Xbox Expands Definition of
Digital Entertainment Lifestyle With New and Ambitious
Titles Featured at E3
First Xbox Games
From Rare, New Genre-Defining Titles, Sequels to
Blockbuster Franchises And Cutting-Edge Sports Brand
— XSN Sports — Illuminate Lustrous Xbox Future
Microsoft Corp.
debuted its lineup of ambitious new games for the Xbox®
video game system at a pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo
(E3) media briefing today, wowing a packed
house at the Grand Olympic Auditorium with titles that
redefine innovation and plug an ever-expanding audience
of gamers into the Digital Entertainment Lifestyle.
Sensationally
rendered thrillers such as "Halo™ 2," one
of the most ambitious video games ever; the first three
Xbox games from Rare Ltd., "Conker: Live and
Uncut," "Kameo™: Elements of Power"
and "Grabbed by the Ghoulies"; and the highly
anticipated sequel "Project Gotham Racing®
2" showcased the depth, breadth and quality of the
Xbox title portfolio.
In addition to its
showstopping game titles, Microsoft announced new
portfolio additions that seek to redefine what it means
to play and compete in the video-game universe. XSN
Sports, the new brand moniker for Microsoft-published
sports titles, allows players to connect to real people
in real leagues with real rivalries using XSNsports.com,
a Web-based service that complements the Xbox Live™
experience. By linking gamers to a variety of wireless
devices and PCs, XSN Sports moves the Xbox experience
beyond the box.
"Great games
are at the heart of our Digital Entertainment Lifestyle
vision," said Ed Fries, vice president for game
content at Microsoft. "And at Xbox, we’re
committed to the most ambitious expansion ever of what
video games can be."
More than 50 Xbox
Live games are scheduled to be available this holiday,
with more amazing Xbox Live-enabled games scheduled to be
available in 2004, including the highly anticipated
"Halo 2." In addition, more games will feature
downloadable content, allowing gamers to continue to
extend their game experiences for months after a
game’s release.
Upcoming blockbuster
Microsoft Game Studios games for Xbox include
"Project Gotham Racing 2," the first Xbox title
from Rare, "Grabbed by the Ghoulies,"
"Counter-Strike," "Crimson Skies™:
High Road to Revenge™" and "Fable."
"Halo
2" (Microsoft Game Studios, Bungie)
is the sequel to the award-winning,
sci-fi action, first-person shooter game,
"Halo: Combat Evolved." In
"Halo 2," the saga continues as
Master Chief, a genetically enhanced
supersoldier, is the only thing standing
between the relentless Covenant and the
destruction of all humankind. Featuring
Xbox Live capabilities, "Halo
2" will be released in the first
quarter of 2004.
"Conker:
Live and Uncut" (Microsoft Game
Studios, Rare) finds Conker back in an
all-new Xbox Live-enabled team-based
shooter. Conker, the cartoon rodent with
a penchant for booze, wild women and lewd
conduct, enters seven scenario-based
modes, each with its own story.
"Conker: Live and Uncut" will
be available in 2004.
"Grabbed
by the Ghoulies" (Microsoft Game
Studios, Rare) is a humorous,
beat-’em-up adventure game that
takes place in a haunted house full of
crazed ghoulies. Gamers take the role of
Cooper, a young boy on a mission to
rescue his girlfriend, who has been
"grabbed by the ghoulies."
Players will venture through haunted and
ominous Ghoulhaven Hall, battling a
variety of monsters while trying to
escape the many tricks, traps and shocks
awaiting them along the way.
"Grabbed by the Ghoulies" will
be available for holiday 2003.
"Kameo:
Elements of Power" (Microsoft Game
Studios, Rare) is an action-adventure
game set in a fantastic kingdom of
monsters and magic. Players become Kameo,
a princess on a mission to rescue her
three Elemental Ancestors from the Dark
Troll King, who has plans to dominate the
fantasy planet’s wildlife.
"Kameo" will be available in
2004.
"Project
Gotham Racing 2" (Microsoft Game
Studios, Bizarre Creations Ltd.) is the
ultimate test of racing skill, style and
daring, rewarding drivers not only for
how fast they drive but for how they
drive fast. Drivers will earn Kudos and
gain recognition for cornering on two
wheels around the Sears Tower in Chicago,
power sliding through the ancient streets
of Florence, Italy, or maneuvering along
the racing line through the slick streets
of Edinburgh, Scotland, all while racing
some of the most exotic high-performance
vehicles available. Players also can
challenge friends and other gamers online
utilizing the Xbox Live online game
service or through multiplayer System
Link. "Project Gotham Racing 2"
will be available for holiday 2003.
"Fable"
(Microsoft Game Studios, Lionhead
Studios), from renowned developer Peter
Molyneux, puts the choice squarely at
gamers’ fingertips: Will they be
good, evil or somewhere in between? In
"Fable," players choose their
identity, determine appearance and
abilities, feel effects of reputation,
and thus create their own interactive
experience. "Fable" will be
available for holiday 2003.
"Counter-Strike"
(Microsoft Game Studios, Valve/Ritual)
makes its console debut exclusively on
Xbox and Xbox Live. The world’s most
popular game and first-person shooter for
the PC features single-player missions
taking place all over the world. Gamers
can challenge other players in team-based
multiplayer games on Xbox Live using
System Link. "Counter-Strike"
on Xbox will be the most graphically
advanced version of the series to date.
"Counter-Strike" will be
available for holiday 2003.
XSN
Sports (Microsoft Game Studios, XSN
Sports) is the first lineup of Xbox games
in which sport fans compete beyond the
game. For the first time, gamers will
challenge real people to create their own
leagues and build their own rivalries.
XSNsports.com will offer a Web-based
service that intricately links XSN Sports
gamers to the new digital entertainment
lifestyle of wireless devices and PCs so
the Xbox experience moves beyond the box.
"Crimson
Skies: High Road to Revenge"
(Microsoft Game Studios) combines
thrilling aerial combat with the
swashbuckling style of a Hollywood
action-adventure movie. Set in an
alternate 1930s world of gunship
diplomacy and sinister intrigue,
"Crimson Skies" lets gamers
pilot powerful aircraft against nefarious
air pirates and behemoth war zeppelins.
"Crimson Skies" will be
available for holiday 2003.
Great games from
Xbox publishing partners will include "Tom
Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Island Thunder" from Ubi
Soft® Entertainment, "Ninja
Gaiden™" from Tecmo® Inc.,
"Deus Ex: Invisible War" from Eidos Interactive
Ltd., "Full Spectrum Warrior™" from THQ
Inc., "StarCraft: Ghost™" from Blizzard
Entertainment™, and "True Crime™:
Streets of L.A.™" from Activision.
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