18 Xbox-Only Games This Christmas, 18 More By June, And Nearly 200 Games Overall By The End Of The Year

LONDON, 4th November 2002 – With 18 of the world’s most wanted games heading only to Xbox by the end of the year and almost 200 in all, it’s going to be a green Christmas in Europe.

Titles like Splinter Cell, Blinx, Sega GT 2002, and the Live-enabled Unreal Championship, and Mech Assault have tantalised gamers for months, and they’re almost here – but only for Xbox gamers. The power of Xbox makes these games a giant step forward, but it also means that Xbox is the only console powerful enough to make them possible.

Xbox-exclusive games have already been receiving awards and accolades. From Splinter Cell (ECTS Game of the Show 2002) to Blinx (“It’s so rare for a game to be this inventive, to have such a unique feel, and to be so intriguing.”) to Mech Assault (one of the first games to utilise Xbox Live), these titles combine great graphics with intuitive and innovative gameplay to truly push the power of Xbox into new directions.

Christmas isn’t the end of the flow of great exclusive games for Xbox. Following hot on the heels of the Christmas titles are games like Dead to Rights, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, Toejam and Earl III: All Funked Up, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, all due by the end of March and exclusive to Xbox. In total, 36 Xbox-exclusive games will be released in the period between September 2002 and June 2003.

Almost 200 games will be available in total for Xbox by the end of the year. Multi-platform franchises such as FIFA 2003, 007: Nightfire, Timesplitters 2 and Colin McRae Rally 3 are here for Christmas and are better on Xbox, due to enhanced features like powerful graphics, a hard disc for faster game access and deeper gameplay, and Dolby 5.1 surround sound.

“It’s never been a better time to be a gamer, specifically an Xbox gamer,” said Michel Cassius, Director, European Publishing. “Eighteen of the world’s most wanted games are available this Christmas – but only Xbox gamers will be able to experience the excitement. These exclusives join an already-strong portfolio of titles, the breadth and depth of which is especially remarkable since Xbox has not yet even reached its one-year anniversary in Europe. The games portfolio is a great reason why Xbox is the best-value video game system available today.

“For one thing it’s what you get out of the box,” said Cassius. “Xbox comes with a hard drive built in, a broadband adapter built in, and the most advanced graphics and sound capabilities ever seen in a console. Those capabilities are what make these exclusive titles possible only on Xbox, and that’s why you won’t see them on any other platform this Christmas. It’s clear Xbox is the best value available in gaming, with the broadest and deepest portfolio of games.”

Christmas Exclusives
The line-up of Xbox-only games this Christmas offers something for every gamer - from driving to action/adventure to sport titles, each game has been designed with Xbox in mind to deliver groundbreaking game experiences. Games from Microsoft Game Studios:

Blinx: “To label this game “original” doesn’t cover the half of it”, said the critics, and Blinx truly does push the platform genre into new directions with its innovative time control system.
MechAssault: “Life as a 100-foot-tall mech robot is great fun,” said gaming press, and it’s even more fun when battling other 100-foot-tall mech robots via Xbox Live. MechAssault is a 3rd-person action/shooter, where environments are not only fully destructible, they're your weapons.
Quantum Redshift: Quantum Redshift is a futuristic racing-combat game with mind melding graphics and fast action, where you battle for victory in the ultimate tournament of speed and daring.

In addition to games from Xbox, there’s a host of exclusive titles this Christmas from third-party publishers - all built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox - including:

Splinter Cell (Ubi Soft): Putting the gamer into the shoes of an anti-terrorist commando, Splinter Cell (recently named Game of the Show at ECTS 2002 and console-exclusive to Xbox this Christmas) features incredibly realistic environments and deep gameplay that pushes the Xbox hardware into new gaming directions.
Unreal Championship (Infogrames): “The best-looking blast to date heads exclusively to Xbox,” said gaming press, and it’s going online via Xbox Live. Unreal Championship offers explosive gameplay and amazing graphics, and offers it online via Xbox Live – it’s an experience action addicts have been craving.
SEGA GT 2002(Sega): “To put it simply, whether you’re well into cars or simply fancy a quick race once in a while, you’re going to love this game!” said the press about SEGA GT 2002 The game features more than 100 current and classic high performance vehicles, created using the exact handling and performance specifications from their real-life counterparts. With astounding vehicle control, incredibly deep gameplay and multiple modes to conquer, Sega GT 2002 is one of the most realistic driving experiences available, and it’s only on Xbox.
Championship Manager 02/03 (EIDOS): Championship Manager 02/03 updates the most successful football manager simulation series with current team and player data as well as an all new transfer system. Xbox is the only console that can handle the complex and deep gameplay offered by the Championship Manager series.

Other third-party games that are console-exclusive to Xbox include: Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller (Sega); Deathrow (Ubi Soft); Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Ubi Soft); Transworld Snowboarding (Infogrames); and WWE Raw (THQ).

About Xbox

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers never before seen gameplay experiences. With more than three times the graphics performance of other game consoles, top-quality DVD playback, Dolby 5.1 surround sound to make games and movies come alive, and a hard disc that opens up new kinds of gameplay, Xbox is the video game system that delivers more of what gamers want. Xbox is now available in Europe for an estimated street price of €249.99/£159.99.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.