Acclaim Entertainment (International), a division of Acclaim Entertainment Inc, a worldwide interactive entertainment company and Vodafone, the world's largest mobile community, today announced an exclusive agreement to offer mobile game content in Vodafone countries through Vodafone live! based on Acclaim's forthcoming Urban Freestyle Soccer video game which premiers on Sony Playstation®, Microsoft XboxTM, Nintendo GamecubeTM and PC in October.
Entitled Urban Freestyle and available on Vodafone live! from the end of July, it will be the first ever mobile game to be available prior to the retail release of the console game. In addition Vodafone live! customers will be able to reveal cheat codes on their handset game that will unlock exclusive areas in the console game.
Under the agreement, Urban Freestyle will be available in 12 countries from the end of July 2003, prior to the game launch at the end of September 2003. The game is being developed to support a range of Vodafone live! handsets, including the Sharp GX10, Sharp GX10i, Sharp GX20, Nokia 7650 and Nokia 3650.
Urban Freestyle Soccer is the first urban arcade-style street soccer game of its kind to take the world's most popular sport back to its street roots with gang-style teams competing against their rivals for the right to be crowned King of the Streets. The mobile version of the game will focus on ball skills, pitting the player's dexterity and timing against the clock in Urban Freestyle Soccer arcade and challenge games. The player will be able to maximize their score through expert timing and also learn key combinations to perform the ultimate tricks. As the tricks increase in difficulty and reflex skills are put to the test, so the player's score increases.
Larry Sparks, VP Marketing International for Acclaim Entertainment said: "This is the very first time that Acclaim have distributed their gaming content via a mobile phone network and also the first time that a version of a video game has ever been available on a mobile phone prior to the retail release. I am thrilled to be working with Vodafone as our exclusive mobile partner on Urban Freestyle Soccer and I am confident there is huge potential in this venture for both partners."
Guy Laurence, CEO at Vodafone Global Content Services, said: "The exclusive agreement with Acclaim to offer Urban Freestyle Soccer to Vodafone live! customers, before it is available on the high street, is yet another first in mobile gaming and clearly demonstrates Vodafone's commitment to providing its customers with the best mobile gaming experience available today."
Notes to editors
Urban Freestyle Soccer will be available on Sony Playstation(R) 2, Microsoft Xbox(TM), Nintendo Gamecube(TM) and PC from October 2003 from all major outlets.
For further information please contact:
Frank PR
Vicky Goodkind
Andrew Bloch
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7693 6999
Email: Vicky@frankpr.it
Vodafone
Tim Brown, Group Corporate Affairs Director
Melissa Stimpson, Director of Investor Relations
Darren Jones, Senior Investor Relations Manager
Bobby Leach, Head of Group Media Relations
Ben Padovan, Deputy Head of Group Media Relations
Jon Earl, Senior Group Communications Manager
Janine Young, Group Communications Manager
Emma Conlon, Group Communications Manager
Tel:+44 (0) 1635 673310
Tavistock Communications
Lulu Bridges/John West
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7600 2288
About Acclaim Entertainment
Based in Glen Cove, N.Y., Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and mass marketer of software for use with interactive entertainment game consoles including those manufactured by Nintendo, Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft Corporation as well as personal computer hardware systems. Acclaim owns and operates five studios located in the United States and the United Kingdom which includes a motion capture and recording studio in the U.S., and publishes and distributes its software through its subsidiaries in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Australia. The Company uses regional distributors in Japan and the Pacific Rim. Acclaim also distributes entertainment software for other publishers worldwide, publishes software gaming strategy guides and issues "special edition" comic magazines periodically. Acclaim's corporate headquarters are in Glen Cove, New York and Acclaim's common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ.SC under the symbol AKLM. For more information please visit our website at http://www.acclaim.com.
About Vodafone
Vodafone provides a full range of mobile telecommunications services, including voice and data communications. Vodafone has equity interests in 28 countries and Partner Networks in a further 8 countries, serving almost 120 million proportionate customers.
Vodafone is a truly global organisation, recognised worldwide for its quality of service and product innovation. Vodafone's latest global service offering, Vodafone live! opens up a world of mobile colour communication, bringing news, information, e-mail, chat, location-based services, games and shopping to customers' mobile devices. Vodafone live! is available in 13 countries globally and in just five months Vodafone has connected over one million Vodafone live! customers.