NHL 2K11
Cross country tour announced to promote the game.
New York, NY - July 1, 2010 - 2K Sports today announced The REAL Hockey Experience on WiiTM, an unprecedented NHL ® 2K11 cross-country tour featuring NHL players, an array of fan-friendly giveaways and contests, and hands-on play with NHL2K11 months before it is released exclusively for the Wii system. Traveling throughout the northern United States and Canada, 2K Sports will bring the excitement of NHL hockey to more than a dozen cities in a custom-designed NHL 2K11 recreation vehicle rigged with portable video game gear created especially for fans and gamers. The trail of pucks, prizes and playable demos will also feature appearances by NHL stars, including Vancouver Canucks ® forward and NHL 2K11 cover athlete Ryan Kesler, Los Angeles Kings ® defenseman Jack Johnson, New Jersey Devils ® forward Travis Zajac and more.
"We really wanted to do something fun for this year's NHLtitle to recognize our loyal fans across Canada and the United States," said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "Hitting the road and enabling hockey heads hands-on time with NHL 2K11 before it ships, as well as giving them access to some of hockey's premier players, is a great way to showcase our game and passion for the sport."
2K Sports unveiled the NHL 2K11 recreational vehicle and tour experience at this year's E3 Expo in Los Angeles. The tour then traveled to Las Vegas for the NHLAwards' red carpet ceremony and later returned to Los Angeles for the NHL Entry Draft. The tour is now making its way eastward, stopping in cities rich with hockey tradition, including Vancouver, Calgary, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston. It will conclude in New York for the celebrated launch of NHL 2K11 in September.
"The 2K Sports team really outdid themselves this year with The REAL Hockey Experience concept," said Ryan Kesler. "When they asked if I would join them on the tour, I knew I wanted to be part of it. I'm really looking forward to meeting fans this summer and playing NHL 2K11. I hope they let me borrow it for a night!"
Fans can enjoy the tour's party-ready gaming kiosks with playable demo copies of NHL2K11 before the title's release. The vehicle's interior has also been redesigned to support multiple Wii units for on-the-road competition, as well as outside for additional pick-up-and-play action. Fans in each city are encouraged to stop by and compete for prizes, as well as submit their photos online at www.2ksports.com/nhl2k11.
The REAL Hockey Experience on Wii tour dates are:
July 17-18 Calgary
July 22-23 Vancouver
July 26-27 Edmonton
July 30-31 Winnipeg
August 2-3 Minneapolis
August 7-8 Chicago
August 10-11 Detroit
August 14-15 Pittsburgh
August 17-18 Toronto
August 22-23 Ottawa
August 27-28 Boston
August 30-31 Philadelphia
September 3-4 Washington, DC
September 7-8 New York
For more information go to www.2ksports.com/nhl2k11.
Developed by Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio, NHL 2K11 is rated E 10+ by the ESRB and will be available exclusively for the Wii in September 2010.
2K Sports is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a global developer, marketer and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PlayStation ® 3 and PlayStation ® 2 computer entertainment systems, PSP ® (PlayStation ® Portable) system, Xbox 360 ® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, WiiTM, Nintendo DSTM, iPhoneTM, iPod ® touch and iPad. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K, which publishes its titles under 2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play. The Company's common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com.
About the NHL
The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America. Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League's international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other sport. The NHL entertains more than 100 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, ESPN America, ASN and NHL NetworkTM) and radio (NHL RadioTM, Sirius XM Radio and XM Canada). Through the NHL Foundation, the League's charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights CancerTM and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. NHL 2K11 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHL.
About the NHLPA
The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), established in 1967, is a labour organization whose members are the players in the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHLPA works on behalf of the players in varied disciplines such as labour relations, product licensing, marketing, international hockey and community relations, all in furtherance of its efforts to promote its members and the game of hockey. In 1999, the NHLPA launched the Goals & Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. Over the past 10 years, more than 40,000 deserving children in 22 countries have benefited from the players' donations of hockey equipment. Goals & Dreams has donated more than $18-million to grassroots hockey programs, making it the largest program of its kind. For more information on the NHLPA, please visit www.nhlpa.com.
NHL 2K11 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA, National Hockey League Players' Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA. © NHLPA.
Wii is a trademark of Nintendo.
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders
CONTACT:
Chris Snyder / Brian Roundy
2K Sports Access Communications for 2K Sports
(415) 507-7637 (917) 522-3540
chris.snyder@2ksports.com broundy@accesspr.com
Meg Maise (Corporate Press/Investor Relations)
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
(646) 536-2932
megmaise@take2games.com