VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES
TO HOST $40,000 ONLINE TOURNAMENT FOR THE LORD OF THE
RINGS(tm): WAR OF THE RING(tm)
The War for Middle-earth(tm)
Begins Early Next Year
LOS ANGELES, CA (December 22, 2003)
– Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) announced today an online multiplayer
tournament for their newly released PC real-time strategy game, The Lord of
the Rings: War of the Ring (War of the Ring). The War for
Middle-earth, Co-sponsored by ATI Technologies Inc., BAWLS Guarana, and
Tolkien online fan-sites TheOneRing.net, TolkienOnline.com, WarCry.com, and
WaroftheRing.net, will culminate in a final match on March 20th, 2004 and
carries a grand prize of $40,000 in cash.
Beginning today, interested
participants can sign up online at the official War of the Ring website (http://www.lordoftherings.com/war/)
or via GameSpy Arcade (http://www.gamespyarcade.com/events/war_tourney).
On January 26th, 2004, 32 participants will be chosen randomly from
all of those who entered and matches will start shortly thereafter. The final
four contestants will be flown to Los Angeles in January for the championship
matches.
In addition to the grand prize of
$40,000, the top four winners will also receive free games from Vivendi
Universal Games, ATI graphics products, five cases of BAWLS Guarana, and a
Founder’s Club subscription to GameSpy Arcade.
More information about the War of
the Ring and details about the tournament can be found at
http://www.lordoftherings.com/war/.
In War of the Ring, massive
battles erupt as the Men, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits of Middle-earth
battle Sauron’s minions. Players can choose to play as the forces of good and
valiantly fight for the One Ring’s destruction or assume command of the forces
of evil to claim control over Middle-earth forever.
War of the Ring
delves deeper into the stories of the good and evil heroes in
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, allowing the player
to see the events that led to the founding of The
Fellowship of the Ring(tm),
and participate in some of the important battles that occurred during the Ring
quest.
The storyline for the forces of
darkness follows the expansion of Sauron’s evil in the Third Age. The player
can lead armies of creatures like Orcs, Trolls, and the cruel Haradrim to spread
the power of Sauron across the face of
Middle-earth.
About ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the design and manufacture of
innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer
since 1985, ATI is the world’s foremost visual processor unit (VPU) provider and
is dedicated to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of
PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital
television, game console and handheld markets. With 2003 revenues in excess of
US $1.3 billion, ATI has more than 2,200 employees in the Americas, Europe and
Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).
About BAWLS
BAWLS Guarana, the premier caffeinated drink on the market, is the brainchild of
entrepreneur Hoby Buppert, President of Hobarama Corporation. Widely distributed
to local super markets, convenience stores, select COMP USA stores and gaming
venues, BAWLS is a premium, non-alcoholic, carbonated beverage made from the
guarana berry from the Amazonian Rainforest. BAWLS contains twice as much
caffeine as coffee and three times that of cola due to a naturally occurring
form of the stimulant found in the guarana berry. Offering a refreshingly light
taste of citrus infused cream soda, BAWLS has continued to grow over a variety
of different industries including financial institutions, technology businesses,
military, high-profile celebrities, and continues to be the most recognized soft
drink with the gaming industry. BAWLS reaches millions of computer gamers
through "LAN Parties" and tournaments across the country, its gaming website
www.bawlsgaming.com, and
sponsorship of the CPL-Cyberathlete Professional League where BAWLS is the
official beverage. For more information, please visit
http://www.bawls.com.
About Vivendi Universal Games
Headquartered in New York, Vivendi Universal Games (www.vugames.com)
is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. The company
develops, publishes and distributes interactive products for all major platforms
including PCs, video game consoles and the Internet. Vivendi Universal Games’
portfolio of development studios and publishing labels includes Blizzard
Entertainment, Coktel, Fox Interactive, Knowledge Adventure, Massive
Entertainment, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Additionally,
Vivendi Universal Games co-publishes and/or distributes titles for a number of
strategic partners, including Interplay, inXile entertainment, Majesco and
Mythic Entertainment, among others.
"War of the Ring" interactive game
(c) 2003 Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. All rights reserved. "The Lord of the
Rings," "The Fellowship of the Ring," "War of the Ring," "Middle-earth" and the
names of the characters, events, items, and places therein are trademarks or
registered trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company dba Tolkien Enterprises under
license to Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. Vivendi Universal Games, and the
Vivendi Universal Games logo are trademarks of Vivendi Universal Games, Inc.
"Sierra" and the Sierra logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sierra
Entertainment, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries.
