2K Announces
Sid Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword
Expansion
Pack
New York, NY
– March 28,
2007 – 2K, a
publishing
label of
Take-Two
Interactive
Software,
Inc.
(NASDAQ:
TTWO),
announced
today that
Sid Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword™,
the latest
expansion
pack for the
critically
acclaimed
Civilization
IV™ series,
will be
available in
July 2007.
Developed
for the PC
by the
Company's
world-renowned
development
studio
Firaxis
Games™, Sid
Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword
ushers in
the largest
amount of
expansion
content in
the history
of the
Civilization®
franchise.
Sid Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword is
the second
expansion
pack for
Civilization
IV - the
2005 PC Game
of the Year
and a major
commercial
success,
selling over
1.5 million
units
worldwide
since its
October 2005
release. The
expansion
will focus
on the
late-game
time periods
after the
invention of
gunpowder
and will
deliver 12
challenging
and
decidedly
different
scenarios
created by
the
development
team at
Firaxis
Games, as
well as
members of
the
Civilization
Fan
Community.
Sid Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword
will also
include ten
new
civilizations,
16 new
leaders,
five new
wonders, and
a variety of
new units
that will
offer even
more fun and
exciting
ways for
players to
expand their
civilization's
power as
they strive
for world
domination.
"Civilization
IV has been
an
overwhelming
critical and
commercial
success, so
it makes
sense for
Firaxis
Games to
create the
biggest,
most
ambitious
expansion
pack for one
of the
deepest PC
games ever
created,"
said
Christoph
Hartmann,
president of
2K. "Sid
Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword
delivers
more
scenarios,
civilizations,
units,
concepts,
leaders and
a host of
other
features."
"Civilization
is close to
our hearts
here at
Firaxis and
we're
excited to
up the ante
on the
series once
again with
what we
consider to
be our best
expansion
pack ever,"
said Steve
Martin,
president of
Firaxis
Games. "Fan
requests and
a constant
stream of
new ideas
motivate our
team to
continue
delivering
more and
better
gameplay for
our premier
series. Sid
Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword is
a must-have
expansion
for every
Civ® fan."
Key features
include:
· Expanded
Epic Game:
Firaxis
Games
delivers a
massive
increase in
new units,
buildings,
and
technologies
to the epic
game with
additional
focus on the
late-game
time
periods.
· New Game
Scenarios:
The
expansion
will deliver
12 new
scenarios,
many
containing
themes never
before
included in
the
Civilization
series,
custom
designed by
the team at
Firaxis and
select
members of
the Civ Fan
Community.
· New
Civilizations:
The
expansion
pack
includes ten
new
civilizations,
such as
Portugal,
Babylon and
Netherlands
and their
associated
unique units
and
buildings.
· More
Civilization
Leaders:
Sixteen new
leaders
including
leaders for
the ten new
civilizations,
as well as
additional
leaders for
existing
civilizations.
·
Corporations:
A new
gameplay
feature that
allows
players to
create
corporations
and spread
them
throughout
the world.
Each
corporation
provides
benefits in
exchange for
certain
resources.
· Espionage:
Now
available
much earlier
in the game,
this
expanded
feature
offers
players many
new ways to
spy on
opponents,
stir citizen
unrest and
defend their
government's
secrets.
· Events:
New random
events such
as natural
disasters,
pleas for
help, or
demands from
their
citizens
will
challenge
players to
overcome
obstacles in
order for
their
civilizations
to prosper.
· New
Wonders:
Five new
wonders
await
discovery
including
the Statue
of Zeus,
Cristo
Redentor,
Shwedagon
Paya, the
Mausoleum of
Maussollos,
and the Moai
Statues.
· Expanded
Space
Victory:
Winning the
race to
Alpha
Centauri
will now
require more
strategic
planning and
tactical
decision
making.
· Apostolic
Palace: The
United
Nations will
become
available
earlier in
the game,
providing a
way for
players to
win a
diplomatic
victory
earlier. New
resolutions
will also be
added which
will expand
the
available
diplomatic
options.
· Advanced
Starts: A
major fan
request,
this new
feature will
enable
players to
"buy"
components
of a
custom-tailored
empire and
begin play
in the later
part of the
game,
allowing
them to
experience
many of the
new features
of the
expansion
pack in a
shorter
amount of
time.
· Enhanced
AI: The AI
has received
many
enhancements,
making it
tougher to
beat on the
higher
difficulty
levels. The
ways in
which the AI
will attempt
to achieve
victory have
also been
expanded.
Sid Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword
will require
the full
version of
Sid Meier's
Civilization
IV and will
be released
for PC in
July 2007.
For more
information
please visit
http://www.civilization.com/.
About Sid
Meier's
Civilization®
Franchise
Created by
industry
legend Sid
Meier in
1991,
Civilization
instantly
set the
standard and
defined a
new genre of
empire-building
strategy
games. An
addictive
blend of
building,
exploration,
discovery
and
conquest,
the original
Civilization
is still
recognized
as one of
the greatest
games of all
time, and
Civilization
IV was named
2005's PC
Game of the
Year.
About
Firaxis
Firaxis
Games™ is
one of the
world's
premier game
development
studios, and
home of
legendary
designer Sid
Meier.
Firaxis has
developed
some of the
most
successful
and
award-winning
computer and
video games
on the
market today
including;
2005 PC Game
of the Year
- Sid
Meier's
Civilization
IV™, the
expansion
Civilization
IV:
Warlords™,
the
blockbuster
Sid Meier's
Civilization
III™ series,
Sid Meier's
Pirates!™
(PC, Xbox®
and PSP®),
Sid Meier's
SimGolf® and
Sid Meier's
Railroad
Tycoon®.
Firaxis
legacy
titles
include the
Sid Meier's
Civil War
Series!™
(Gettysburg!,
Antietam!,
and South
Mountain),
and the Sid
Meier's
Alpha
Centauri®
series. In
2005,
Firaxis
Games was
acquired by
Take-Two
Interactive
Software,
Inc.,
joining its
2K
publishing
label. The
company will
release Sid
Meier's
Civilization
IV: Beyond
the Sword™
in July
2007.
About
Take-Two
Interactive
Software
Headquartered
in New York
City,
Take-Two
Interactive
Software,
Inc. is a
global
developer,
marketer,
distributor
and
publisher of
interactive
entertainment
software
games for
the PC,
PlayStation®
game
console,
PlayStation®2
and
PLAYSTATION®3
computer
entertainment
systems,
PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)
system,
Xbox® and
Xbox 360™
video game
and
entertainment
systems from
Microsoft,
Wii™,
Nintendo
GameCube™,
Nintendo DS™
and Game
Boy®
Advance. The
Company
publishes
and develops
products
through its
wholly owned
labels
Rockstar
Games, 2K
and 2K
Sports, and
Global Star
Software;
and
distributes
software,
hardware and
accessories
in North
America
through its
Jack of All
Games
subsidiary.
Take-Two's
common stock
is publicly
traded on
NASDAQ under
the symbol
TTWO. For
more
corporate
and product
information
please visit
our website
at
www.take2games.com.
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