News
Atari Reveals Details of Groundbreaking Project, 'Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure'
Atari, *ecko unltd.,
and The Collective Unveil Collaborative Effort to Create The Ultimate Urban
Culture Game
BEVERLY, Mass., Aug. 12, 2004 - Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR)
today revealed some of the details behind its video game collaboration with
fashion pioneer Marc Ecko. Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure will
represent the culmination of seven years of story and character development by
Marc Ecko, himself a graphic artist with deep ties to graffiti and urban
culture. Game development and design is being executed by The Collective, with
Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure slated to be published by Atari in the
second half of 2005 for the PlayStation®2
computer entertainment system.
"Atari is thrilled to work with Marc Ecko and The Collective on this
groundbreaking project," said Bruno Bonnell, Chairman and CEO of Atari. "Marc
brings a completely fresh creative viewpoint and a voice that speaks directly to
urban youth culture, which has rapidly emerged as one of the most influential
social groups of our time."
"We have the chance to finally tell the urban narrative the right way...with
soul and sincerity in the real voice of our culture," said Marc Ecko. "Atari
shares my passion for this project. They understand that the video game is the
ideal medium to deliver a fully immersive urban experience. Working with The
Collective, we're going to shatter cliche stereotypes and create the first truly
authentic urban video game experience."
Dedicated to creating a story and environment that is a true representation of
graffiti culture, Mr. Ecko has enlisted 50 of the world's most elite graffiti
artists to lend their best artwork and personal experiences to the game and
consult with The Collective to give Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure the
authentic look and feel of a real urban environment.
Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure will create its own genre of gameplay,
combining combat, action, adventure and stealth. The game uses a thrilling
graffiti-driven framework to tell its story of self-expression and the fight for
creative freedom. A thug, an outcast, a rebel...the lead character, Trane, is
all of these in Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. He sets out to earn his
street cred by getting his graffiti tag up throughout the politically oppressive
city of New Radius but as events unfold, Trane becomes the unlikely leader of an
urban revolution.
The story's "Get In, Get Up and Get Out" gameplay mechanic offers gamers a
unique arsenal of swift stealth and street fighting abilities to GET IN
restricted areas of New Radius and battle through the city's rough streets; the
dexterity and agility to scale any object in order to GET UP and place graffiti
tags, spreading the message of rebellion; and the ingenuity to evade, escape and
GET OUT.
"The city of New Radius is a living character in Getting Up: Contents Under
Pressure; it sets the tone and offers the thematic boundaries that oppress Trane
from the opening cinematic to the dramatic conclusion," said Richard Hare, VP of
Creative, The Collective. "We're honored to be entrusted with bringing Marc's
vision from the written page to the small screen. Collaborating with so many
creative forces is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity."
About Marc Ecko Enterprises
Marc Ecko founded *ecko unltd., the world-famous rhino brand in 1993. In 10
years, the company has grown into the largest urban apparel brand. Product
categories include: *ecko unltd. men's and women's apparel, outerwear, footwear,
watches, eyewear, underwear, belts, bags, hats, small leather goods, formalwear
and more. Marc Ecko Enterprises also includes Marc Ecko (a premium collection of
men's clothing and accessories), the G-Unit Clothing Company (a joint venture
with multi-platinum musician, 50 Cent), Zoo York (a line of skateboards and
skate-influenced clothing and accessories), Femme Arsenal (an upscale line of
women's clothing, accessories, and cosmetics), and Fetish (a women's collection
developed in conjunction with recording artist/actress Eve to relaunch Fall
2005). The company also publishes Complex magazine, a young men's consumer
magazine with a rate base of 315,000. *ecko unltd. products are available in
more than 5,000 stores domestically and more than 45 countries internationally.
*ecko unltd. runs more than 25 of its own retail stores across the country.
About The Collective
Founded in 1997 by industry veterans, The Collective, Inc. is a leading
developer of interactive entertainment software and technology for all major
console and computer platforms. In recent years, the Collective has created
groundbreaking 3rd person action adventure games, including the critically
acclaimed Indiana Jones and the Emperor's TombTM
and Buffy the Vampire SlayerTM.
In the process, the studio has developed the world-class SlayerTM
engine technology and SlayEdTM
tool suite. The Collective is based in Newport Beach, California, and can be
found on the Internet at
www.collectivestudios.com.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all
platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive
entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include
hard-core, genre-defining games such as DRIV3RTM,
Enter the MatrixTM,
Neverwinter NightsTM,
StuntmanTM, Test Drive®,
Unreal® Tournament 2004,
and Unreal® Championship;
and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard SportsTM,
Nickelodeon's Blue's CluesTM
and Dora the ExplorerTM,
Civilization®, Dragon
Ball Z® and RollerCoaster
Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a
majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext
5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information,
visit
www.atari.com.

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