PDC World Championship Darts 2009

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UK Thurs 19th February - The throwing method with the Wii Remote™ in PDC World Championship Darts 2009 is all new, having been re-designed and improved, from the 2008 version. The mechanism has been completely rewritten to give you the most realistic darts throwing experience yet – so you’ll have no excuse if you miss an easy shot!

Oxygen and Rebellion studios have strived to give darts fans a throwing gesture as realistic as possible using the Wii Remote™. PDC Darts 2009 will have 3 throwing assist levels; Max, Min and Off. Max will allow those not experienced at throwing real darts the ability to keep up with the games professional players, Min and Off modes will challenge players with greater experience taking power, dart weight and accuracy into account.

Phil The Power Taylor, who has been working with Rebellion and Oxygen to improve the throwing method said “ The throwing method is smooth, fluid and simple. Oxygen have really improved upon last year’s version and it feels the same as throwing a real dart with the advantage being that I don’t have to walk to the dart board to take out the arrows!”

Steve Hart, Producer at Rebellion commented “ We wanted to offer people the ability to compete against the worlds top Darts players, those starring in the game compete at their real life dart averages. We knew we couldn’t expect everyone to keep up with such professional play. In order to achieve this we had to first, design and implement a throwing gesture that felt natural and as close to the real thing as possible. Once this was in place we went to work on offering different levels of “Assist Mode” as per last years game, where by assisting people with the throw accuracy, power etc. the game offered a more forgiving game mechanic, or with Assist Off, as close to the real thing as a computer game could ever provide. We’re very happy with the results.”

Jim Scott, CEO of Oxygen Games added “ We got some criticism from a few passionate sports and darts fans last year who thought the throwing method could be improved. We took everything they said on board and have now created the purest and most realistic darts experience to date. We are sure anyone who tries this version will not be disappointed.”

Specific Improvements:

1. Assist modes cover more areas than previous version.

2. PDC2009 has a more intuitive system, whereby aim reticule can be re-locked into same position.

3. The gesture is more sensitive and accurate

4. On screen feedback is centred on the reticule, so all info is provided at the point of interest, instead of looking into a corner as in the previous version.

5. Dart weights are taken into account this year. So if you’re throwing high all the time, select a heavier dart rather than tweaking your gesture.

6. Relentless Focus Testing to ensure we knew where it was wrong, and where it was right. And the readjusted accordingly.

For more information on PDC Darts go to www.dartsvideogame.com now! Game On!

For more information about The Professional Darts Corporation: http://www.planetdarts.tv/

For more information about Oxygen Games: http://www.oxygengames.net

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About Oxygen Games™

Oxygen Games™ boasts a broad range of fun & sociable titles to capture the imagination of the casual-console games audience. With the focus on all major console platforms, Oxygen’s games are based on mainstream lifestyles and interests, whilst delivering contemporary content featuring sports, music & well known personalities. For more information please visit www.oxygengames.net

About Rebellion

The UK-based computer games super-developer was established in 1992 by brothers Jason and Chris Kingsley. Their first major success was Aliens Vs. PredatorTM on PC in 1999, creating game innovations years ahead of their time. As their name suggests, their approach to game production is focused primarily on cross-platform innovation and product quality. Their purchase of the UK sci-fi comic 2000 AD in 2000 and subsequent motion picture productions has provided valuable in-sight and experience in creating its unique product portfolio.

In 2005, Sniper Elite™ was released with Namco and MC2, securing critical acclaim, global sales success and winning the TIGA Award for ‘Best PC/Console Game 2005’. Lauded as ‘The Gran Turismo of war games' by the gaming press, it has built upon the collection of Rebellion® owned IPs, which includes World War Zero® and the 2000 AD character Rogue Trooper®..

In the summer of 2006, Rebellion® purchased the Core Design studios, responsible for the Lara Croft - Tomb Raider series and Strangelite studios in Liverpool. These acquisitions established the company as one of the biggest and most innovative studios within the European development community.

From July to December 2006, Rebellion® won ‘Most Improved Developer’ at the Develop Industry Excellence Awards, was nominated for two BAFTA awards for Best Character and Best Screenplay for Rogue Trooper® and won the TIGA Awards for ‘Best Developer’ and ‘Best Hand-held and console game’ for Miami Vice: The Game.

2007 was Rebellion’s 15th anniversary and saw the company acquire the Awesome Studio from Ignition in March increasing its staff to 280 personnel. 2007 saw the release of the global hits; The Simpsons Game with EA on PlayStation®2 & PSP & Wii™, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with EA on PlayStation®PSP, Star Wars: Renegade Squadron with LucasArts on PlayStation®PSP, Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem with Sierra on PlayStation®PSP and finally Rebellion’s own brand Free Running® with Reef Entertainment on PlayStation®2 & PSP.

2008 sees the long-awaited move to the purpose built Studio in Oxford, Next-Gen project announcements and the fruition of Rebellion’s ambitious plans.

The Develop 100 2008 rankings saw Rebellion rise to No.16, making the studio the No.1 Independent Developer in Europe.

About Abdução

Abdução is a Brazilian independent game developer based in São Paulo. Founded in 2003, Abdução began as an animation company, but quickly changed its focus to game development. In 2004 partnering with Greenland Studios and Instituto Rukha, Abdução started developing its first title an action adventure on PC called Evolution.