Here is the press release
http://www.atari.com/us/press/?action=readmore&id=1466
BEVERLY, MA – March 3, 2004 – Get your barf bag ready! Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) announced today that a thrilling new sequel to the stomach-turning excitement of the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise will make its way to store shelves later this year. RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 will take the series to new heights with brand new features including 3-D graphics, giving players complete control of views around the park, and a front seat to the action with a new Coaster Cam feature that allows players to ride the roller coasters. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is being developed by Frontier Developments, Ltd. of Cambridge, England, in conjunction with Chris Sawyer, the creator and sole developer of the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise.
“We are very excited to be working with Frontier Developments and Chris Sawyer on this completely new version of the blockbuster RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise,” said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Atari, Inc. “RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 demonstrates Atari’s ability to take an existing franchise to new heights, creating an entirely fresh and exciting entertainment experience for fans and new players alike.”
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will also feature new gameplay elements that fans have been asking for – including diversity of guests, added group behavior and improved guest AI - and many other new features which build upon the fun and addictive nature of the original game.
The RollerCoaster Tycoon series is the #1 Tycoon series having sold more than seven million units life-to-date worldwide*. The original RollerCoaster Tycoon game debuted in 1999 and held onto a spot on the PC top 10 best-seller list for 150 weeks.
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will be introduced in Holiday 2004 for the PC. Additional information will be available on
http://www.rollercoastertycoon.com and
http://www.atari.com.
About Frontier Developments, Ltd.
Frontier and its founder, David Braben, have a long association with Chris Sawyer going back to 1987, when Chris first worked on PC versions of the famous "Elite" and “Virus” games. Frontier has for many years used its own cutting-edge 3D game engine on both PC and console titles. The company has a strong track record of creating both innovative 'own-IP' games and original high-quality titles that give a faithful treatment of existing brands. The company's most recent two console games gathered three prestigious BAFTA (The British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations between them ("Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo" on PlayStation®2, Xbox, GameCube and PC, based on Aardman Animations Ltd.'s multiple Oscar®-winning duo; and the novel, award-winning “Dog’s Life” published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe on PlayStation®2). Frontier employs approximately 60 people, and has offices in Cambridge and Ely in the UK.
About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as Driver™, Enter the Matrix™, Neverwinter Nights™, Stuntman™, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2003, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children’s games such as Backyard Sports™, Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues™ and Dora the Explorer™, Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit
http://www.atari.com.
© 2004 Atari, Inc. All Rights Reserved. RollerCoaster Tycoon® 3 game © 2004 Chris Sawyer; programming © 2004 Frontier Developments Ltd. All rights reserved. The NPD Group is a service mark of NPD Group, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
*Over five million units in the U.S. according to The NPD Group, Inc.