Press Release: Nintendo and Lucasarts Fight the Evil Empire With Graphically Stunning Star Wars®: Rogue Squadron™
From Video Game Morgue File
NINTENDO AND LUCASARTS FIGHT THE EVIL EMPIRE WITH GRAPHICALLY STUNNING STAR WARS®: ROGUE SQUADRON™
Nintendo's Expansion Pak Offers Most Vivid, Intense Game Play Ever
REDMOND, Wash., December 4, 1998 - This holiday season, your fight with the dark side to save the universe will look and play better than ever before with the latest Nintendo 64 game, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. Launching December 7th in North America, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is one of the first Nintendo 64 games to take advantage of the new Expansion Pak, enabling players to enjoy a graphically enhanced version of the game. Available at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $59.95, the game is also Rumble Pak compatible to add more realism to this high-flying adventure. For the first time, game players don the flight suit of famed Rebel Alliance hero, Luke Skywalker, to fight the powerful and battle-hardened Galactic Empire. Along with the dynamic collection of 12 pilots by Luke's side, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron allows players to choose from five different Rebel starfighters: the X-wing, Y-wing, A-wing, V-wing and snowspeeder, each with different weapons, including ion cannons, lasers, seeker missiles and much more. The Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak - a four megabyte Random Access Memory (RAM) cartridge - plugs into the top of the hardware unit to enhance select N64 games. The Expansion Pak allows games, such as Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, to be created with enhanced features, including a "high-resolution" option, providing even crisper and more defined graphics. The Expansion Pak is sold separately with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $29.95. "Along with the heart-pounding, Star Wars-inspired battle scenarios, players also will experience a much higher level graphic detail as a result of the new Expansion Pak," says Peter Main, Nintendo of America's executive vice president, sales and marketing. "As one of the top video games this holiday season, we expect more than 1 million copies of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron to fly off retail shelves by year end." Star Wars: Rogue Squadron features a variety of exciting missions, including dogfights, search-and-destroy, reconnaissance, escort duty and rescue…all through intense first- and third-person perspectives. The aerial combats take place in numerous 3-D planetary settings, from familiar Star Wars environments, such as Tatooine, to never-before-seen worlds of Kessel and Mon Calamari. The game also offers a 360-degree roaming feature for both the cockpit and exterior points of view. To complete Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, dramatic cut-scenes and voice-overs outlining specific mission objectives are included, as well as the familiar Star Wars theme and sound effects. "The team has created an incredibly fun and immersive game with Star Wars: Rogue Squadron," says Joel Dreskin, product marketing manager at LucasArts. "It is incredibly easy to jump in and get the feel of flying authentic Star Wars craft, and the game delivers so many of the details which fill out the gaming experience." Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is published by LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC, and co-developed with San Rafael, Calif.-based Factor 5. Nintendo of America Inc. is coordinating worldwide distribution and marketing of the title. LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is a leading international developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for a variety of computer and console platforms. Based in San Rafael, Calif., as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com, LucasArts is one of five companies in the Lucas group which include Lucasfilm Ltd., Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC, Lucas Licensing Ltd., and Lucas Learning Ltd. Lucasfilm is one of the leading film and entertainment companies in the world. Lucasfilm's businesses include George Lucas' film and television production and distribution activities as well as the business activities of the THX Group. Lucas Digital, which consists of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound, provides visual effects and audio post-production services to the entertainment industry. Lucas Licensing is responsible for the merchandising of all Lucasfilm's film and television properties. Lucas Learning strives to create an "uncommon learning" experience by offering engaging interactive software products that provide learning opportunities through exploration and discovery. Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 1 billion video games worldwide, and has created such industry icons as Mario, Yoshi, Zelda, and Donkey Kong. Nintendo manufactures hardware and software for its best-selling home video game systems, including the 64-bit Nintendo 64, the hand-held Game Boy, and the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the North America, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system. For the latest Nintendo news or more information about other Nintendo products, visit Nintendo's web site on the Internet: www.nintendo.com.
