Press release: 1996-05-15: FOX INTERACTIVE TO UNLEASH AN AWESOME LINE-UP OF TITLES FOR `96 AND BEYOND

This is an unaltered copy of a press release, for use as a primary source on Sega Retro. Please do not edit the contents below. Language: English third-party Original source: Fox Interactive website (archived)

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 1996 -- From sci-fi thrillers to hard core action/adventures to hilarious high jinks, Fox Interactive has a powerful line-up of exciting interactive entertainment in development. Working with some of the best developers in the industry and inspired by hit Fox properties such as the popular TV shows The X-Files and The Simpsons and the upcoming feature film, Independence Day, Fox Interactive's slate for 1996 and 1997 is a competitive one.

Upcoming releases from Fox Interactive include:

THE SIMPSONS: VIRTUAL SPRINGFIELD -- You find yourself in a strange place... a town green surrounded by buildings that are oddly familiar. As you turn around, you realize you are face to face with the bronzen image of founding father Jebadiah Springfield. This is no ordinary town, this is Springfield, USA...virtual style.

Law and order as you know it no longer apply -- you re a Springfieldian now. As a citizen of Springfield enjoy the patronage of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's Kwik-E-Mart, or the solitude of the Springfield Public Library. Discover that membership has its privileges at the Stonecutter's Lodge or on a visit to C. Montgomery Burns Executive Wash Room (if you re resourceful enough to find the keys). As a virtually tax paying citizen you should enjoy the ability to check in on Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby, or visit Principal Seymour Skinner. The Elm Street Arcade offers a variety of games for you to waste your not so hard earned virtual money. From the safety of Bart's Tree house, exercise your right to soak passersby with water balloons at will. Or, while visiting Homer's office at work, waste some time, and donuts, working the control panels in Sector 7G of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

Designed in close cooperation with Matt Groening, VIRTUAL SPRINGFIELD recreates the environment of The Simpsons using the incredible voice talents of the entire cast of the smash-hit Fox TV series. Springfield has been completely recreated using 3D animation for all exterior locations, allowing you to amble right up to Moe's or boldly walk into the Simpson s house (rummaging through their mailbox before you enter). Once inside one of the many interactive locations, the 2D world of the Simpsons is exactly recreated. Thumb through Homer and Marge's Yearbook, search in Bart's closet, or under his bed...if you dare. There is nothing you can t virtually do in Springfield, and each time through promises to be a unique experience. The trip to VIRTUAL SPRINGFIELD begins in stores late 1996 for Windows `95 and Power Mac CD-ROMs.

X-FILES -- Trust no one as you help FBI agents Mulder and Scully solve the yet unexplained mysteries of the "X-FILES." Fox Interactive developers are working with Chris Carter, the show's creator, to bring the look and feel of the show onto an original, interactive CD-ROM.

The X-FILES is the next generation of character interactivity, showcasing VirtualCinema, a full-screen interactive video process which tracks characters and their actions to an unprecedented degree, immersing you in the action. Full-motion video, shot exclusively for this title, allows you to search through files, access Mulder and Scully's computer database, examine clues and evidence, interview witnesses and interact with characters from the show. The X-FILES will unfold in stores in 1997 for Windows 95 CD-ROM and Macintosh CD-ROM.

ALIENS VS. PREDATOR -- Survival of the fittest reigns supreme when all hell, and a host of deadly new Alien breeds, breaks loose on Varicella 413, a frozen planet at the farthest point in the galaxy. This icy planet is headquarters to the Biological Warfare Research Establishment Pandora where scientists are experimenting with the most dangerous biological weapon of all time -- the Alien. When rival interests sabotage the base, Pandora s box of beasts is open, and Varicella 413 has become a slaughterhouse filled with experimental alien breeds, including the Alien s arch-foe, the Predator. Whether playing as an Alien drone defending your hive, a deadly Predator on the prowl or an armed-to-the-teeth Colonial Marine trying to defend the base against alien cyborgs, your objective is to fight to the bloody finish.

ALIENS VS. PREDATOR is rendered in breathtaking high-resolution 3D graphics and utilizes realistic, bone-chilling sound to deliver in your face first-person action. ALIENS VS. PREDATOR lashes out in stores in Spring 1997 for Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows 95 CD-ROM.

THE TICK -- Inspired by the popular comic book, THE TICK is a wildly comedic action-adventure game that takes conventional ideas about superhero gameplay, chops them up, shakes them into a blender full of absurdity and slapstick and serves them up as a game unlike any other -- breaking the conventional boundaries of action videogame-play, and reality itself, in the process. The Tick s mission is to find and stop the Super Villain who has been poisoning the City s precious candy supply.

Whether fighting the Million-Zillion Ninjas in the City to battling an army of rampaging cornstalks animated by the insidious El Seed in the countryside, the Tick is a superhero like no other, braving danger in a game where even the boundaries of the play area can be shattered, and death results not from battle, but rather from the Tick s level of boredom. THE TICK will change your mind about gameplay action, or he ll leave you with a watermelon over your head. THE TICK for Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn will leap onto retail shelves in late 1996.

Fox Interactive, an operating unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a News Corporation Company, is committed to developing bold and engaging interactive entertainment. Drawing from the hottest properties that Fox Filmed Entertainment, Fox Television and other News Corporation companies have to offer, Fox Interactive creates truly interactive products that capture the excitement of proven entertainment.
Check out Fox Interactive at www.foxinteractive.com.