Producer of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” David Bowie’s “Let’s
Dance,” and Many Others Lends His Talent to Forthcoming Xbox Game. Music
producer and videogame fan, Nile Rodgers who produced mega
hits such as Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and David Bowie’s
“Let’s Dance” will be lending his talents to Simon &
Schuster Interactive’s “Outlaw Volleyball: Spike or Die”
videogame soundtrack (Xboxâ„¢ Live; Available: June 2003; Rated: “RP”
by the ESRB).

Rodgers will be the executive producer of the music in this much anticipated
videogame.

“I’m a huge videogame fan,” said Rodgers. “Last
year I played ‘Outlaw Golf’ for Xbox and couldn’t put it down. It was a blast.
When I heard Simon & Schuster was creating a new Outlaw game I wanted to
get involved. I am a strong believer that game music is becoming as integral
to the game experience as soundtracks are to movies. This is the hottest new
area for ‘earballs’ so producing the soundtrack to ‘Outlaw Volleyball gives
me an opportunity connect with this audience and expose them to incredible new
talent.” . . .

Final track listings for OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be announced soon.

About Nile Rodgers
The career of Nile Rodgers is one of the most enduring and prolific
in music – from Madonna to Eric Clapton. Nile and his late
partner Bernard Edwards introduced the world to CHIC in 1977.
Their No. 1 hit “Le Freak” remains Warner Brothers’ biggest
selling single of all time. As a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time
Grammy Award nominee, Nile has written for, produced and/or played for artists
such as Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Eric
Clapton, the Vaughan Brothers, Mick Jagger, Duran,
Duran, Britney Spears, Sting, B52’s, Seal,
Sister Sledge, Jeff Beck, INXS and many more. The
Harry Fox Agency recently stated that Nile’s music is the most sampled of all
time with artists such as the Sugarhill Gang, Will Smith,
P. Diddy, Notorious BIG, Faith Evans, Mojo
and Spiller all having hits based on his songs. Nile is responsible
as either artist, producer, or writer of songs that have accounted for sales
of over 100 million records.

About OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL

SPIKED GAMEPLAY
Players begin by choosing one of four game modes:

  • - Tour – Show your volleyball skills on all 10 courts around the
    country.
  • - Exhibition – Want a quickie? Get going fast with a quick game.
  • - Tutorials – Learn how to play with yourself with this handy
    mode. Spikes, diving, and serves are just a few of the skills
    you’ll learn.
  • - Drills – Get toned and ready to compete with fun mini-games
    such as “Spectator Invaders”, “Bump-a-palooza,” “Block
    Party,”
    and many others.

NO ANIME CHARACTERS HERE
Unlike other games that feature cartoon-like anime teenage girls, OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL
has the hottest, most detailed and rowdy ladies in any sport videogame to date.
Check out these three arresting ladies:

  • - Summer – The famous blonde stripper from “Outlaw Golf” reaches
    for larger balls in OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL.
  • - Harley – Also returning from the links is Harley. Not since ‘8
    Mile’ has trailer trash looked this good.
  • - Donna Maroni – Straight from the paradise known as Staten
    Island, Donna is one tough babe.

OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will also have 13 other characters to choose from for a
total of 8 male and 8 female. Additional details on these wacky characters will
be announced soon.

BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF EACH OTHER
Just like in OUTLAW GOLF, a key element to keeping your character’s
sanity is to beat on someone. This time instead of beating on a caddy, players
can choose to beat on any of the two opposing players. And after beating on
an opponent, the winner will get their opponent’s composure and skill points.
This will affect their gameplay during the match.

Fighting controls will be the same as seen in many fighting games. Punching,
kicking and basically beating of any sort will be allowed.

IS YOUR PARTNER NOT PERFORMING?
Want to be all you can be? Gamers will need to play through mini-games
and drills to improve their player’s attributes. After successfully completing
them, points are rewarded and they can be used to improve attributes such as
team work.

COURT – NOW IN SESSION
OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will have the most exotic locales seen in any volleyball
game. There are 10 courts included in the retail version with additional courts
that can be downloaded via Xbox Live.

Some of the courts included in the retail version are: Tar Beach (on the roof
of a tenement), Dogville State Penitentiary, Vice Beach, plus courts in sewers,
jungles, and many others.

STOP PLAYING WITH YOURSELF!
Xbox Live EnabledOUTLAW
VOLLEYBALL will be the first volleyball game to be on Xbox Live, allowing gamers
to compete against others from around the world. Gamers can choose to play with
up to 3 other players and compete in online tournaments. Winning teams receive
points and are ranked against others from around the world.

AVAILABLITY
OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be available in June 2003 for the Xbox(TM) video
game system from Microsoft.

ESRB RATING
OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be rated by the Entertainment Software Ratings
Board (ESRB). All advertising and promotional materials currently carry a “RP”
or “Ratings Pending” logo. More information on the ESRB and its rating
system can be found at www.esrb.org.

About Xbox
Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft’s
future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences
ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their
creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between
fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America,
Europe, Asia 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.

Simon & Schuster Interactive (www.ssinteractive.com)
is the digital entertainment unit of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Based in New
York, S&SI publishes entertainment, education and reference titles for the
PC, Macintosh, Pocket PC, Sony Playstation 2®, XBox™, Nintendo®
Game Boy® Advance, and Nintendo GameCube™.

Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc., is a global
leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the
best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed
and multimedia formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Trade Publishing,
Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster
New Media, Simon & Schuster Online, Simon & Schuster U.K., and Simon
& Schuster Australia. For more information about Simon & Schuster, visit
our website at www.simonsays.com.

Viacom is a leading global media company, with preeminent positions in broadcast
and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming
that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all
media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution
of entertainment, news, sports, and music. Viacom’s well-known brands include
CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Viacom Outdoor, Infinity,
UPN, The New TNN, TV Land, CMT: Country Music Television, Showtime, Blockbuster,
and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is
available at www.viacom.com.

Filed under: Games

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