Feisty Tennis Champion Makes Videogame Debut
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Mar 12, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that tennis legend
John McEnroe will headline a roster of some of the sport's all-time
greats to be featured in EA SPORTS(TM) Grand Slam(R)
Tennis. An enigmatic personality both on and off the court, McEnroe
will make his videogame debut in EA's new tennis franchise. The gameis
being developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Vancouver,
B.C. It will be available first for the Wii(TM) and ships to North American
retailers on June 16th, 2009.
"It's great that EA SPORTS has embraced tennis into its family of games.
I think it's a solid sign the sport is thriving and I hope it will
continue to generate more interest and excitement in tennis," said
McEnroe. "Having Wimbledon exclusive to this game is huge because
Wimbledon is such a special tournament, for the entire sport of tennis
and for me personally."
One of the greatest tennis players of all-time, McEnroe won seven Grand
Slams, including three at Wimbledon, and amassed 77 singles titles. He
stopped playing singles on the main ATP tour at the end of 1992 but has
remained heavily involved in tennis, playing on seniors tours and
providing television commentary for a number of networks at the Grand
Slams. McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 1999. Off the court, he hosted his own talk show and written an
autobiography, titled "You Cannot Be Serious", a phrase he made famous
through his on-court outbursts during his career.
"Having a champion like John McEnroe exclusive to EA SPORTS Grand
Slam Tennis reflects our commitment to deliver an authentic,
entertaining, and deep representation of the sport like never before,"
said Dave McCarthy, Vice-President, EA SPORTS. "McEnroe's success,
charisma and passion for tennis easily make him one of the most
recognizable and colorful personalities, not just in tennis, but all
sports."
Specifically designed for the Wii, EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis
puts the racket in the palm of your hand and delivers the deepest tennis
experience. Users will feel like they are actually playing tennis,
performing real forehands and backhands in their living rooms. The game
is one of the first to be compatible with Wii MotionPlus(TM), which
enhances the one-to-one motion with added shot depth and precise ball
placement.
EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis for the Wii has not yet been rated by
the ESRB or PEGI, and has an MSRP of $49.95. For more information, log
onto www.easports.com/tennis.
Media can find screenshots and video of the game at http://info.ea.com.
Top-selling titles and franchises from EA SPORTS include Madden NFL
football, FIFA Soccer, NHL(R), NBA
LIVE, NCAA(R) Football, Tiger Woods
PGA TOUR(R) and NASCAR(R)racing.
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 video game systems, personal computers, cellular
handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA(TM), EA SPORTS(TM), EA SPORTS Freestyle(TM) and POGO(TM). In
fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 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.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Grand Slam is a registered Trademark jointly owned by Australian Open,
US Open, French Open and Wimbledon. John Madden, NFL, FIFA, NHL, NBA,
NCAA, Tiger Woods, PGA TOUR and NASCAR are trademarks of their
respective owners and used with permission. Wii and Wii MotionPlus are
trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
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SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc.
Paula Kim, 604-456-3179
Senior Publicist
pkim@ea.com
Jen Riley, 604-456-5081
Manager, Public Relations
jriley@ea.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009