LOS ANGELES — May 16,
2005 — On the
heels of the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system worldwide
premiere on MTV last week, Microsoft Corp. released a flurry of announcements
tonight to a packed house at the Shrine Auditorium. Bolstering the promise that
Xbox 360 immerses players at the center of the most
powerful next-generation games and entertainment experiences, the company revealed
that Square Enix Co. Ltd. — an industry-leading developer and publisher
of the world-renowned “FINAL FANTASY®” series, which has
sold more than 60 million units worldwide — will release “FINAL
FANTASY XI” for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live™.
“FINAL FANTASY XI” is just the beginning: Square Enix will work
closely with Microsoft on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.
“We’re honored that Square Enix will make games
like ‘FINAL FANTASY XI’ for the millions of Xbox® fans
who have anticipated this historical moment for quite some time,” said
Robbie Bach, senior
vice president and chief Xbox officer in the Home and Entertainment Division at Microsoft.
“Together, we will chart a new course for the future of video game
entertainment.”
“Xbox has become a major force in video-game
innovation, and we couldn’t be more captivated by the Xbox 360
canvas,” said Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix. “As the
world’s first cross-platform online game with more than 500,000 users,
‘FINAL FANTASY XI’ will take advantage of the incredible power of
the Xbox 360 platform, immersing gamers in spellbinding stories that come to
life in high definition and through collaborative online gameplay.”
Reinforcing the electricity accompanying Xbox 360, leading
video games publisher EA announced that its groundbreaking Xbox 360 games
symbolize its largest commitment to a next-generation platform launch.
Demonstrating the strength of a world-class portfolio, EA has committed to a
broad lineup of Xbox 360 titles including “Madden NFL 06,”
“Need for Speed™ Most Wanted,” “FIFA 06,” “Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 06,” “The
Godfather™ The Game” and “NBA Live 06.”
The company also announced Xbox 360 will be
backward-compatible with top-selling Xbox games. In addition, more than 160 games are in development for
Xbox 360, with 25 to 40 games slated for release this calendar year. All are
optimized for high-definition output (720p and 1080i). The following games are
among the exciting new titles, many console-exclusives, in development from the
biggest names in publishing today:
·
“Blue
Dragon” (Microsoft Game Studios, Mistwalker Inc.) from Hironobu
Sakaguchi, original creator of the “FINAL FANTASY” series, is an
epic role-playing game (RPG) featuring the original artwork of Akira Toriyama,
creator of the “Dragonball” series of manga and anime.
·
“Call
of Duty® 2” (Activision Publishing Inc., Infinity Ward), the
sequel to the 2003 Game of the Year, delivers a vivid portrayal of the chaos
and cinematic intensity of World War II through stunningly detailed graphics, advanced
artificial intelligence (AI) and explosive action.
·
“Condemned:
Criminal Origins” (SEGA, Monolith Productions Inc.) is a first-person
psychological thriller featuring photorealistic graphics, advanced enemy AI and
a strong dose of atmospheric tension. The hunt for a notorious serial killer
offers gamers combat and game environments that are unpredictable and
terrifyingly real.
·
“Dead
or Alive 4,” (Tecmo Inc., Team Ninja) will be the defining gaming
experience on Xbox 360. It will encompass all that the next-generation console
has to offer, giving players the most rewarding digital fighting experience to
date on any video game console.
·
“DEAD
RISING (Working Title)” (Capcom, Capcom) follows the harrowing tale of an
overzealous freelance photojournalists as he struggles to survive an endless
stream of zombies. Players will have full reign of a realistic shopping center,
utilizing anything they find to fight off the flesh-hungry mob and search for
the truth behind the horrendous epidemic.
·
“The
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion” (Bethesda Softworks/2K Games, Bethseda Game
Studios) is a quintessential role-playing game for the next generation and
another leap forward in gaming. “Oblivion” is the latest chapter in
the epic and highly successful “Elder Scrolls” saga and utilizes
next-generation video game hardware to fully immerse players in the experience.
·
“Full
Auto” (SEGA, Pseudo Interactive Inc.) redefines combat racing with
physics technology that enables bigger crashes and the most destructive play
experience ever captured in the racing genre. Amazingly detailed vehicles race
through packed city streets with guns blazing, laying spectacular waste to
other vehicles and buildings that get in their way.
·
“Gears
of War” (Microsoft Game Studios, Epic Games Inc.) blends the best of
tactical action games with the best of survival horror titles, thrusting gamers
into the harrowing story of humankind’s battle for survival against the
Locust Horde, creating cinematic, high-definition visuals so intense and
powerful, it feels like the gamers are controlling a blockbuster action movie.
·
“Kameo™:
Elements of Power™” (Microsoft Game Studios, Rare Ltd.) is an
action-adventure game with role-playing elements for gamers of all ages and
skill levels. From legendary game developer Rare, “Kameo: Elements of
Power” sends players on a magical and epic journey full of intense
combat, magnificent exploration and innovative morph-into-warrior action.
·
“Lost
Odyssey™” (Microsoft Game Studios, Mistwalker), is a truly
next-generation RPG created by acclaimed artists Takehiko Inoue (Japanese manga
creator, made famous by “Slam Dunk”), Kiyoshi Shigematsu (a famous
Japanese novelist) and Nobuo Uematsu (Japanese music composer, known for
creating the music for the “FINAL FANTASY” series of games). The
game is produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the original “FINAL
FANTASY” series.
·
“NINETY-NINE
NIGHTS” (Microsoft Game Studios, Q Entertainment/Phantagram Ltd.) is a
brand-new fantasy action game by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, known as the creator of
“Space Channel 5,” “Rez” and the recent
“Luminese,” developed in collaboration with the renowned Korean
developer Phantagram.
·
“The
Outfit” (THQ Inc., Relic Entertainment) takes explosive World War II
combat to the next generation in an all-new, third-person action game.
Combining intense squad-based combat and easy-to-use strategic gameplay
elements, “The Outfit” takes players behind enemy lines, battling
the Nazi war machine through a variety of combat missions.
·
“Perfect
Dark: Zero™” (Microsoft Game Studios, Rare) is the prequel to the
hugely popular and critically acclaimed “Perfect Dark®.”
Set in the year 2020 — years before the original hit game —
“Perfect Dark: Zero” reveals the origins of Joanna Dark, one of the
most lethal special agents.
·
“Project
Gotham Racing® 3” (Microsoft Game Studios, Bizarre Creations
Ltd.) is the latest entry in the award-winning “Project Gotham
Racing” franchise and expands on the features and gameplay that race fans
have grown to know and love. “PGR™ 3” enables gamers to
create the ultimate roster of the hottest supercars in existence, introduces
them to the high-definition era and drops them into a completely new racing
world where style rules the road.
·
“QUAKE
4™” (Activision, id Software and Raven Software) is the sequel to
the award-winning and historic “QUAKE II™.” In a war for
Earth’s survival against an unrelenting enemy, the only way to defeat
them is to become one of them.
·
“Saint’s
Row” (THQ, Volition Inc.) harnesses the power of the Xbox 360 platform to
combine compelling, cinematic storytelling with unprecedented customization.
Ushering in the next evolution of open-world gameplay, “Saint’s
Row” watches players rise from thug to kingpin in a robust, nonlinear
environment that reacts and adapts to their every move. “Saint’s
Row” features both single-player and online multiplayer modes.
·
“Test
Drive® Unlimited” (Atari, Eden
Games) is the ultimate automotive experience for car and bike enthusiasts
alike. “
Xbox Live: A 2-Million-Member
Movement and Rapidly Expanding
By the end of June, Xbox Live
— where games, entertainment and community come alive —
will surpass the 2-million-member mark, a doubling of the community in just the
past year. Adding fuel to its relentless ascension, this holiday season Xbox Live will have more than 300 multiplayer
games available, with new titles such as “Tony Hawk’s American
Wasteland™” (Activision), “Star
Wars Battlefront™ II” (LucasArts) and
“Burnout™ Revenge” (Electronic Arts) for Xbox, and “PGR
3” (Microsoft Game Studios), “Madden NFL 06” (Electronic
Arts) and “Call of Duty 2” (Activision) for Xbox 360.
Xbox Live
memberships will transfer seamlessly from Xbox to Xbox 360 when the new system
launches.
More exponential growth is on the horizon, because a Silver
level of Xbox Live service will
be available at no extra cost to Xbox 360 players who choose a broadband
connection for their system. With the Silver level of service, gamers
immediately access the Xbox Live
Marketplace to download
demos and trailers along with new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins,
classic arcade games, card and board games, community-created content, and more to the detachable Xbox 360
hard drive. Players can also
voice chat with friends, and send and receive text and voice messages.
In addition, Xbox 360 owners new to Xbox Live will kick-start their experience with
a free month of the full subscription service, or Gold level, which will allow
them to enjoy the full power of the service, including online multiplayer
gaming, online tournaments and exclusive, original programming.
Special features available to Gold subscribers
only also include Spectator Mode, which will supercharge the entire Xbox Live game experience. For example, in
“PGR 3,” gamers can
watch any of their friends and the world’s top players on live spectator feeds, get live ticker-tape
information when friends break records, and compete with anyone, anywhere,
anytime. Through riveting games and new community features, Microsoft expects
to connect half of all Xbox 360 consoles to Xbox Live.
“With new levels of service and new features like
Gamer Profiles, Xbox Live
Marketplace, spectator mode and video chat inspiring new ideas and audiences,
Xbox 360 has us re-imagining the future of online games,” said Laurent
Detoc, executive director of Ubisoft North America. “Every great game in
the next generation will be a great online game. Gamers can count on Ubisoft to
push the possibilities of Xbox Live
to the very edge.”
The Xbox
Platform — Powering the Xbox 360 Games and Entertainment
Xbox 360 is designed with a singular platform
vision that fuses high-performance hardware and intelligent software and
services so the player is always in power. Offering the greatest value in
entertainment today, Microsoft detailed more key platform experiences that come
standard with every Xbox 360 system:
·
An IBM PowerPC-based CPU
with three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each, packing the most advanced
AI and physics processing available
·
A custom ATI Graphics processor and more than 512 MB of memory for
high-definition games and entertainment applications
·
All games optimized for
16:9 aspect ratio, HD output (720p and 1080i), multichannel surround sound
output, and full-screen anti-aliasing
·
Detachable and
upgradeable 20GB hard drive to download
demos and trailers along with new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins,
community-created content and more, to rip music for playback and to listen to
custom playlists in every game
·
A wireless controller
with Microsoft®-patented wireless technology; Xbox Guide Button on
every controller to instantly connect gamers to their games, friends and music,
and to power on or power off Xbox 360 without their having to leave the couch
·
Gamer Profile software
that remembers what players have achieved in games
·
Instant, out-of-the-box
access to Xbox Live, including a
built-in Ethernet port for connectivity; Xbox Live
Marketplace for downloadable content; a Message Center to receive voice and
video messages from friends; functionality that let users talk to friends, even
while watching movies or listening to music; and an Xbox Live Headset
·
Three USB 2.0 ports for
Xbox Live Camera peripheral, to plug in wired game
controllers that are also common for Windows®-based PCs; to stream
media from a portable media device, digital camera and Windows XP-based PC
·
Progressive-scan DVD
movie playback out of the box; DVD and CD music and photo playback out of the
box; support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R,
CD-RW, Windows Media® Audio CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
·
Media Center Extender
built in to access recorded TV (including high-definition TV) and digital
movies (including high-definition film), music, video and photos stored on
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PCs through any Xbox 360 system
·
Support for up to four
wireless game controllers and an optional Universal Media Remote with Windows XP Media Center
Edition Button for Media Center Edition functionality
·
Support for Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter via 802.11b, g and a
·
Interactive, full-screen
3-D visualizers
·
Two memory unit ports to
save data on portable memory units, starting at 64 MB
·
Detachable Face so each
console can be personalized
·
Parental Controls to
help restrict the games and movies that are played; Xbox Live controls to manage Friends List,
voice and video communication, and Gamer Profile sharing
Xbox Demand at
an All-Time High
Xbox continues to deliver thrilling, platform-driving games
and gamers can expect more than 200 new Xbox titles this year, with hundreds
more in 2006 and beyond. Xbox blockbusters in the making include “Half-Life 2” (Valve Corp.), “Need
for Speed Most Wanted” (Electronic Arts), “Ultimate
Spider-Man” (Activision), “Far Cry Instincts” (Ubisoft),
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”
(Buena Vista Games), “Star Wars
Battlefront II” (LucasArts), “Shadow The Hedgehog” (SEGA),
“Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland” (Activision), “Tom
Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Lockdown” (Ubisoft) and “Battlefield 2:
Modern Combat™” (Electronic Arts).
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