Console Digest

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Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 leading a Pre-Sales initiative

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced two innovative initiatives for the forthcoming launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for PLAYSTATION®3 on June 12th.

In advance of the game’s release, Konami has unveiled a pre-order campaign, which will be allied with key retail partners throughout Europe. Consumers who pre-order a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 can receive an exclusive DVD entitled Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2. This seven-part documentary details the origins of previous Metal Gear games and the evolution of Hideo Kojima’s epic series. This gripping documentary offers a valuable insight into the series and the history of Metal Gear’s iconic hero, Snake.

Scheduled for release on June 12, Konami will also produce a Limited Edition collector’s package. Destined to be a highly sought-after compilation, the package includes a soundtrack CD, a 6” Old Snake action figurine, and an exclusive ‘Making Of’ Blu-ray disc. The Blu-ray disc contains two high-definition documentaries which offer a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the development of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, with interviews with series creator Hideo Kojima and key Kojima Productions personnel. The Limited Edition will carry a £79.99 RRP.

“Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is rightly seen as the stand-out title for 2008, and we were determined to come up with something special for its launch,” commented Martin Schneider, European Marketing Director for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “With interest so high, it is only right that we reward fans of the series for pre-ordering the game, and the Metal Gear Saga DVD is a stunning look at how the series has evolved into the phenomenon it has become. Likewise, the Limited Edition is a celebration of all things Metal Gear, and will be prized by those who buy it.”

Critically acclaimed baseball franchise gets ready for another season of great family fun

2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced the next iteration of the wildly popular baseball franchise, MLB® Power Pros 2008, scheduled to be available for Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system this July, as well as Nintendo DS™ later this fall. As the highest-rated and top-selling baseball title in Japan, MLB Power Pros was available in North America for the first time last year. Its comedic visual appeal of miniature Major League Baseball player models has attracted a dedicated following through its easy-to-use controls and addictively fun gameplay experience.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Konami again, and with the Baseball™ season now in full swing, we’re proud to offer our fans a refreshingly smart and exciting baseball game that is easily accessible for all ages,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Baseball enthusiasts will appreciate the variety of newly added features, intuitive game modes and improved overall feel, and we look forward to hitting one out of the park this season with MLB Power Pros 2008.”

With over ten different exciting game modes including the traditional Practice, Exhibition, League and Home Run Challenge modes, MLB Power Pros 2008 will bring fans closer to the action than ever before. Gamers also get the opportunity to act as general manager and control the destiny of their own franchise in Season mode, or engage in entertaining role-playing story modes such as Success and MLB® Life modes. As general manager, gamers can trade, sign free agents, coordinate practice schedules, purchase new equipment, call up and send down players from the Minor Leagues™, along with other management options to bring in fans, win playoff games and eventually, earn the title of World Series™ champion.

In Success mode, fans can participate in a story-based career of rising players in the Double-A Minor League system trying to improve their baseball skills and make an impression on baseball scouts while also having to balance various situations in their personal lives. Through a variety of amusing training and game challenges, players who complete Success mode will also be able to take their created player files into MLB Life as well, or also play as either an existing Major League Baseball® player in Dream Mode, or start as a rookie in Major League Career mode. As a new feature in MLB Power Pros 2008, MLB Life is another story-based mode that will allow fans the possibility to simulate the exciting life and experience of being a Major League Baseball player over the course of a 20-year career. While continuing to play in games through the regular baseball season, players will also participate in a number of realistic situations such as signing contracts, purchasing houses and cars, making charitable donations, building up relationships with friends and teammates, picking up hobbies and much more.

With easy, pick-up-and-play hitting and pitching controls, along with intuitive Wii functionality, other new features in MLB Power Pros 2008 include support of 40-man rosters, change of ball speed, adjustment of defensive shifts, along with a real-time bullpen check functionality for substituting pitchers. MLB Power Pros 2008 will also support the option for players to import their Wii-based characters, Miis™, from their Wii or Wii Remote™ to become part of the exciting action!

MLB Power Pros 2008, developed by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., is not yet rated by the ESRB, and will be available for Wii and the PlayStation 2 system this July, as well as Nintendo DS later this fall. For more information, please visit www.2ksports.com.

Video Game Captures the Intense Action-Adventure, Fantastic Creatures and Epic Locations of Upcoming Universal Pictures’ Supernatural Adventure Staring Brendan Fraser and Jet Li

Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, today announced the development of The Mummy™: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, a video game based on one of Summer 2008’s most highly anticipated movies from Universal Pictures. The game, which will mirror the fast-paced action and adventure depicted in the film, is being developed by Eurocom Studios for the Wii™ home video game console and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and by A2M for Nintendo DS™.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor game was created through a licensing agreement with Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group.

“Sierra Entertainment is pleased to partner with Universal to deliver an exciting extension to this popular film franchise,” said Al Simone, senior vice president, Global Marketing, Sierra Entertainment. “Developed in collaboration with the film’s creative talent, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor video game will add another opportunity for players to experience the thrill and excitement of this adventure favourite.”

“The Mummy is one of the most distinctive and expansive franchises in Universal’s portfolio, and there is inherent gameplay in the property,” said Bill Kispert, Vice President and General Manager, Interactive, Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group. “The new film amps up the action, introduces a ruthless new villain and takes our heroes to incredible new locations. We are thrilled to bring all these attributes to life in this game.”

In the third-person action-adventure game The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, players will take on the roles of Rick O’Connell and his son, Alex (played by Brendan Fraser and Luke Ford, respectively, in the film). Gamers will follow the lead characters on their harrowing journey - across exotic locations from ancient Chinese catacombs to beautiful, but dangerous, Himalayan peaks - to defeat the revived servants of the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li). The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor allows players to switch seamlessly between gunplay and hand-to-hand melee attacks, and also features a fast and fluid combat system and an arsenal of weaponry that can be used to vanquish the many bone-chilling enemies players will face during their journey. Fans of the upcoming Universal Pictures film, directed by Rob Cohen and set to hit cinemas this 1st August, will fight their way through The Mummy universe by utilising combat, puzzle-solving and hieroglyphic decoding gameplay elements.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor video game is expected to be available from UK retailers on 8th August, 2008. For more information, please visit the game’s official Web site at www.mummyvideogame.com.