Press release: 2001-09-12: Heavy Metal: Geomatrix Now Available

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: Capcom.com

Heavy Metal: Geomatrix Now Available

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - September 12, 2001- Capcom®, a leading publisher of fighting games, today announced the release of Heavy Metal: Geomatrix, for Sega Dreamcast. Heavy Metal: Geomatrix is a 4-player, "death match-style" fighting game that combines Capcom's legacy of great fighting games with the sexy characters and over-the-top fantasy worlds made famous in the Heavy Metal comic books and movies. The characters and their environments are designed the world renowned artist and one of the franchises' top designers, Simon Bisley. Heavy Metal: Geomatrix has been rated "M" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and carries a suggested retail price of $19.99.

In a landmark deal living up to its 'Heavy Metal' image, the game features an awesome soundtrack featuring bands from "Megadeth" and "Halford." Partnered with the renowned heavy metal music management firm and record label, Sanctuary Music PLC, of London, England, they plan to release the new songs and an enhanced soundtrack worldwide."Halford's" band member, Rob Halford is an ex-member of the massively popular band "Judas Priest."

"Heavy Metal: Geomatrix throws one to four players into the fantastic worlds of one of the most outrageous fantasy comic ever and is perfect for a death match-style fighter," said Todd Thorson, director of marketing, Capcom Entertainment. "Combined with an all-out, head banging soundtrack the game will send gamers over the edge."

Heavy Metal: Geomatrix is set at the end of the 23rd century where NeoCyberspace is the final step to a New World order. It swallows people's desires, and grows each second. The evolution of the "NANOBOT" technology (microscopic robots that can recreate human cell composition anywhere online) has now completely merged fantasy and reality into "one world." What was once the human race, has completely abandoned the real world, spending all their time addicted to the luxury of the virtual world. Oblivious, they never saw it coming. With nearly every underground resource of mother earth stolen, there is nothing left to hold the massive weight of the ice covered poles in place. One day the glaciers slid and melted and nearly all the land in the world disappeared. What little "turf" was left was quickly claimed by the strongest thugs, gangs, warriors, and governments, but the real war has just begun. As if torn from the pages of history, the prize was and still is "landmass!" But this time, the battleground is NeoCyberspace. The only hope that remains for the survivors is to use their NANOBOTS to recreate their best Nano-Gladiators and arm them with every Nanotech-weapon imaginable, for the final showdown. To win, you must fight, to live you must win. For those about to log in, we salute you!

Heavy Metal: Geomatrix features 12 characters designed by Heavy Metal artist, Simon Bisley. Players choose from four teams, each made up of three characters. These characters include Hound, leader of the "818 Stompers," Slash, his girlfriend and the brutal and aggressive Zeus. The "911 Elite Team" is made up of Sarge, Kassey and Stab. The "707 Metal Heads Team" consists of team leader, Duke, Di, and Lance. And finally, the "323 Agents" are made up of mysterious assassins, Phantom, Talbot and the vicious Mayfly. Weapons range from swords, firearms, bazookas, booby traps and other hidden items and have both long-range and short-range attack functions that make Heavy Metal: Geomatrix a non-stop action assault.

Heavy Metal is the oldest illustrated fantasy magazine inU.S. history, celebrating a 24 year-old history and a yearly circulation of 2.5 million copies. Kevin Eastman, owner, editor and publisher of Heavy Metal Magazine, acted as creative consultant on the videogame. Eastman wrote the story and completed the first level of designs prior to the works of Simon Bisley. Eastman is known as the co-creator of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise and co-creator of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Nintendo video game that sold more than 18 million units in the early nineties. Simon Bisley is the award-winning British artist best known for his work on "Judge Dredd" and the infamous Batman vs. Judge Dredd comic books. He also designed many of the main characters for Galaxy Quest and the upcoming remake of theTime Machine movies. In 1981 the company released Heavy Metal: The Movie, produced by Ivan Reitman, known for his work in the movies Animal House and Ghostbusters, which grossed $25 million. The video released in 1996 and held the number one spot in sales for five week. That same year it was named by Billboard charts as the 10th best-selling video, selling more than two million units.

Capcom Entertainment, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom, Co., Ltd. of Japan. A leading force in the multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment industry, Capcom's legacy spans 22 years of entertaining video gamers. Capcom develops, markets, and distributes home video games for the PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 game consoles, Game Boy Color System, personal computers, and coin-operated games. Worldwide recognizable product lines include the Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire, and the Resident Evil series. World headquarters in Osaka, Japan, the company also has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Sunnyvale, California. The company is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange code number 9697.

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Capcom and Street Fighter are registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. Mega Man, Breath of Fire and Resident Evil are trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.

Heavy Metal is a registered trademark owned by Metal Mammoth INC. Used with permission. Copyright, Trademark & Other Intellectual Property Rights Notices Heavy Metal TM and ©2001 Metal Mammoth, Inc. Simon Bisley TM and ©2001 Kevin Eastman Studios, Inc. ©CAPCOM CO., LTD 2001, ©CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2001. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.