“Forza Motorsport 2” Races Into Living Rooms on Xbox 360 Worldwide
Microsoft celebrates the 91st Indy 500 with release of “Forza Motorsport 2” on May 29; announces price drop for the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, now available for $129.99 ERP.

REDMOND, Wash.(rushprnews) May 26, 2007 — Microsoft Game Studios today announced that “Forza Motorsport® 2” will speed onto U.S. retail shelves Tuesday, May 29, and that the estimated retail price (ERP) of the Xbox 360™ Wireless Racing Wheel has been lowered to $129.99 in the U.S.

Timed to mark the biggest racing event of the year, these announcements are sure to ignite the driving spirit in gamers and car enthusiasts alike as the 91st Annual Indianapolis 500 kicks off today.

Tuned and developed with the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, “Forza Motorsport 2” supports true force feedback, setting a new precedent for realism in the racing simulation genre that will have gamers feeling every bump in the road and every jolt of acceleration as they take the corners on 12 of the most renowned tracks on the globe. With the game running at an astounding 60 frames per second, authentic simulation physics, and rumble functionality with the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, “Forza Motorsport 2” offers incredible realism and depth for a complete racing experience in gaming.

In addition, to mark the release of the new title, gamers in the U.S. will be able to participate in the “Forza Motorsport 2” Race Weekend, running June 1 through June 3. Gamers will be able to participate in a “Play and Win,” Livery contests, gameplay sessions with developers, and a leaderboard tournament. Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheels and other prizes will be awarded to winners. Gamers will experience all the racing excitement they can handle with the following new gameplay experiences:

• Collect, upgrade and tune hundreds of cars. From sport compacts to purpose-built race cars, “Forza Motorsport 2” offers more than 300 cars from over 50 of the world’s leading manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Nissan, Volkswagen, General Motors and Lamborghini. Players can take their car to the garage and install alternative engines, suspension kits, bolt-on superchargers, brakes, rims and racing slicks. Players can also dial in advanced suspension settings, tire pressure and gear ratios.
 
• Experience an uncompromising physics simulation. Top automotive engineers, professional race car drivers and experienced programmers teamed up to create a complete racing simulator experience. Cars incur dramatic damage and wear, which affects vehicle performance. Advanced tire and suspension models that respond to heat and pressure changes as well as weight transfer and aerodynamic load are just a few examples of how the gamer plays both crew chief and driver.
 
• Master real-world tracks from around the world. From the famously challenging Nürburgring Nordschleife to the green hills of Tuscany, gamers can race on meticulously designed tracks with an incredible sense of speed and realism. “Forza Motorsport 2” features 47 ribbons across 12 environments, including real-world licensed circuits such as Mugello, Suzuka and Sebring International Raceway.
 
• Create and share a masterpiece with the world. Players can express their inner artist in the paint and upgrade shops with nearly endless personalization options. They can customize the shape of their car by combining different licensed rims, performance parts and aftermarket body kits and create a unique paint scheme using millions of paint and decal options. Then racers can hit the track and take in-game pictures of their creation in the “Forza Motorsport 2” Photo Mode, or sell their work of art to an eager community for in-game credits over Xbox LIVE® using the “Forza Motorsport 2” Auction House.
 
• Literally feel the road, just like a professional driver. Through the rumble functionality in the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, players will feel uncompromising responsiveness to every acceleration, downshift and turn, making the racing experience as true to life as possible. With the latest improvements to rumble, force feedback and wireless technologies, form and function are placed into high-speed gaming motion, letting racers feel every bump around the turns at famous tracks such as Sebring as well as the differences in handling and stability in each car they drive.
 
• Compete in a vibrant online community. Gamers can take their personalized car onto Xbox LIVE for some intense online wheel-to-wheel racing. They have the option to compete in private online sessions with friends or in large public tournaments on Xbox LIVE in the seamlessly integrated “Forza Motorsport 2” Career Mode.* They can earn in-game credits and even complete single-player career objectives while racing over Xbox LIVE. Or they can sit back and watch the best racers from around the world compete on “Forza Motorsport 2” TV.
 

Fans can continue to visit http://www.xbox.com and http://forzamotorsport.net for more information, screen shots and videos.

From the creative minds at Turn 10 Studios, “Forza Motorsport 2” is the game that offers something for every type of racing and car enthusiast, such as optional driving assists for the novice and gameplay options for the serious car aficionado that include the ability to tune, trade, paint and collect players’ favorite cars. With Xbox LIVE, players can share and sell their custom creations on the “Forza Motorsport 2” online Auction House and experience an impressively accurate simulation, putting their performance-tuned rides to the test against the best the online world has to offer. “Forza Motorsport 2” will be widely available at retailers nationwide May 29 for an ERP of $59.99.

About Turn 10 Studios

“Forza Motorsport 2” is developed by Turn 10 of Microsoft Game Studios. The experienced development team led by Dan Greenawalt is composed of top developers and real race drivers and car collectors whose pedigrees include work on top racing franchises such as “Forza Motorsport,” “Project Gotham Racing®” and “RalliSport Challenge.” Microsoft also teamed up with top engineers from the likes of Ferrari SpA and Toyo Tires to create incredibly realistic driving physics in a racing simulation game.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox® and Xbox 360 video game systems, the Windows® operating system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows (http://www.microsoft.com/games), including such franchises as “Age of Empires®,” “Flight Simulator” and “Zoo Tycoon®”; Xbox and Xbox 360 (http://www.xbox.com), including such games as “Gears of War” and franchises such as “Halo®,” “Fable®,” “Project Gotham Racing” and “Forza Motorsport”; and MSN® Games (http://www.games.msn.com), the official games channel for the MSN network and home to such hits as “Bejeweled” and “Hexic®.”

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft® Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

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Anne Howard www.annehowardpublicist.com writer and publicist