IPLY .10 x .11 - INTERPLAY ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II' Goes Gold
Interplay's highly anticipated console game to be distributed by Vivendi Universal Games in North America and Asia-Pacific
FRIDAY , JANUARY 02, 2004 03:02 PM
LOS ANGELES and IRVINE, Calif., Jan 02, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via Comtex/ -- Interplay Entertainment Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: IPLY) and Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) announced today that the highly anticipated "Baldur's Gate(TM): Dark Alliance(TM) II" has gone gold and will ship to retail on January 20, 2004. The game will be distributed by VU Games in North America and Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan).
Set in the Forgotten Realms(R) world, the most popular Dungeons & Dragons(R) campaign setting, "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II" uses the 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules set. "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II" features more monsters, 80 levels of gameplay, visually stunning environments, five new customizable player characters to choose from, hidden areas to explore, as well as an item creation system that will allow players to create their own ultimate magical items.
Darkness gathers yet again in the sprawling port city of Baldur's Gate and the city's most recent saviors vanished along with the Onyx Tower, foul bastion of Eldrith the Betrayer. In heroic tradition, adventurers throughout the Western Heartlands make the journey to Baldur's Gate to meet their great and unknown fate. The threat of Eldrith has been eliminated, yet sinister, enigmatic forces still rally against the city. There are many intrigues to unravel, enemies to battle, and characters to meet -- both old and new -- before Baldur's Gate is saved from a fate far worse than utter destruction.
"'Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II' has already received tremendous pre- awareness and anticipation among gamers," said Philip W. O'Neil, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Vivendi Universal Games. "We have high expectations for this title and are looking forward to a successful launch."
Interplay Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Herve Caen added, "This franchise has taken on a life of its own, and we look forward to delivering a thrilling experience to the legions of fans who enjoyed the first game. It is clearly among the best games Interplay has ever produced."
"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II" is an action/role-playing game and will be available for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox(R) video game system from Microsoft. It was developed by Interplay's Black Isle Studios, known for their high quality role-playing games, under license from Atari, Hasbro, Inc. and Hasbro's subsidiary, Wizards of the Coast.
"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance" was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2001, Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube(TM) in 2002 and has sold over one million units worldwide across all three platforms. The game has shipped as a Greatest Hits title for the PlayStation 2 and Platinum Hits for Xbox. For more information on "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II" visit the website at bgda2.blackisle.com .
About Interplay
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is a worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for both core gamers and the mass market. Founded in 1983, Interplay currently balances its development efforts by publishing for PCs as well as current generation video game consoles. Interplay releases products through Black Isle Studios, Interplay and its distribution partners. The company's common stock is publicly traded under the symbol IPLY. For more information about Interplay please visit our website at www.interplay.com .
About Vivendi Universal Games
Headquartered in New York, Vivendi Universal Games (www.vugames.com ) is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive products across all major platforms including PCs, video game consoles and the Internet. Vivendi Universal Games' portfolio of development studios and publishing labels includes Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Fox Interactive, Knowledge Adventure, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Additionally, Vivendi Universal Games co-publishes and/or distributes titles for a number of strategic partners, including Interplay, inXile entertainment, Majesco and Mythic Entertainment, among others.
About Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, "Magic: The Gathering(R)," among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as "Dungeons & Dragons(R)," and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com .
Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
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 Interplay's current scheduled titles will ship in the projected time frame or that they will be as popular as Interplay presently anticipates, or that Interplay will be able to achieve its projected continued revenues from its existing titles, or that Interplay will be able to increase the number of console titles it releases. 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 Interplay or at all, 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 Interplay's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Interplay's annual reports on Form 10-K and Interplay'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.
SOURCE Interplay Entertainment Corp.
CONTACT: Kathryne Wahl of Interplay Entertainment Corp.,
+1-949-553-6655, kwahl@interplay.com |
