Westwood Studios - Press News - Coming Soon Magazine

Westwood Studios Announces Plans to Develop Titles for DVD

Leading CD-ROM game developer embraces next-generation technology by announcing Command & Conquer for DVD

Las Vegas, NV, January 27, 1997 -- Westwood Studios announced today that it is developing DVD versions of its hit titles. The first game scheduled for DVD development is Command & Conquer, the smash hit that has sold nearly two million copies worldwide. Command & Conquer DVD is expected to be completed in early 1997.

DVD combines new data storage techniques with MPEG2 compression technology to achieve an impressive 4.7 gigabytes of storage capacity on a single-sided DVD, with up to as much as 17 gigabytes on a double-sided, dual-layer DVD.

"The commitment we are making to DVD is significant," said Brett W. Sperry, president & CEO of Westwood Studios. "Very few game companies have announced plans to support DVD, but we know that this is a next-generation technology that we must help nurture. We believe the strength of our titles will be an asset to the fledgling DVD market."

DVD players, equipped with MPEG2 chips, have been available since December 1996. Computer systems with pre-installed DVD drives will be available in early 1997 from Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Packard Bell, and Gateway 2000. Major manufacturers developing, or planning to manufacture, DVD players include Toshiba, Phillips, and Sony. DVD players will also support current CD-ROM technology.

"DVD affords us the opportunity to greatly enhance the audio-visual content of our products," said Steve Wetherill, vice president of product development at Westwood Studios. "DVD owners can expect to experience much greater visual fidelity, thanks to the new MPEG2 technology, and excellent CD-quality audio due to the greatly increased storage capacity of DVD."

"DVD games will play an important role in developing this new industry," said Ken Jones, director of marketing for Toshiba's DVD products. "Games such as Command & Conquer typically feature high-quality audio and video, which DVD is designed to enhance, making them an ideal showpiece for the technology. We think the improved audio and video performance will actually draw more people to games once they see how realistic they look and sound."

"We're excited to take advantage of what DVD has to offer," said Sperry. "Command & Conquer, our first DVD title, is a perfect choice for the new medium. Not only will it fit on one DVD, but the live action video and rendered sequences will look even more life-like due to the improved technology."

Upon its release last year, Command & Conquer was heralded as a groundbreaking title that revolutionized real-time strategy games. Westwood has released versions for Macintosh, DOS, Windows 95 and Sega Saturn platforms.

Command & Conquer is a real time combat strategy game set in the near future where two major factions, Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of NOD, fight for control of the world. The GDI represent the democratic way of life while NOD is a totalitarian regime led by the brilliant, if enigmatic, Kane. Players choose whether to fight as either the GDI or NOD. Each side is equipped with their own specific weapons and technology, making the strategies needed to win different for each side. While each mission has its own objectives, players must coordinate a variety of activities including: base construction, weapons manufacturing, attacking the enemy as well as defending their own base. In between missions, players are treated to exciting cinematic sequences that reveal more of the story, as well as high resolution cut scenes and dramatic moments.

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Westwood Studios is a prominent publisher of best-selling PC, Mac and next-generation console games. Formed in 1985, Westwood Studios has consistently released popular titles including: Dune II, the Kyrandia adventure trilogy, Lands of Lore, the Command & Conquer game series and Monopoly CD-ROM with Internet capabilities. All of Westwood Studios' title have sold more than 250,000 units world-wide, with Command & Conquer and Red Alert selling more than 2.8 million units combined. Westwood has released versions of Command & Conquer for Sega Saturn, Macintosh, DOS and Windows 95 platforms, and plans to release a version for Sony PlayStation.

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