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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Major League Soccer™ and U.S. Women's National Team Players Featured in Humongous Entertainment®'s Upcoming CD-ROM Backyard Soccer MLS Edition™ New Humongous Sports™ Title Scheduled to Hit Store Shelves in October
BOTHELL, WA - August 23, 2000 - Humongous Entertainment®, an Infogrames, Inc. company (Nasdaq: GTIS), scores again with the upcoming release of Backyard Soccer MLS Edition™, the latest entry in the best-selling and award-winning Humongous Sports™ CD-ROM series for kids. Backyard Soccer MLS Edition is the first title in the Humongous Sports series to feature both professional men and women athletes. Soccer fans of all ages will soon be able to dribble, pass and kick with junior versions of Major League Soccer™ (MLS) and U.S. Women's National Team superstars such as Cobi Jones and Brandi Chastain. Designed for kids ages 5 to 10, Backyard Soccer MLS Edition is scheduled for release in October.
"Just as with young boys, it's important that young girls have sports role models they can identify with on their own level," said Andy Hieke, general manager and senior vice president, Humongous Entertainment. "In Backyard Soccer MLS Edition, young girls will be thrilled to discover that some of their favorite professional soccer heroines from the U.S. Women's National Team will be playing right alongside the superstars from MLS, as kids of course."
Backyard Soccer MLS Edition marks the first time ever that children can interact and play alongside junior versions of their favorite professional soccer heroes as kids. Young coaches can choose from all 12 MLS team names and logos, and pick from the familiar cast of 30 neighborhood kids and 15 pint-size versions of Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Women's National Team players to fill a team. Before hitting the field, kids can obtain pre-game training to perfect penalty kicks or goalkeeping skills in Practice Mode. Junior coaches can also customize their team name and uniform colors before they select from eight regular season playing fields, each with its own quirky characteristics and surface-specific physics. Outrageous "Power Ups" such as the Undergrounder, which dives underground and pops up somewhere else, enable players to execute unbelievable plays.
In Backyard Soccer MLS Edition, kids can play single matches, head to head or simply watch a game in progress to learn valuable skills in Spectator Mode. In Season Play, players start in B division, work up to A division and then move to Premier as the 14-game season culminates at an international round robin tournament where the prize is the Astonishingly Shiny Cup of All Cups Cup. Halfway through the season, young coaches can also qualify to play in the Off-the-Wall Indoor Tournament where teams specialize in indoor soccer. If a loss occurs here, young coaches can later challenge the winning indoor team to an outdoor game on home turf.
Product Availability
Backyard Soccer MLS Edition is scheduled for release in October on hybrid CD-ROM for Windows® 98/95 and Macintosh®.Humongous Sports
The Humongous Sports series provides all of the action and entertainment of adult sports games while being the world's first sports CD-ROMs designed for and starring kids. Children relive the fun and excitement of days spent playing with neighborhood friends as they interact with the Backyard Bunch, 30 of the zaniest boys and girls around, who make sure that a game is always a mouse click away. The release of Backyard Football™ in 1999 marked the first time ever that children could interact with and play alongside their favorite NFL football heroes as kids. The subsequent release of Backyard Baseball 2001™ and Backyard Soccer MLS Edition has continued the tradition of bringing pint-size professional sports stars to computers everywhere.About Humongous Entertainment
Established in 1992 and owned by Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIS), Humongous Entertainment is recognized for pushing the edge in interactive storytelling and delivering high-quality, hand-animated CD-ROMs starring endearing original characters including Putt-Putt®, Freddi Fish™, Pajama Sam®, SPY Fox™ and more. Humongous Entertainment develops interactive Junior Adventure™, Junior Field Trips™, Big Thinkers! ™, Junior Arcade® and Humongous Sports™ CD-ROMs that encourage kids to explore, discover and have fun. Humongous Entertainment can be reached on the World Wide Web at www.humongous.com.About Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment, SA (Paris Bourse: SICOVAM 5257) is a worldwide leader in the interactive entertainment software industry. Headquartered in France, the company develops and publishes award-winning computer and video games for the PlayStation® game console, PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo® 64, Nintendo® Game Boy® Color, Sega® Dreamcast™, Macintosh®, and personal computer platforms. Founded in 1983 by chairman and CEO Bruno Bonnell, Infogrames has published many award-winning franchises in its 17-year history, such as Alone In The Dark™, Test Drive®, Driver™, Deer Hunter™, Oddworld™, Unreal, Independence War™, and V-Rally™. The company is also known for its best-selling and award-winning line of children's entertainment software from Humongous Entertainment starring Putt-Putt®, Freddi Fish™, Pajama Sam® and SPY Fox™, as well as its successful Macintosh publishing label, Macsoft, the number one publisher of Macintosh entertainment software. In addition, Infogrames has a number of key strategic licenses including Warner Bros. Looney Tunes™, Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues™, Le Mans 24 Hours®, AM General Hummer®, Harley-Davidson®, and Dodge® Viper.Based in New York, Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIS) is a majority owned subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment and serves as the headquarters for the company's operations in North America. For more information, visit Infogrames' US Web site at www.us.infogrames.com.
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© 2000 Humongous Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Humongous Entertainment and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Humongous Entertainment, Inc. These products and Humongous Entertainment, Inc. are not in any manner affiliated with Putt-Putt® Golf Courses of America, Inc. All Major League Soccer properties used by permission. All rights reserved. Other brand names and products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.