LUCASARTS
AND ENSEMBLE STUDIOS ENTER INTO INNOVATIVE
BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP
Age of Empires®
Developer and LucasArts to Pioneer New
Developer/Publisher Relationship; Announce Star
Wars® Battleground™ for Fall 2001
SAN RAFAEL,
Calif. -- February 27, 2001 -- LucasArts
Entertainment Company LLC today announced a
strategic alliance with Ensemble Studios to
develop a new and compelling Real Time Strategy
(RTS) franchise for the digital interactive
gaming market. The initial release from this
cooperative venture, Star Wars Battleground, will
be built upon PC-based technology created by
Ensemble and used in the highly acclaimed Age of
Empires series. Combining the design talents of
LucasArts and Ensemble -- including noted
designer Bruce Shelley -- Star Wars Battleground
will build upon Ensemble's proprietary engine
technology to usher in a new phase in the
evolution of the RTS game. Star Wars Battleground
is expected to release fall 2001.
Future ventures
with LucasArts are envisaged to encompass new
technologies developed by Ensemble, weaving
increasingly innovative engineering into the core
premise of interactive strategic warfare within
the Star Wars universe.
"From the
first time I played Age of Empires, I knew
someday LucasArts and Ensemble should work
together to create the ultimate RTS
franchise," says Simon Jeffery, president of
LucasArts. "Gaming is evolving rapidly and
fewer massively successful games are stumbled
upon by accident. The market is more aware of
what it wants, and consequently we are providing
a marriage of superlative design, consummate
technology, and an IP-based gaming universe with
which most of the western world is familiar. In
short, LucasArts very much views this as the
birth of a market leading franchise."
About LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is a leading
international developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment software for a variety
of computer and console platforms. Based in San
Rafael, Calif., as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com, LucasArts is
one of five companies in the Lucas group which
include Lucasfilm Ltd., Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC,
Lucas Licensing Ltd., and Lucas Learning Ltd.
Lucasfilm is one of the leading film and
entertainment companies in the world. Lucasfilm's
businesses include George Lucas' film and
television production and distribution activities
as well as the business activities of the THX
Group. Lucas Digital, which consists of
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker
Sound, provides visual effects and audio
post-production services to the entertainment
industry. Lucas Licensing is responsible for the
merchandising of all Lucasfilm's film and
television properties. Lucas Learning creates
engaging interactive entertainment products that
provide learning opportunities through
exploration and discovery.
About Ensemble
Ensemble Studios is one of the world's most
successful independent game developers and
masters of the real-time strategy game genre.
Ensemble Studios created the series of Academy of
Interactive Arts and Sciences award winning Age
of Empires games published by Microsoft. Those
games have sold over 6 million copies to date,
and all feature the technology and design
expertise that differentiate Ensemble's game
creations. Ensemble created titles are
distinguished by the highest quality art and
game-play dynamics applied in familiar historical
settings and appeal to "hard-core"
gamers and mass audiences alike. Ensemble Studios
is based in Dallas, Texas, and can be found on
the Internet at www.ensemblestudios.com.
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