Tennis Superstars Roger Federer And Maria Sharapova Named Cover Athletes For Top Spin On PlayStation®2
The reigning Wimbledon Men’s Champion and no.2 ranked women’s player will grace the cover of the latest in the top rated tennis video game franchise
Windsor, England - July 07, 2005 - 2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software (Nasdaq: TTWO), is pleased to announce that international tennis champions Roger Federer, the reigning Wimbledon champion and no.1 ranked men's player and Maria Sharapova, the no.2 ranked women's tennis player in the world will be the official spokespersons and cover athletes for Top Spin on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.
"We're thrilled to have two of the most exciting tennis players representing our game," states Erik Whiteford, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "Roger Federer is by far the most talented and dominant men's tennis player in the game today. Maria Sharapova's power, competitive drive and tenacity have established her as one of the most important and visible players on the women's tour. Both players exhibit the winning attitude of great tennis champions, making them a natural choice to represent the best tennis video game."
Roger Federer is widely regarded as one of the most dominant men's players in the history of professional tennis having just won his third straight Wimbledon Championship. As the current number one player on the men's tour, Federer succeeded in winning three out of the four Grand Slams in 2004 - The Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. At age 23, most experts believe Federer has only begun his tennis dominance.
"I am honoured to be chosen as the cover athlete for Top Spin," said Roger Federer. "The game does an excellent job of capturing the intensity of tennis and combines that with incredible visuals. Simply put, fans are in for a treat as 2K Sports has done an excellent job delivering the best and most realistic tennis game."
Maria Sharapova has dramatically risen through the rankings of the ladies tennis tour. Her breakout year in 2004 led Sharapova to her first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon. She capped the year by winning the prestigious season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche. Sharapova has recorded 10 Sony Ericsson WTA singles titles and three Sony Ericsson WTA doubles titles in her blossoming career. At only 18, she is the no.2 ranked women's tennis player in the world and has a very bright future in professional tennis.
"Being on the cover of the top tennis game in the world is something I'm very proud of," said Maria Sharapova. "It's an honour that my hard work and achievements are being recognized in this manner. Now, everyone gets a shot to play against me - but look out, I'm bringing my 'A' game in Top Spin!"
Top Spin for the PlayStation®2 comes ready to serve up the best tennis experience anywhere. Gamers will be able to select 16 of the top male and female players including Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and many more. Top-notch visuals, intuitive controls, and new features including online play finally bring the best tennis experience to PlayStation®2 gamers. Top Spin for PlayStation®2 will be released in late summer 2005.
Top Spin for PlayStation®2 is developed by PAM Development and produced by Indie Built, a Take-Two development studio.
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an integrated global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games and accessories for the PC, PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP handheld entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy® Advance. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games, 2K Games, 2K Sports and Global Star Software; and distributes products in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two also manufactures and markets video game accessories in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region through its Joytech subsidiary. The Company maintains sales and marketing offices in Cincinnati, New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Vienna, Milan, Sydney, Breda (Netherlands) and Auckland. Take-Two'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.
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.
Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
About Sony Computer Entertainment America
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America markets the PlayStation® game console and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PlayStation game console and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them. The Company has no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors. These important factors are described in the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 30, 2005 in the section entitled "Cautionary Statement and Risk Factors".
Contacts:
Jonnie Bryant
2K Sports
(01753) 496613
Ade Lawton
2K Sports
(01753) 496610