THE FAST & THE FURIOUS™ BURNS RUBBER TO GOLD

Hot on the Heels of the Major Motion Picture Speeds the Cool New Racing Game from NAMCO BANDAI

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (September 19, 2006) - Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that The Fast & The Furious™ has gone gold for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Inspired by the exciting film from Universal Pictures, The Fast & The Furious allows fans to race in their own highly customizable cars. Players will have more than 100 cars with over 300 body kits to choose from! The Fast & The Furious will be released on September 26, 2006.

Inspired by the events of Universal Pictures' recent film, The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift, this game immerses players in the underground world of drift racing. Set in a world related to, yet separate from the movie, the game features a ground breaking drift mechanic that makes drifting accessible to both beginning and veteran racing game drivers alike. Gameplay features revolutionary new systems like the Drift Indicator that make The Fast & The Furious the most accessible yet realistic drift game on the market.

As the first title to create an authentic, drift model system that is fun and approachable for players of all skill levels, this game has assists that the player can turn on and feel like a pro, or turn them off and hone their drift skills. Focusing on the “next big thing” in underground street racing, this video game utilizes Universal’s extensive sound library, an incredible context based camera code and a revolutionary context based rumble system that gives players the feeling of driving city streets at break neck speeds like no other. The immersive world of the game offers 10,000+ polygon model cars, cinematic camera angles straight from the movie, unique boss challenges, stunning visuals and over 100 JDM Tuner, Classic Muscle and Concept cars and over 300 body kits from real JDM companies. Enhance the feeling of being part of the underground street racing world by tuning your ride with 100 licensed wheels, Rides will be tuned like never before from performance to appearance and for the first time on the PlayStation 2; engines can be swapped to truly push the vehicle’s limits.

“We are extremely excited to bring this game to the PlayStation 2,” said Makoto Iwai, Senior Vice President of the Development Group at NAMCO BANDAI, “The exotic locale and the endless customizable options combined with the addictive drift mechanics make this a must-have racing game this fall.”

For more information on The Fast & The Furious, visit www.namcobandaigames.com.

About the film

From the producer of the worldwide blockbuster hits The Fast & The Furious and its sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, comes the latest installment of the adrenaline-inducing series built on speed—The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift . Set in the sexy and colorful underground world of Japanese drift racing, the newest and fastest customized rides go head-to-head on some of the most perilous courses in the world.

Sean Boswell (Black) is an outsider who attempts to define himself as a hot-headed, underdog street racer. Although racing provides a temporary escape from an unhappy home and the superficial world around him, it has also made Sean unpopular with the local authorities. To avoid jail time, Sean is sent to live with his gruff, estranged father, a career military-man stationed in Tokyo.

Now officially a gaijin (outsider), Sean feels even more shut out in a land of foreign customs and codes of honor. But it doesn’t take long for him to find some action when a fellow American buddy, Twinkie (Bow Wow), introduces him to the underground world of drift racing. Sean’s simple drag racing gets replaced by a rubber-burning, automotive art form—with an exhilarating balance of speeding and gliding through a heart-stopping course of hairpin turns and switchbacks. On his first time out drifting, Sean unknowingly takes on D.K., the “Drift King,” a local champ with ties to the Japanese crime machine Yakuza. Sean’s loss comes at a high price tag when he’s forced to work off the debt under the thumb of ex-pat, Han (Kang). Han soon welcomes Sean into this family of misfits and introduces him to the real principles of drifting. But when Sean falls for D.K.’s girlfriend, Neela (newcomer Kelley), an explosive series of events is set into motion, climaxing with an ultimate high stakes face off.

The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift is directed by Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Annapolis) and written by Chris Morgan (Cellular), Kario Salem (The Score) and Alfredo Botello. The film is produced by Neal H. Moritz (xXx, S.W.A.T.) and executive produced by Clayton Townsend (The Skeleton Key, The 40 Year-Old Virgin).

This film is rated PG-13.

About Universal Studios Consumer Products Group
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is responsible for global licensing and retail strategies as well as building brand recognition of the extensive catalogue of NBC Universal properties. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is a unit of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.

About NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. is an interactive entertainment software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a subsidiary of the newly formed NAMCO BANDAI Holdings (USA) Inc. based in Cypress, CA.

On September 29, 2005, Bandai Co., Ltd. and NAMCO LIMITED implemented a management integration to form NAMCO BANDAI Holdings Inc. This step was taken to compete more effectively on the global stage in the fast-changing entertainment industry and to deliver further growth.

The resulting BANDAI NAMCO Group is a global entertainment group involved in business fields ranging from toys, amusement facilities, video game software and visual software, to apparel, sundries and network content.

As previous separate entities (Namco Hometek Inc. and Bandai Games Inc.) the companies were each known for creating some of the industry’s top video game franchises including: Tamagotchi®, Tekken®, SOULCALIBUR®, Dead to Rights®, Pac-Man® World™, Digimon®, Ridge Racer®, Time Crisis® and ACECOMBAT®. For more information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. and its products log onto www.namcobandaigames.com.

“PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Press Release © 2006 NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. All Rights Reserved.