New TDU Demo available

by: Chuck - posted: 8/24/2006 7:20:00 PM

Atari has released a new demo for Test Drive Unlimited on Xbox Live marketplace.  The new demo features 40 miles of road to explore with three cars and one motorcycle and you'll have the chance to check out some of the missions and challenges that will be in the full version of the game.

ATARI ANNOUNCES SECOND test drive unlimited DEMO

- Experience Racing Reinvented with New Demo on Xbox Live Marketplace -

 

NEW YORK, NY, August 24 2006 – Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), one of the world’s most recognized brands and leading third-party video game publisher, today announced the upcoming launch of a new Test Drive Unlimited playable demo for Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, via Xbox Live® Marketplace.  The new demo will be released on August 21 2006 and will feature four new vehicles, new challenges, and a host of gameplay enhancements to provide gamers with a taste of racing reinvented.  Test Drive Unlimited is scheduled for release on September 5, 2006.

 

The new demo gives players a sample of online and offline play on 40 miles of open roads on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  Players will find prime real estate, three cars – the Ferrari F430, Ford Mustang GT Coupe and AC 289 – and one motorbike, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. The Test Drive Unlimited demo offers various challenges, including four offline challenges and two online challenges, allowing up to eight players to race simultaneously.  In addition, gamers can launch instant challenges against anyone they encounter on the road, or just burn gallons of virtual gasoline tearing around the lush tropical roads in free ride.  Other demo enhancements include gear changes, customizable speed blur effects, optional in-car camera vibrations, fully operational vsync, and handling refinements.  

 

“The first Test Drive Unlimited demo was an amazing success, placing third for all downloads during E3,” said Rick Mehler, Director of Marketing, Atari, Inc.  “As a result of the demo, Atari’s belief that gamers want and deserve more from gaming – in terms of content, graphics, gameplay and online options – was confirmed.  With this new Test Drive Unlimited demo, we will deliver M.O.O.R., Massively Open Online Racing and a gaming experience that is reinventing the racing genre.”

 

The first Test Drive Unlimited playable demo, released during E3 2006, was downloaded close to 200,000 times from Xbox Live Marketplace in one week, making it the second most popular demo and the third most popular piece of content amongst all downloads during the period.  In addition to being downloaded 350,000 times since E3, Test Drive Unlimited continues to receive accolades from industry media as one of the top racing games this decade.  GameDaily declared “This is the kind of racing game I live for,” while IGN.com stated “there's no denying Test Drive Unlimited is looking like one of recent memory's most unique racers.”  TeamXbox described Test Drive Unlimited as a “revolutionary online driver” and The New York Times reported Test Drive Unlimited as “…a sprawling, sumptuous experience that seems poised to become one of the more engaging games of the year.”

 

“We’re excited to give gamers a taste of the eagerly anticipated Test Drive Unlimited on Xbox 360, which brings a new level of innovation to Xbox Live by allowing thousands of gamers to cruise the island of Oahu or challenge one another,” said Albert Penello, Group Marketing Manager, Microsoft. “Publishers like Atari recognize that with the majority of Xbox 360 owners connected to Xbox Live, releasing a playable demo on Xbox Live Marketplace is the ideal way to get the community excited about this game leading up to the retail release.” 

 

 

Test Drive Unlimited is the ultimate lifestyle and automotive gaming experience packed with many of the world’s most luxurious vehicles, incredible customization options, unique character personalization, more than 1000 miles of diverse photo-realistic Hawaiian terrain, a challenging single player game and a host of online options with M.O.O.R.™: Massively Open Online Racing, which enables gamers to interact with thousands simultaneously.  The game offers 90 licensed vehicles – cars AND bikes - from exclusive manufacturers that are fully customizable with unrivalled interior and exterior details and functions. Car packs featuring six or more vehicles, complete with genre-specific radio stations, will be available for download monthly, beginning six weeks after launch on Xbox Live® Marketplace for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.  With these realistic features and more, Test Drive Unlimited is racing reinvented.

 

Test Drive Unlimited is scheduled for release on September 5, 2006.  For more information visit www.testdriveunlimited.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 franchises such as The Matrix™ (Enter The Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo) and Test Drive®; and mass-market and children’s franchises such as Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ and Dora the Explorer™, and Dragon Ball Z®.  Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext – ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe.  For more information, visit www.atari.com.

 

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