KONAMI’S ENTHUSIA PROFESSIONAL
RACING(tm) BURNS RUBBER TO RETAIL STORES NATIONWIDE
Konami’s First Authentic Driving
Game Launches on the PlayStation 2
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – May 3, 2005 –
Konami Digital Entertainment – America, a division of Konami Digital
Entertainment, Inc., today announced that Enthusia Professional Racing(tm) for
the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system has shipped to retail stores
nationwide. Enthusia is the ultimate driving simulation for gamers who would
prefer to spend time behind the wheel rather than "under the hood." Designed to
bring all of the white-knuckle energy and thrill of car driving to life,
Enthusia features groundbreaking gameplay mechanics, unparalleled physics and
pixel-perfect graphics to deliver an unprecedented driving experience.
Enthusia’s realism is second-to-none
with masterfully recreated vehicle physics, performance and motion. A true racer
for driving enthusiasts, the game rewards superior driving ability and assists
gamers through Konami’s innovative and proprietary Visual Gravity System, which
conveys a true sense of G-forces experienced by high-speed driving and
maneuvering around a race track. This groundbreaking feature is a first for the
driving simulation genre and gives gamers the ability to see and "feel" the
pressure exerted on a car during driving.
Also included in the game are a
variety of innovative modes that put the gamer into the driver’s seat. In the
Driving Revolution mode, the player faces a variety of challenging tests of
their driving skills as they learn to utilize rhythm in their driving technique
with a variety of tracks and cars. Enthusia Life is the core mode of the game,
offering both accessibility for beginners and a comprehensive driving experience
for the true "auto enthusiast." The players participate in different racing
events from week to week, improve their driving skills, unlock new courses and
cars, adapt the vehicle setting to suit their own personal activities on the
racing circuit and earn skill points for their driving ability. Rather than
utilizing a money-based system like other games in the genre, Enthusia Life
introduces an odds system to weigh the competitive abilities of cars. Cars with
low odds stand a higher chance of winning, while cars with high odds do not so
that players compete based purely on their own driving skills rather than the
capabilities of the car.
Enthusia includes more than 200 cars
from 50 real manufacturers including classic muscle cars, and high performance
racing cars from the last 50 years. Each vehicle was digitally captured in real
life and recreated in painstaking detail by the development team.
Photo-realistic graphics stand out as players race through dozens of real and
fictional tracks around the world. Multiple camera views, including both a
first- and third-person orientation, allow players to either get behind the
wheel or on top of the action. Variable weather conditions pose additional
challenges that require players to stay on their toes.
As players pass and weave their way
to the front of the pack, they benefit from on-the-fly information about car
handling, tire traction and more. While stage-based tuning allows even those who
could never do their own oil changes a chance to upgrade their cars, proprietary
AI demands that even the most "suped-up" entry make the right moves on track.
Approachable gameplay for novice drivers yet challenging for experts makes
Enthusia a racing game that will appeal to players of all levels.
Playable in single- and two-player
split-screen mode, Enthusia takes advantage of the PlayStation 2 controller with
pressure sensitive control of the analog buttons – allowing players to "feather"
the gas and brake. For gamers that want to experience an added sense of driving
realism, Enthusia will also be compatible with PlayStation 2 driving wheels,
including the Logitech® Driving Force Pro(tm) steering wheel, which features
full 900 rotation.
Enthusia is rated "E" for Everyone
by the ESRB and is available for the SRP of $39.99. To learn more about Enthusia,
please visit:
www.konami.com/enthusia.
About KONAMI CORPORATION
Konami Corporation is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of
electronic entertainment properties, specializing in the home video game market.
Konami Corporation’s action and adventure titles include the popular franchises
Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Castlevania, among other top sellers. The
latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com.
Konami Corporation is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with
subsidiary offices, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the US and Konami of
Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. Konami Corporation, the parent company of Konami
Digital Entertainment, Inc. is traded in the United States on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by
Konami Digital Entertainment – America can be found at
www.konami.com/gs
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