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EA SPORTS SHIPS NASCAR THUNDER 2002 FOR THE PLAYSTATION 2
First NASCAR Console Video Game to Feature a Full Pack of 43 Cars, All 23 NASCAR Winston Cup Tracks and 50 of the Biggest Drivers and Cars
Redwood City, Calif., October 16, 2001 – Get ready to start your engines with Electronic Arts’ (EA) newest release, NASCAR Thunder™ 2002 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. This is the first NASCAR® console video game to feature a full pack of 43 cars, bringing a new level of depth, realism and authenticity for NASCAR video gaming.
EA SPORTS™, in its fifth year of involvement with NASCAR, has created a game with more cars and traffic to navigate and draft off of, for more bumper-to-bumper racing throughout. Game players can choose from more than 50 drivers including, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip.
“EA SPORTS has raised the bar for NASCAR video gaming,” said Jeff Gordon, NASCAR Winston Cup Series star. “This game has got all the tracks, cars and drivers that make the sport great and with 43 cars on the track it’s just like a Sunday afternoon at the track. NASCAR Thunder 2002 looks great and is a lot of fun to play!” NASCAR Thunder 2002 features all 23 tracks found in the NASCAR Winston Cup® Series including the new, Chicagoland and Kansas Speedways.
The new career mode allows gamers the chance to go after “The King,” Richard Petty’s record tying seven NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships while developing a personal NASCAR Team from scratch. Players can choose a manufacturer, create their own unique paint scheme for the car, and earn offers and decals from new sponsors based on performance. Race winnings can be applied to equip players’ crews and vehicles, increasing horsepower, handling and pit crew performance, even earning the right to race for an existing NASCAR team.
“I am thrilled with the game we created this year,” said Ed Martin, director of NASCAR production, EA SPORTS. “We had an aggressive plan at the start of this project and have clearly delivered the deepest, richest NASCAR console racing experience on the market. The team is passionate about motor sports and this is reflected in the depth of NASCAR Thunder 2002.”
Developed at Electronic Arts - Tiburon, the makers of the Madden NFL franchise, NASCAR Thunder 2002 features a huge pack of stunning cars in the richest EA SPORTS NASCAR environments. The graphic engine’s horsepower allows the team to incorporate an accurate damage model, with cars that dent and crumple and lose auto parts as they collide with other cars and track barriers. When car damage is repaired the cars morph back to its original state. Other damage effects include tire donuts on body panels, tire smoke, dislodged car parts and contained oil fires.
In addition to the PlayStation 2 version, NASCAR Thunder 2002 is currently available for the PlayStation, and due out this fall for the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft. The PlayStation version features a field of 16 cars, all 23 NASCAR tracks found in the Winston Cup Series and five fantasy tracks. Now players can blast along the beach that started it all, Daytona Beach. Over 30 NASCAR stars are in this version as well as Thunder Cards which allow users to unlock cars and tracks, as well as offensive and defensive power-ups that increase horsepower, mileage, tire and brake durability.
EA SPORTS™ 500 at Talladega
One of the tracks featured in NASCAR Thunder 2002 is the prestigious Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Last month, EA SPORTS announced a three-year deal with Talladega, naming the legendary NASCAR Winston Cup Series fall race the EA SPORTS 500, which will air nationally on NBC October 21. EA SPORTS becomes just the third NASCAR Winston Cup Series sponsor in Talladega's 32-year racing history. The EA SPORTS sponsorship of the race was the inspiration for including the classic southern rock song, “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, in the game.
The EA SPORTS 500 weekend begins on Thursday, October 18 with Alabama International Auto Show Qualifying Day for the ARCA RE/MAX Series Food World 300. Bud Pole Qualifying Day is scheduled for Friday, October 19 to set the lineup for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series EA SPORTS 500. The final Winston Cup practice is scheduled for Saturday, October 20 followed by the Food World 300. The EA SPORTS 500 is scheduled for a Noon (Central) start on Sunday, October 21.
Tickets remain for October's EA SPORTS 500 and can be purchased by calling (256) 362-RACE Monday through Friday or online at www.talladegasuperspeedway.com, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading independent interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.3 billion for fiscal 2001. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for the Internet, personal computers and video game systems. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA GAMES™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and EA.COMSM. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
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Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES and EA SPORTS BIG are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. EA.com is a service mark of EA.com Inc. NASCAR is a registered trademark and NASCAR Thunder is a trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. All other car, team, track names, trademarks, and other intellectual property are used under license from their respective owners. PlayStation is a registered trademark Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
NASCAR provides support for its licensed products through a dedicated office in Charlotte, N.C., that researches new categories, licenses qualified companies, manages accounts, handles quality control and develops retail partnerships to drive sales of NASCAR-licensed product for the benefit of drivers, teams and tracks. NASCAR supports its licensees through annual trade advertising, a comprehensive retail guide, trade show exhibits, a quarterly newsletter and a dedicated web presence on NASCAR.com.
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