Sony Interactive Studios America - Press News

THE STATION@SONY.COM DEBUTS FIRST SUBSCRIPTION-BASED GAME -- TANARUS

The Station Extends Its Game Offerings with an Exclusive Futuristic Action War Game from PlayStation Software Development Team

New York, NY, January 13, 1998 -- Tanarus, the first online game developed by Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) exclusively for The Station@sony.com, will debut on January 15. Tanarus is a futuristic, multiplayer, online tank combat game that pits up to 10,000 opponents against each other on a virtual battlefield. Tanarus is located at The Station or www.tanarus.com. The subscription is priced online at $9.95 a month.

"Tanarus puts action gamers on notice that The Station is there for them. We are thrilled that our premier action game comes from the creative team that has made PlayStation games the market leaders," said Mark Benerofe, Vice President of Programming and Platform Development for Sony Online Ventures Inc. "With more action, strategy and role playing games coming in '98, and with our current game show hits like Jeopardy! Online, Wheel of Fortune Online and Out of Order, The Station is the destination for games on the Web."

"SISA's expertise is in game development with a proven track record developing popular games for the PlayStation game console. Now, with Tanarus, for the first time, we are bringing the excitement of an action game online to the Web audience," said John Smedley, Director of PC Development and creator of Tanarus at SISA.

Tanarus allows players around the world to develop strategies that permit "real" tank commanders to set up defensive positions and organize offensive strikes without using artificial intelligence. In the beta test alone, Tanarus has been extremely well received, attracting more than 100,000 enthusiastic players. Fighting in an ever-changing, dynamic battleground ranging from post-apocalyptic cities to industrial wastelands, players can choose from five futuristic tanks and over 30 different weapons and modules. In addition, Tanarus game play is enhanced through a simultaneous chat feature on The Station. The minimum hardware recommendation for Tanarus is a PC with Windows 95 and Pentium 120 with 16 megabytes of RAM.

A CD-ROM version of Tanarus, to be used in conjunction with online play at The Station, is priced at $19.95. It is now available at retail outlets, and will be available for purchase online at The Station Store. The CD-ROM adds three bonus features to enhance online play: a city editor, which offers players the ability to create and submit original cityscapes; a single player training mode; and CD quality music by multimedia musician The FatMan. Retail consumers will also receive one free month of online game play with purchase of the CD-ROM.

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Sony Interactive Studios America develops entertainment software for the PlayStation game console, personal computer, and online markets. Headquartered in Foster City, California, with development offices in Foster City and San Diego, SISA is a holly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Sony Online Ventures Inc., a division of Sony Corporation of America, has been responsible for the development of The Station@sony.com, the online entertainment network, and Sony Online, the company's Web site for marketing and promotional information about Sony.

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