For Immediate Release
Cullen Couch
Kesmai
804/963-8571
cullen@kesmai.com
Christopher Kingry
Fox
310/369-5369
chriski@fox.com
Jennifer Kennedy
KillerApp Communications
213/938-7600
jkennedy@kappcomm.com
Fox Interactive and Kesmai to Bring Aliens Online(tm)
First in a series of collaborations; Aliens vs. Predator next
LOS ANGELES, June 19, 1997 - Kesmai Corporation today announced that it will join forces with sister News Corp. company Fox Interactive to develop ALIENS ONLINE, a multiplayer Internet game based on Twentieth Century Fox’s hit movie, Aliens®. This project is the first in a series of online gaming collaborations between Fox Interactive and Kesmai. The next major project set to go online is Aliens vs. Predator, based on Fox Interactive’s upcoming hard-core action game.
"Online video gaming is the perfect way to maximize the action and intensity that make science fiction games so popular," said Jon Richmond, president, Fox Interactive. "Joining forces to build an online Aliens universe is an important step in making an entertaining and captivating experience available to our fans in a variety of video game formats."
"Aliens is a terrific movie franchise that really lends itself to a large scale multiplayer game," said Chris Holden, CEO of Kesmai Corporation. "It has everything - passionate fans, ambivalent notions or right and wrong, cool weapons, dark corridors oozing with suspense and danger. This will be the first time that a major movie brand, real-time 3D action, and massively multiplayer technology have been brought together in the online world. This is an exciting partnership that will change the face of online gaming."
Kesmai, in conjunction with Interworld Productions, will bring Aliens Online to America Online and other services later this summer. Aliens Online will offer CD-ROM quality graphics and sound, a first person (or first alien) perspective, and persistent characters that grow with the game as it unfolds. Aliens Online will allow players to join the Aliens or the Colonial Marines, using different tactics and weapons for each species. Thousands of players can join 100-person arenas where everyone is single-mindedly bent on exterminating the opposing species.
Kesmai’s multiplayer online games can be found on America Online (NYSE: AOL), CompuServe, Prodigy, Concentric Network, EarthLink Network, and at such major websites as TV Guide Entertainment Network (www.tvguide.com), GeoCities (www.geocities.com), Jumbo (www.jumbo.com), and GameStorm (www.gamestorm.com).
Publisher of such hits as Die Hard Trilogy and Independence Day: The Game, Fox Interactive, an operating unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a News Corporation company, is committed to developing a full range of bold and engaging interactive entertainment. Fox Interactive products are distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Check out Fox Interactive at www.foxinteractive.com.
Founded in 1981, Kesmai Corporation was purchased in 1994 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Based in Charlottesville, VA, Kesmai is the world leader in multiplayer online games and the holding company for two divisions, ARIES Online Games and Kesmai Studios. The company develops, publishes, and distributes quality interactive gaming content to over 12 million paying subscribers of America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, EarthLink Network, Delphi, and major websites throughout the Internet. Popular Kesmai titles include Air Warrior®, Online Casino™, Harpoon Online™, Legends of Kesmai™, MultiPlayer BattleTech®, Star Rangers™ Online, Stellar Emperor™, CatchWord™, Jack Nicklaus Online Tour™ and a collection of classic board and card games.
Air Warrior and ARIES are registered trademarks of Kesmai Corporation. ARIES Online Games, Kesmai Studios and Stellar Emperor are trademarks of Kesmai Corporation. BattleTech is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation and used under license. Online Casino is a trademark of Masque Publishing and used under license. Harpoon Online is a trademark of Larry Bond and Chris Carlson and used under license. CatchWord is a trademark of Discovery Channel Multimedia. Jack Nicklaus Online Tour is a trademark of Accolade, Inc. and used under license. Aliens is a registered trademark of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All other copyrights and trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
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