Epic Adventure “Shenmue II” Arrives on Xbox With “Shenmue: The Movie” DVD

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 1, 2002 — The wait is over! Fans of the original
“Shenmue (TM)”
can now continue the epic journey of Ryo Hazuki with
“Shenmue II,” the highly anticipated adventure game developed by SEGA®
of America Inc. exclusively for the Xbox (TM) video game system from Microsoft Corp. Available in stores today,
“Shenmue II”
offers all the elements of a great movie: drama, mystery, suspense and action, as well as a unique gameplay experience that seamlessly blends elements of action, adventure, fighting and role-playing. The game is packaged with the
“Shenmue: The Movie”
DVD, which will help refresh veteran gamers’ memories and get new gamers caught up on everything that happened in the game’s first installment.

“Shenmue II”
was developed by SEGA-AM2 Co. Ltd., a SEGA development studio, under the direction of world-renowned video game developer Yu Suzuki. In
“Shenmue II,”
players assume the role of Ryo Hazuki, a young man determined to avenge his father’s death and unlock the mysteries of the Phoenix Mirror.
“Shenmue II”
continues where
“Shenmue”
left off, bringing Ryo to Hong Kong with many unanswered questions as he follows the trail of Lan Di, the man who killed his father.

“‘Shenmue II’ is a unique game, unlike any other. The countless elements and features allow players to go beyond the boundaries of gaming,”
Suzuki said.

“Shenmue II”
includes the following key features:

  • A fully immersive world. The world of
    “Shenmue II”
    is alive with bustling Hong Kong activity. Day gradually turns to night and back to day. Clouds move across the sky, and sunshine changes to rain. People fill the streets as they go about their daily lives.

  • Complete freedom to explore. Players are free to explore and
    “live”
    in Hong Kong. They can work, sleep, move about, fight, gamble and engage in many other activities. The streets are filled with virtually thousands of fully interactive characters.

  • Solid 3-D fighting. Created by the same group that developed
    “Virtua Fighter,” “Shenmue II”
    includes an advanced fighting system with more than 50 punches, kicks, holds and combos; it is the most-developed fighting system for a nonfighting game.

“Shenmue II”
is rated T for Teen and is available for $49.99* (U.S. estimated retail price) on http://www.xbox.com/ or wherever Xbox games are sold.

About SEGA’s AM2 Studio

SEGA’s AM2 studio, led by Yu Suzuki, is the creator of such great franchises as

“Virtua Fighter,” “OutRun”
and
“After Burner.”

About Xbox

Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful game 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 is now available in North America, Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC ( http://www.microsoft.com/games/ ), including such franchises as
“Age of Empires® ,” “Flight Simulator”
and
“Zoo Tycoon (TM)”
; Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ), including such franchises as
“Halo (TM) ,” “Project Gotham Racing (TM)”
and
“NFL Fever”
; and Zone.com ( http://zone.msn.com/ ), the official games channel for the MSN®
network and home to such hits as
“Bejeweled”
and
“OutSmart (TM) .”

About SEGA

SEGA of America Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corp., a $3.5 billion corporation by market capitalization, recognized as 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 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.

* Actual retail prices may vary.

Microsoft, Xbox, Age of Empires, Zoo Tycoon, Halo, Project Gotham Racing, MSN and Outsmart 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. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .

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