NAMCO BANDAI’S THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS™ VIDEO GAME BURNS UP STORE SHELVES NATIONWIDE

Game Includes Special $50 Offer To Participate In Any National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Driving Event In The Country

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (September 26, 2006) – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. delivers a drift racing experience like no other, as The Fast and the Furious™ ships for the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system and is now available in retail outlets nationwide. The Fast and the Furious is rated ‘T’ for Teen by the entertainment software ratings board (ESRB), and is now available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $39.99.

“The almost endless customization, the revolutionary drift model and the Japanese Tuner, Classic Muscle and Concept cars featured in The Fast and the Furious video game make this the most authentic drift racing experience yet,” said Makoto Iwai, Senior Vice President of Development at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “The exclusive promotion with NASA is an additional element that allows consumers to truly enter the world of drift racing with a real-life experience.”

Available inside each copy of The Fast and the Furious video game, customers will receive a $50.00 coupon to be used toward any NASA High Performance Driving Event in the country. Fans will have a real-life opportunity to experience the type of driving seen in the game, but in a controlled and safe environment. Consumers can drive their very own car on some of America’s most famous road courses in a safe environment with no speed limits, no pedestrians, and no tickets!

Inspired by the events of the Universal Pictures’ film and Universal Studios Home Entertainment DVD release of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, available on store shelves today, The Fast and the Furious video game features a ground-breaking drift mechanic that makes drifting accessible to both beginning and veteran racing game drivers. Gameplay features revolutionary new systems like the Drift Indicator that make The Fast and the Furious the most accessible realistic drift game yet. Perched at the forefront of the drift racing phenomenon, the video game features a Revolutionary Drift Model that is fun and approachable for players of all skill levels; model cars, cinematic camera angles straight from the movie, unique boss challenges, stunning visuals with over 100 JDM Tuner, Classic Muscle and Concept cars as well as robust customization options all of which encompass the drift racing world!

For more information on this game and other exciting products, check out NAMCO BANDAI Games’ official website at www.namcobandaigames.com.

About the film

From the producer of the worldwide blockbuster hits The Fast and the Furious and its sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, comes the latest installment of the adrenaline-inducing series built on speed—The Fast and 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 and 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 has been 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 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.

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.

Press Release © 2006 NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.

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