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Contact:
Lisa Bucek
[email protected]
949.553.6655
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE INTERPLAY PROUDLY
ANNOUNCES HUNTER: THE RECKONING FOR XBOX
Vampire
Hunters Wanted: It’s Time to Save the World
IRVINE,
California, April 30, 2001- Digital Mayhem, a division of Interplay
Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ:IPLY), proudly announced today that Hunter: The
Reckoning is currently in development for the Xbox™ video game system from
Microsoft. Hunter is a thrilling action-adventure game based on the mysterious
characters and spine-tingling fiction found in the popular role-playing game
Hunter: The Reckoning and the mystifying World of Darkness universe in which
it is based. Developed by High Voltage Software, Inc. for Digital Mayhem using
the AtlasTech Game Engine™ licensed technology, and based on the popular
license from White Wolf Publishing, Inc., Hunter: The Reckoning is scheduled
to ship Q1, 2002.
“Hunter
is one of those rare licenses that is perfectly tailored for gamers worldwide,”
said Interplay CEO Brian Fargo, “Xbox, with its advanced technology and
features, is the perfect platform for this ambitious project. We are delighted
to announce Hunter as our first exclusive Xbox title.”
“We
believe High Voltage and Digital Mayhem will bring their our own brand of
creativity and gaming expertise to this unique license,” stated Jim Molitor,
Division Director for Digital Mayhem, “With Hunter, gamers will experience
the pure fun of an advanced Xbox action game while also being immersed in the
rich fiction of White Wolf’s World of Darkness.”
Played
from a third person perspective, Hunter immerses players in the nightmarish
setting of the modern day Hunter. Denizens of the night disguised as everyday
mortals co-existing with other society members plague this macabre world.
Players thrust into this world soon learn that they have the ability to see
these creatures for what they are and are compelled to destroy them in order
to save humanity from the threat of eternal darkness. Players will assume the
role of one of four Hunter characters, each imbued with supernatural abilities
that become more diverse and powerful as players progress through the game.
Hunters are also able to find and make use of Glyphs, glowing symbols on the
ground, which enhance their ability to combat the undead.
“We
are very pleased to be partnering with Interplay and Digital Mayhem on this
extraordinary property,” stated Kerry Ganofsky, Chief Executive Officer of
High Voltage. “We believe our definitive efforts will result in the ultimate
action-adventure experience for Xbox.”
Throughout
the game’s many gothic environments, including a prison execution chamber, a
ghoulish cemetery, and a chilling train station, players will face down over
30 creature variants from bloodthirsty vampires to unstoppable legions of the
walking dead. To help slayers battle their prey, Hunter features an arsenal of
weapons including swords, shotguns, axes, and flamethrowers.
Additionally,
Hunter supports cooperative four-player multiplayer. The game dynamically
scales its difficulty to accommodate the number of players in the game. In
cooperative mode, players will interact with one another allowing them to
battle the undead and heal fellow Hunters that have fallen prey to the deadly
creatures.
About
Xbox
Xbox
(http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that
delivers new and unforeseen gameplay experiences. With more than three times
the graphics performance of the newest generation of game systems, Xbox
unleashes game designers’ creativity to produce games that are challenging,
exhilarating, surprising, and fun. About White Wolf Since their entry in the
Roleplaying Game market in 1991, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. has grown and
maintained an average marketshare of 26%. With collective books sales in
excess of 5.5 million copies during this time, White Wolf is one of two
undisputed world wide publishing leaders for pen and paper roleplaying games.
Their properties have been licensed into television series, comic books,
action figures, professional wrestlers, a myriad of merchandising and of
course, video games
About
High Voltage
High
Voltage Software, Inc. was founded in 1993 and has been crafting games for
three generations of consoles and the PC. The Chicago-based developer boasts a
resourceful mix of the gaming industry’s brightest young talents and
skilled, veteran developers. Imaginative design, powerful proprietary
technology, and a proven development process have made High Voltage Software a
fierce competitor in the entertainment industry. Some recent hits include:
LEGO Racers, NBA Inside Drive 2000, All Star Baseball 2001, Quarterback Club
2001, and Ground Control: Dark Conspiracy.
About
Interplay
Interplay
Entertainment Corp. is a leading developer, publisher and distributor of
interactive entertainment software for both core gamers and the mass market.
Interplay currently balances its development efforts by publishing for
personal computers as well as current and next generation video game consoles.
Interplay releases products through Interplay, Shiny Entertainment, Digital
Mayhem, Black Isle Studios, 14 East, its distribution partners and its
wholly owned subsidiary Interplay OEM, Inc. More comprehensive information on
Interplay and its products is available through its worldwide web site at http://www.interplay.com.
For investor relations’ inquiries, please contact Patrick Sutton ([email protected])
or Christopher Rosgen ([email protected]) at Liolios Group, Inc. (949)
574-3860.
Safe
Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Statements
contained in this release except for historical information are
forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and involve
risks and uncertainties. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,”
“intend,” “could,” “estimate,” or “continue” or the negative or other
variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties inherent in such
statements may cause actual future events or results to differ materially and
adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements. For example,
there can be no assurance that the games will ship in the projected time frame
or that they will be as popular as the Company presently anticipates.
Additional important factors that may cause a difference between projected and
actual results for Interplay include, but are not limited to, future capital
requirements, that equity or bank financing will be available on terms
satisfactory to the company or at all, risks of loss of the Company’s listing
on the Nasdaq National Market, risk of delays in development and introduction
of new products, dependence on new product introduction which achieve
significant market acceptance and the uncertainties of consumer preferences,
risks of product returns and markdown allowances, dependence on third party
software developers for a significant portion of new products, risks of rapid
technological change and platform change, intense competition, seasonality,
risks of product defects and resulting returns, dependence upon licenses from
third parties, risks associated with, dependence upon third party
distribution, dependence upon key personnel and risks associated with
international business, intellectual property disputes and other factors
discussed in the Company’s filings from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company’s annual reports
on Form 10-K and the Company’s subsequent quarterly filings on Form 10-Q.
Interplay disclaims any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking
statements that may be made from time to time by it or on its behalf.
#
# #
Hunter:
The Reckoning 2001 Interplay Entertainment Corp. All rights reserved.
AtlasTech Game Engine trademark 2000 High Voltage Software, Inc. All rights
reserved. Developed for Interplay Entertainment Corp. by High Voltage
Software, Inc., under license from White Wolf Publishing, Inc. White Wolf and
Hunter: The Reckoning are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved. Interplay, the Interplay logo, “By Gamers. For Gamers.”,
Digital Mayhem and the Digital Mayhem logo are trademarks of Interplay
Entertainment Corp. All rights reserved. All other copyrights and trademarks
are property of their respective owners.”
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