Microsoft
Game Studios Leads Way On Xbox and Windows Gaming
Platforms
"Halo
2," "Fable," "Forza Motorsport,"
"Jade Empire" and "Dungeon Siege 2"
Highlight Mixture of Established Franchises and Future
Blockbusters
Microsoft
Game Studios today unveiled its product lineup at this
year's Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3),
featuring games for the Xbox® video game system and
Windows® operating system. Highlighting the portfolio is
one of the century's most anticipated video games,
"Halo® 2" from Bungie Studios. Today,
Microsoft Corp. announced "Forza
Motorsport™," an advanced, fully customizable
racing simulation developed by Microsoft Game Studios
that will be playable over the Xbox Live™ service.
The lineup also includes three of the most eagerly
awaited role-playing games (RPGs) in development:
"Fable" for Xbox from Big Blue Box Studios and
Lionhead Studios, "Jade Empire" for Xbox from
BioWare Corp., and "Dungeon Siege 2" for
Windows from Gas Powered Games Corp.
Microsoft's
portfolio is a compelling lineup of 13 Xbox and Windows
games developed by some of the video game industry's
brightest stars, including "Unreal Championship 2:
The Liandri Conflict" for Xbox from Epic Games Inc.;
"Conker™: Live and Reloaded" and
"Kameo™: Elements of Power™" for
Xbox from famed developer Rare Ltd.; "Vanguard: Saga
of Heroes," a new Windows massively multiplayer
online role-playing game (MMORPG) from Sigil Games Online
Inc., founded by the original executive producer and
co-creator of "EverQuest"; "MechAssault®
2: Lone Wolf" for Xbox from FASA Studio and Day 1
Studios LLC; "Sudeki™," the
soon-to-be-released role-playing game for Xbox from
Climax Studios Ltd.; "BC" for Xbox from
Lionhead Studios and Intrepid Computer Entertainment; and
"Zoo Tycoon™ 2" for Windows from Blue
Fang Games.
"At
Microsoft Game Studios, our mission is to create
excellent and innovative franchises that customers
love," said Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft
Game Studios. "Our focus on developing amazing
entertainment experiences with the best creative talent
in the world is the most important aspect of our strategy
to become the premier publisher of interactive
entertainment."
Ambitious
Xbox Games Lineup
Microsoft
Game Studios offers a prominent lineup of the most
anticipated Xbox and Windows games, including the hottest
new Xbox exclusives:
"Halo
2" is the sequel to the highly successful
and critically acclaimed game "Halo: Combat
Evolved." At the heart of "Halo 2"
is a compelling, movielike saga, on par with the
great stories told in film. In "Halo
2," the battle moves home to a war-torn
Earth, where players utilize new vehicles and
weapons to destroy the Covenant. "Halo
2" will utilize Xbox Live in a way that will
completely redefine online gameplay. (Bungie
Studios, for Xbox, November 2004, rating pending)
"Forza
Motorsport" revs up Xbox gamers who are
passionate about cars and racing. "Forza
Motorsport" is the ultimate car-lover's
playground, letting gamers buy, sell, trade,
tune, modify and race their customized car
collection. On the track, players experience an
impressively accurate simulation, putting their
performance-tuned creations to the test against
the best the online world has to offer on Xbox
Live. (Microsoft Game Studios, for Xbox, winter
2005, rating pending)
In
"Fable," the groundbreaking
role-playing adventure game from Big Blue Box and
Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios, every action
determines characters' skills, appearance and
morality. Gamers choose the path of righteousness
or a life of evil, and watch themselves transform
into a reflection of their actions and decisions.
(Big Blue Box, for Xbox, fall 2004, Mature)
From
BioWare, the developer of "Star Wars:
Knights of the Old Republic," comes
"Jade Empire," a
martial-arts-influenced action role-playing game
set in the ancient, mysterious world of mythical
China. Only by mastering the greatest fighting
styles and defeating the most powerful enemies
will players earn their place as a master of
martial arts in the world of "Jade
Empire." (BioWare, for Xbox, spring 2005,
rating pending)
Other
titles in the Microsoft Game Studios portfolio include
these:
"BC"
(Microsoft Game Studios, developed by Lionhead
Studios' Intrepid Computer Entertainment
division). "BC" is an original
third-person action-adventure game that hurtles
players back millions of years to the beginnings
of humankind. Members of a tribe take part in an
epic journey of survival, battling against
ferocious, prehistoric creatures while exploring
and exploiting vast natural environments. (Xbox,
2005, rating pending)
"Conker:
Live and Reloaded" (Microsoft Game Studios,
Rare). Gaming's notoriously naughty squirrel,
Conker, lands on Xbox with a bang in an all-new
Xbox Live-enabled team-based shooter. Also
included is the critically acclaimed
single-player game "Conker's Bad Fur
Day®," completely re-created for Xbox with
stunning graphics and unparalleled attitude.
(Xbox, March 2005, rating pending)
"Dungeon
Siege 2" (Microsoft Game Studios, Gas
Powered Games). "Dungeon Siege 2"
returns players to the beautiful fantasy land of
Aranna, but it is a land scarred by civil war,
where the lines between good and evil are
blurred. (Windows, holiday 2004, rating pending)
"Kameo:
Elements of Power" (Microsoft Game Studios,
Rare). From legendary game developer Rare comes
"Kameo: Elements of Power," a
larger-than-life journey full of intense combat,
magnificent exploration, and innovative
morph-into-monster action that allows Kameo to
transform into incredible monsters to search out
and battle ever-present evil. (Xbox, January
2005, rating pending)
"MechAssault
2: Lone Wolf" (Microsoft Game Studios, FASA
Studio and Day 1 Studios). "MechAssault 2:
Lone Wolf" continues the massive structural
damage, intense combat and addictive online
multiplayer gameplay on Xbox Live that Mech fans
have been praising since "MechAssault"
first hit Xbox. And now for the first time
players can get out of the Mech. (Xbox, January
2005, rating pending)
"Sudeki"
(Microsoft Game Studios, Climax).
"Sudeki" pushes the limits of what a
role-playing game can be by providing bigger
worlds, more powerful heroes and sexier heroines,
all set in the context of fantastical real-time
action. (Xbox, July 2004, Mature)
"Unreal
Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict"
(Microsoft Game Studios, Epic Games).
"Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri
Conflict" brings the "Unreal
Championship" franchise to Xbox and Xbox
Live with bold enhancements to single and
multiplayer gameplay, including all-new
superagile player acrobatics, a third-person
camera mode and intense melee abilities. (Xbox,
holiday 2004, rating pending)
"Vanguard:
Saga of Heroes" (Microsoft Game Studios,
Sigil Games Online). "Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes" represents the next evolutionary
leap in massively multiplayer online role-playing
games from the original creators of
"EverQuest." "Vanguard" is a
high-fantasy-themed MMORPG with a heavy focus on
character advancement, an immersive world and
player interdependence. (Windows, rating pending)
"Zoo
Tycoon 2" (Microsoft Game Studios, Blue Fang).
"Zoo Tycoon 2," the newest addition to the
massively popular and award-winning "Zoo
Tycoon" franchise, provides the ultimate zoo
experience. The game now allows players to step into
their zoo, where they'll be face-to-face with animals and
guests in an all-new 3-D world. (Windows, holiday 2004,
rating pending)
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