REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2006--Electronic
Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS) completed its starting lineup of NBA stars today at
the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany by selecting the Dallas
Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki, Memphis Grizzlies' Pau Gasol, San Antonio
Spurs' Tony Parker and Phoenix Suns' Boris Diaw to join the Houston
Rockets' Tracy McGrady on the NBA LIVE 07 All-Star team as worldwide
cover athletes and spokespersons.
Scheduled for release September 25 under the EA SPORTS™ brand,
NBA LIVE 07 will play as good as it looks by introducing the next
generation of basketball gameplay with EA SPORTS™ Total Freestyle
Control, a new feature that delivers gameplay realism and authenticity
like never before. Additionally, with a new, more intuitive AI system,
advancements to fan-favorite features like All-Star Weekend and
Dynasty Mode™, and for the first time ESPN Motion and streaming
ESPN radio podcasts, NBA LIVE 07 will continue to deliver its
award-winning gameplay experience to fans worldwide.
The NBA LIVE 07 starting five will feature Nowitzki on all
packaging in his native Germany, Gasol in Spain and Parker and Diaw
sharing the cover spotlight in France. McGrady will be the cover
athlete of NBA LIVE 07 in North America and all other countries.
To celebrate the talents of the top NBA players from Europe, EA
SPORTS will provide users the opportunity to play as the European
All-Stars in NBA LIVE 07. The team will wear special jerseys and be
comprised of Nowitzki, Parker, Gasol, Diaw, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Peja
Stojakovic, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, Hedo Turkoglu, Vladimir
Radmanovic, Andrea Bargnani, Mickael Pietrus, Sasha Vujacic, Beno
Udrih and Nenad Krstic.
In October 2006 EA SPORTS will also be a part of "NBA Europe LIVE
presented by EA SPORTS" that will feature Parker's Spurs', Diaw's
Suns', the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers conducting
training camps and competing against top European basketball clubs in
seven European cities in five countries. EA SPORTS will partner with
the NBA and Euroleague Basketball to conduct a series of promotional
activities leading up to the start of the event, including crowning
one fan champion in the EA SPORTS NBA LIVE Challenge, an interactive
gaming tournament.
"With the global appeal of NBA LIVE it is important to us to
assemble an All-Star team of international players who reflect our
worldwide basketball franchise leadership," said Keith Munro, Vice
President of Marketing for EA. "These players are superstars on their
NBA teams and some of the best players in the world. We believe they
truly represent the authenticity and entertainment that NBA LIVE 07
delivers."
Nowitzki is fresh off leading the Mavericks' franchise to their
first trip to The Finals. During the regular season Nowitzki averaged
a career-high 26.6 points a game, while also registering 9.0 rebounds
and 2.8 assists. A five-time NBA All-Star, Nowitzki was named All-NBA
First Team for the second consecutive season.
Gasol is coming off his most successful season in the NBA where he
led the Memphis Grizzlies in scoring with a career-high 20.4 points a
game, while also registering 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He was
selected an NBA All-Star for the first time in 2006. The native of
Catalonia, a Spanish coastal region, and former NBA Rookie of the
Year, played for Spain in the 2004 Olympics.
Parker has helped lead the San Antonio Spurs to two NBA
Championships and appeared in more playoff games before his 24th
birthday than any player in NBA history. In 2005-06, Parker had a
career season, averaging 18.9 points while shooting better than 50
percent from the field. He finished among the league leaders in
assists (5.8 apg) and was named an All-Star for the first time.
Suns' third-year forward Diaw will make his debut on the cover of
NBA LIVE 07 alongside Parker in France. An up-and-coming young star,
Diaw came of age this season, averaging career highs in points (13.3),
rebounds (6.9) and assists (6.2) and was selected the NBA's Most
Improved Player. During the playoffs Diaw elevated his game, averaging
18.7 points, as the Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
A two-time NBA scoring champion and six-time NBA All-Star, McGrady
led the league in scoring by averaging 32.1 points per game in 2003,
when he became the youngest NBA player to average 30-plus points per
game since Bob McAdoo in 1974-75, and has remained one of the game's
most popular and entertaining players. McGrady finished 12th in NBA
scoring (24.4 ppg) this year and averaged 6.5 rebounds and 4.8
assists. It was the sixth time in his career he has scored more than
24 points a game.
Developed in Vancouver, B.C., by EA Canada, NBA LIVE 07 will be
available on the Xbox 360™ and Xbox® video game systems from
Microsoft, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP™
(PlayStation®Portable) system, mobile and PC on September 25. It is
scheduled for release on the PlayStation®3 in November. Learn more
about the game at http://nbalive07.com or download new screenshots at
http://info.ea.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City,
California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software
company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and
distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems,
personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its
products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS
BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95
billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's
homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about
EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the
Internet at http://info.ea.com.
Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, POGO and Dynasty
Mode are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc.
in the U.S. and/or other countries. The NBA and individual NBA member
team identifications used are trademarks, copyrighted designs, and
other forms of intellectual properties of NBA Properties, Inc. and the
respective NBA member teams and may not be used, in whole or in part,
without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. NCAA and
March Madness are trademarks or registered trademarks of the National
Collegiate Athletic Association. PSP is a trademark and PlayStation is
a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft,
Xbox and Xbox 360 are either trademarks or registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
CONTACT: Electronic Arts Canada
Steve Frost, 604-456-5067
sfrost@ea.com
or
David Tinson, 604-456-5167
dtinson@ea.com
SOURCE: Electronic Arts