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Microsoft
Lands Top Worldwide Developers for Xbox |
REDMOND, Wash.
March 8, 2001 Microsoft Corp. today announced that six world-class
design studios plan to create exclusive games for the Xbox video game system, all of
which will be published under the Microsoft® label. The game companies, which
join 18 other studios that are creating first-party games for Microsoft, are Blitz Games
Ltd., Curly Monsters Ltd., Double Fine Productions Inc., Radical Entertainment Inc.,
Vision Scape Interactive Inc. and Yeti Interactive. These alliances further demonstrate
the game communitys confidence in Xbox and in Microsofts commitment to
becoming a leading video game publisher.
"These artists have ambitions of delivering games that push the bounds of
whats possible in video gaming, making them a perfect fit for Xbox," said Ed
Fries, vice president of Xbox games publishing at Microsoft. "As their publisher,
Microsoft will support them with technical support, testing, marketing and distribution
power while the artists focus on bringing their imaginations to life on Xbox."
The six new developers join Oddworld Inhabitants Inc., Peter Molyneuxs Lionhead
Satellites and Microsofts in-house Xbox development teams such as Bungie Studios as
game designers for Microsofts publishing arm. The newly announced companies have
strong roots in the video game business.
- Blitz Games Ltd.
has developed PC, PlayStation, Dreamcast and N64 hits such as
"Chicken Run," "Frogger 2," "Glover," "Action Man:
Mission Xtreme," "Action Man 2: Destruction X" and Disneys "The
Little Mermaid II."
- Curly Monsters
was formed in 1998 and has team members that worked on key titles for
companies such as Psygnosis Inc. Its most-recent title was the well-received "NGEN
Racing" for the PlayStation in May 2000.
- Double Fine Productions Inc.
was formed by LucasArts star game designer Tim Schafer.
His background includes a series of award-winning games such as "Grim Fandango,"
"Full Throttle" and "Day of the Tentacle."
- Radical Entertainment,
with headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, has
developed top-selling games for publishers such as Electronic Arts Inc., Fox Interactive
Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sega Entertainment Inc. and THQ Inc. Recent
high-grossing titles include "MTV Snowboarding," "Jackie Chan
Stuntmaster," "NBA Basketball 2000" and "Independence Day."
- Vision Scape Interactive,
located in San Diego, Calif., is a premier developer of
interactive video games, software and animation for series television. Since 1997, VSI has
designed video games for next-generation consoles manufactured by Microsoft, Sony and
Sega, as well as online interactive games, working on high-profile titles such as Jet Moto
3, Twisted Metal 3 & 4, EverQuest, Game Day 99, and Land Before Time.
- Yeti Interactive
, located in Montpellier, France, creates premier games based on its
own original content and characters. Key members of the development team for the
award-winning action games "Rayman" and "Rayman 2" founded Yeti in
August 2000.
"Xbox is the first and best chance there is to create the games weve been
hoping to do for years," said Tim Schafer, game designer and founder of Double Fine
Productions. "Having Microsoft as a publisher is great because theyve got the
determination and resources to make the game right, and to bring it to an enormous
worldwide audience. Theyre also exciting to work with because of their commitment
not just to future-generation technology, but to future-generation content."
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