Le Mans 24 Hours PS2 Version Released

The PlayStation 2 version of Le Mans 24 Hours has been released. Though it was separately developed from the PC version the gameplay experience is expected to be largely the same.

Press release:

AWARD-WINNING LE MANS SERIES HITS STORES WITH LE MANS 24 HOURS FOR PLAYSTATION®2

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 21, 2001 – Find a comfortable spot on the couch, stock up on food and take the phone off the hook. Infogrames, Inc., (Nasdaq: IFGM) a global publisher of interactive entertainment software, is delivering the ultimate 24-hour endurance racing title, Le Mans 24 Hours® for PlayStation®2, to stores this week. Feature highlights for the game include real-world racing teams from the 2000 Le Mans race, fully animated pit crews and drivers, a new track from the US Le Mans racing series and advanced artificial intelligence.

“Melbourne House and Infogrames are once again defining the endurance racing genre with Le Mans 24 Hours,” said Tom Richardson, director of marketing at Infogrames’ Los Angeles label. “We’ve built upon the success of Test Drive Le Mans® for Dreamcast to perfect and enhance the Le Mans racing experience for Playstation 2. The gut wrenching racing physics, life-like pit crews and drivers and authentic lighting and weather effects will blow gamers’ minds!”

Capturing the true essence of Le Mans racing with around-the-clock, day-to-night-to-day lighting conditions, Le Mans 24 Hours is the only officially licensed game of the 24 Heures du Mans®. The game packs more than 70 licensed vehicles, including 30 new additions from the Le Mans 2000 race. Le Man 24 Hours also adds new teams from Le Mans competition, such as Viper Team Oreca, Corvette Racing and Team Cadillac and boasts 12 real-world tracks, including the US Road Atlanta from the 2000 Le Mans series in the United States.

Le Mans 24 Hours offers five challenging game styles, including the Le Mans 2000 Race mode, which offers players the chance to simulate the 24-Hour Le Mans 2000 competition. Players can also compete in time-compressed 10 minute, 30 minute, one hour or six hour races, or prove their endurance in an actual 24-Hour event.

Realistic physics and graphical effects such as dust, smoke, sparks and real-time shadows immerse gamers in the hi-test world of Le Mans racing. With up to 24 cars competing in each race at one time, players can expect the same challenges that real Le Mans drivers face when their tires lose traction and gas and oil levels drop, forcing them to pit their vehicles. While in the pits, players can change tires, re-fuel their vehicle, or they can make repairs.
Le Mans 24 Hours offers two-player multiplayer support via split-screen. The game shipped to most major retail stores this week with an estimated retail price of $44.95 and an ESRB rating of E for everyone.

In addition to its recent success with Test Drive Le Mans for Dreamcast, Infogrames’ Melbourne House studio also developed the highly regarded Looney Tunes Space Race for Dreamcast.

About Infogrames, Inc.
New York-based Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) is the second largest third-party publisher of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company develops video games for all consoles (Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft), PCs, and Macintosh systems. Infogrames’ catalogue of more than 1,000 titles includes award-winning franchises such as Alone In The Dark™, Civilization™, Deer Hunter®, Driver™, Roller Coaster Tycoon®, Test Drive®, and Unreal®, and key licenses including Survivor™, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes™, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™, Dragon Ball Z, Mission Impossible®, Harley-Davidson®, Major League Baseball®, and the National Football League®, among many others. The Company’s Humongous Entertainment and MacSoft labels are leaders in children’s entertainment software and Macintosh entertainment software, respectively.

Infogrames, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA) (Euronext 5257), a global publisher and distributor of video games for all platforms, as well as interactive digital television, mobile smart devices (WAP, HDML) and in-flight entertainment systems. In 2001, IESA acquired Infogrames Interactive, Inc. (formerly Hasbro Interactive), including its line of software based on well-known licenses such as Monopoly®, Jeopardy®, Tonka®, and Atari®, which are distributed in the U.S. by Infogrames, Inc. For more information, visit the Company’s Web site at www.infogrames.com.

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