ATARI RIDES INTO THE WILD WEST
WITH DEAD MAN’S HAND
Epic Adventure Delivers Only
Western-Themed First Person Shooter
BEVERLY, MA – March 2, 2004 – The
thrill of the Wild West has arrived on the Xbox® video game system from
Microsoft! Dead Man’s Hand(tm),
a western-themed first-person-shooter, has shipped to retail outlets nationwide,
Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) announced today. The only first-person-shooter that
turns gamers into cowboys, Dead Man’s
Hand features dramatic saloon fights,
horseback chases and exploding gun powder barrels. Developed by Human Head
Studios, the creators of the Rune®
series, Dead Man’s Hand
uses the Unreal® technology from Epic Games to provide amazing graphics,
non-stop action and enhanced multiplayer capabilities through Xbox(tm)
Live. A PC version of the game will be
released later this month.
"Dead
Man’s Hand really capitalizes on the
fun and folklore of the Old West with classic elements and storyline," said
Nancy MacIntyre, vice president of marketing for Atari, Inc. "We are excited to
bring this theme to the Xbox for the very first time."
In
Dead Man’s Hand, players become El
Tejn, a master gunslinger on a mission of vengeance after his gang, The Nine,
betrays him. Once one of the most feared bandits in the west, El Tejn now
comes seeking justice – and revenge.
Utilizing the power of the Unreal
technology by Epic Games, Human Head has developed an amazing recreation of the
American Frontier, ranging from sprawling vistas and rustic canyon towns to the
mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The sophisticated in-game physics engine
has hats flying off enemies, bad guys falling off roofs and bullets shattering
windows and bottles.
A variety of competitive and
cooperative play modes lets players compete against friends and other Xbox
owners via Xbox Live.
Western style options include classics like Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch and
favorites with a new twist including Bounty and Posse multiplayer modes.
In the Old West, nothing helps fuel
revenge like firearms and gambling. In
Dead Man’s Hand, players have nine
different authentic western-style pistols, shotguns and rifles to choose from as
well as dynamite, whiskey bottles, Gatling guns and cannons to blow evil vermin
into the afterlife. By shooting with accuracy and skill, players can build up
their "Legend" score and unlock special trick shots for each weapon. Between
showdowns, players can test their luck with the cards to win bonuses including
health, ammo and additional "Legend" points.
Dead Man’s Hand for Xbox is rated
‘T’ for Teen and is available at retail outlets nationwide for a suggested
retail price of $29.99. The PC version will have a suggested retail price of
$19.99 and will be available at the end of this month. Additional information
about the game can be found at
www.deadmanshandgame.com
or at
www.us.atari.com.
About Human Head Studios, Inc.
Human Head Studios Inc. is a privately owned, independent game development
studio based in Madison, Wisconsin. Human Head Studios developed the critically
acclaimed, award-winning Viking game Rune®
series including Rune®,
Rune®
Halls of Valhalla, and
Rune®
Gold for the PC, Linux and Macintosh
platforms and Rune®
Viking Warlord for the PlayStation 2. In
addition, Human Head Studios developed
Blair Witch®
Volume 2: Coffin Rock for the PC and has
ventured into traditional pen and paper games, with a new non-electronic games
division, whose first product The Redhurst
Academy of Magic(tm)
is set for release in Summer 2003. For more information about Human Head
Studios, Incorporated, visit
www.humanhead.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
Driver(tm), Enter the Matrix(tm), Neverwinter Nights(tm), Stuntman(tm), Test
Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2003, and
Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and
children’s games such as Backyard
Sports(tm), Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues(tm)
and Dora the Explorer(tm), 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.
About Xbox
Xbox (http://www.xbox.com)
is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most
exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive
collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live
online service. The new tagline, "it’s good to play together," captures the
spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle.
Xbox is now available in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia.
About Xbox
Live
Xbox Live,
which launched in the United States Nov. 15, 2002, allows gamers to play
multiplayer Xbox games with other gamers everywhere via a broadband connection.
With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, the Xbox console is the only video
game system built from the ground up for online gaming, negating the need to buy
additional, costly peripherals or upgrades. Xbox Live enables gamers to easily
find their friends; talk to other players during game play through the Xbox
Communicator headset; download current statistics, new levels and characters to
their Xbox hard drive; and play online-all exclusive features to Xbox
Live.
# # #
2004 Atari, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.
Unreal and the Unreal logos are registered trademarks of Epic Games Inc.
All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
