sports™ NFL 2K3,” “Sega Sports™ World Series® Baseball 2K3”
and
“Sega Sports™ NCAA College Football 2K3.”
About Xbox
Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox will be available in North America on Nov. 8, 2001, at the estimated retail price of $299.99* (U.S.).
About Sega
Sega® of America is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Sega Corp., responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega video game systems and video games in the Americas. Sega Corp. is a nearly $2.5 billion company recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, offering interactive entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home. Sega of America’s World Wide Web site is located at http://www.sega.com/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* Reseller prices may vary.
Internet access and broadband service and hardware (acquired separately) are required to play broadband-enabled Xbox games on the Xbox console. Broadband capacity is scheduled to go live in the first half of 2002.
The information contained in this press release relates to a prerelease product that may be substantially modified before its first commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the product when first commercially released. This press release is provided for informational purposes only, and Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to this press release or the information contained in it.
Microsoft and Xbox are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
