Press release: 2002-04-02: SEGA'S TOEJAM & EARL III BRINGS THE FUNK EXCLUSIVELY TO XBOX THIS FALL

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 Original source: www.tjande.com

SAN FRANCISCO - (April 2, 2002) - SEGA® of America today announced that ToeJam & Earl III will be released this fall exclusively for the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft®. With a heritage that dates back to the SEGA Genesis™ System, the fourth installment in the series, ToeJam & Earl III, delivers an all-new, fully immersive, fully "funkified" 3D gaming experience. Created by "ToeJam & Earl's" original development team, and produced by SEGA's renowned development studio, Visual Concepts, "ToeJam & Earl III" combines the popular characters and style of the original series with Visual Concepts' cutting edge technology to create a stunning showcase title for the powerful Xbox.

"Given the synergy between ToeJam & Earl's irreverent, off-the-wall style and the Xbox audience, this exclusive deal was a perfect match," said Mike Fischer, vice president of entertainment marketing, SEGA of America. "With its inventive plot, distinctive characters and clever humor, ToeJam & Earl III reiterates SEGA's commitment to publishing daring, genre-bending games. If you're ready for something completely different, check out ToeJam & Earl III - it's not like anything you've seen before."

ToeJam and Earl first appeared in the self-titled ToeJam & Earl, followed by Ready-Aim-Tomatoes and Panic on Funkotron, all of which were developed exclusively for the SEGA Genesis System and published by SEGA of America. Each version received widespread acclaim for the innovative characters, settings and overall style, and has given the series a worldwide cult following that continues today.

"Microsoft is thrilled to have ToeJam & Earl III as an exclusive title for Xbox," said J Allard, General Manager, Xbox Platform. "ToeJam & Earl III takes advantage of the many great features of Xbox to deliver a stunning next-generation version of one of the video game world's most unique franchises."

ToeJam & Earl III follows ToeJam, Big Earl and their hot new "partner-in-funk" Latisha as they return to Earth to collect the 12 sacred albums of Funk that have been stolen from Lamont, the Great Funkopotamous. In the process, players use Funk-Fu, Rhythm and Dance Power, and a vast array of gift-wrapped power-ups left by Santa Funk to convert the un-funky Earthlings to the ways of Funk.

Featuring off the wall, "just-for-the-funk-of-it" humor with a hip urban twist, ToeJam & Earl III delivers nonstop challenge and reward through mini-games, rhythmic Boss Battles, and unlockable areas and abilities. An open-ended game structure offers players a high degree of freedom with endless choices, and game levels are randomly generated so every play experience, in each of the many environments, is fresh and new. Funky music, rich character dialog and jaw-dropping graphics stimulate the senses throughout the game. Players can play alone, or use the dynamically splitting screen to play with a friend to double-team the clueless Earthlings in cooperative play. ToeJam & Earl III will be available in the fall of 2002. For screenshots and artwork, click here (ftp site).

About SEGA

SEGA® of America is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a $3.5 billion corporation by market capitalization, recognized as a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA of America's Web site is located at www.SEGA.com.

ToeJam & Earl is a trademark of ToeJam & Earl Productions, Inc.

Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.