Europa Universalis II signed worldwide

Fredrik · 12-10-2001, 10:18

International publisher Ubi Soft Entertainment has obtained all rights in Europe and South America excluding Scandinavia, Poland and Italy. The French market performance for the first game has convinced the company to broaden its territory for the sequel. Ubi Soft plans to release the game in Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, France, Benelux, UK, Portugal and Brazil during Q1 2002.

- We are glad to publish the sequel to Europa Universalis, which is a reference in strategic games. Managing the destiny of a country during centuries is an exciting challenge that many players chose to take while playing the first version of the game. This deal is in line with Ubi Soft's strategy: building a strong catalogue with brands covering every genres, declared Alain Corre, Ubi Soft Managing Director for Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America.

Typhoon Games, a subsidiary to Asian portal application and infrastructure provider Outblaze, will be the partner for all Asian markets. Typhoon Games will make an extensive localization including special cut-scenes, new graphics and local scenarios. Europa Universalis has previously never been sold in Asia and expectations for the release are high.

The Italian partner will be the local number one publisher Leader SpA who also successfully released the first title.

- After the great success of Europa Universalis in the European and Italian market, and this revolutionary concept of videogames, based on a great cultural approach, we are very glad to proceed with distribution of Europa Universalis 2, collaborating with Paradox, and we're sure that this title will be a great success and a great game's experience, says Paolo Pastorelli, Product Manager at Leader SpA.

Previously announced partners include; Strategy First for North America, Vision Park for Scandinavia, CD Project for Poland and Snowball Interactive for Russia. All partners will work very closely with Paradox on localizing the game for each market.

- Once again, this deal shows that Paradox continues to strengthen its relationships with international publishers. We believe that EU II will confirm our position as one of the leading global providers of strategy games, comments Theodore Bergquist, CEO at Paradox Entertainment.

About Ubi Soft Entertainment
Ubi Soft Entertainment is an international producer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. It leads the field in offering a diversified and constantly expanding product line. Ubi Soft develops its own products and also works in co-operation with well-known developers. The group's objective is to provide the public with top-quality entertainment software that encourages users to share intense emotions. Created in 1986, Ubi Soft has a presence in 19 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany and China. The group distributes its own products and those of third-party producers in 50 countries. Ubi Soft posted sales of 260 million euros for the financial year 2000/2001, an increase of 39.4% over the previous year, and its consolidated net earnings totaled 3.6 million euros. www.ubisoft.com

About Typhoon Games/Outblaze Limited
Outblaze Limited, the developer and provider of information and communication infrastructure services for wireless platforms and the Web, was founded in May 1998 in Hong Kong, and is Asia's first Internet company to recognize and meet the market demand for on-line Web site services and solutions. Outblaze solutions enable individuals and organizations to achieve full business and operational potentials on the Internet. Headquarters are in Hong Kong with other offices in Beijing and Germany. Outblaze is privately held. www.outblaze.com

About Leader SpA
LEADER SpA, founded in 1984, is now one of the leading companies operating in the Italian games' industry business. After 16 years of growth, the company has reached the leadership in the Italian PC-games distribution with a market share of 40%. www.leaderspa.it

/Fredrik Malmberg

12-10-2001, 10:18	#1
Fredrik Sovereign Ruler of the Northern Empire Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 110	Europa Universalis II signed worldwide International publisher Ubi Soft Entertainment has obtained all rights in Europe and South America excluding Scandinavia, Poland and Italy. The French market performance for the first game has convinced the company to broaden its territory for the sequel. Ubi Soft plans to release the game in Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, France, Benelux, UK, Portugal and Brazil during Q1 2002. - We are glad to publish the sequel to Europa Universalis, which is a reference in strategic games. Managing the destiny of a country during centuries is an exciting challenge that many players chose to take while playing the first version of the game. This deal is in line with Ubi Soft's strategy: building a strong catalogue with brands covering every genres, declared Alain Corre, Ubi Soft Managing Director for Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America. Typhoon Games, a subsidiary to Asian portal application and infrastructure provider Outblaze, will be the partner for all Asian markets. Typhoon Games will make an extensive localization including special cut-scenes, new graphics and local scenarios. Europa Universalis has previously never been sold in Asia and expectations for the release are high. The Italian partner will be the local number one publisher Leader SpA who also successfully released the first title. - After the great success of Europa Universalis in the European and Italian market, and this revolutionary concept of videogames, based on a great cultural approach, we are very glad to proceed with distribution of Europa Universalis 2, collaborating with Paradox, and we're sure that this title will be a great success and a great game's experience, says Paolo Pastorelli, Product Manager at Leader SpA. Previously announced partners include; Strategy First for North America, Vision Park for Scandinavia, CD Project for Poland and Snowball Interactive for Russia. All partners will work very closely with Paradox on localizing the game for each market. - Once again, this deal shows that Paradox continues to strengthen its relationships with international publishers. We believe that EU II will confirm our position as one of the leading global providers of strategy games, comments Theodore Bergquist, CEO at Paradox Entertainment. About Ubi Soft Entertainment Ubi Soft Entertainment is an international producer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. It leads the field in offering a diversified and constantly expanding product line. Ubi Soft develops its own products and also works in co-operation with well-known developers. The group's objective is to provide the public with top-quality entertainment software that encourages users to share intense emotions. Created in 1986, Ubi Soft has a presence in 19 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany and China. The group distributes its own products and those of third-party producers in 50 countries. Ubi Soft posted sales of 260 million euros for the financial year 2000/2001, an increase of 39.4% over the previous year, and its consolidated net earnings totaled 3.6 million euros. www.ubisoft.com About Typhoon Games/Outblaze Limited Outblaze Limited, the developer and provider of information and communication infrastructure services for wireless platforms and the Web, was founded in May 1998 in Hong Kong, and is Asia's first Internet company to recognize and meet the market demand for on-line Web site services and solutions. Outblaze solutions enable individuals and organizations to achieve full business and operational potentials on the Internet. Headquarters are in Hong Kong with other offices in Beijing and Germany. Outblaze is privately held. www.outblaze.com About Leader SpA LEADER SpA, founded in 1984, is now one of the leading companies operating in the Italian games' industry business. After 16 years of growth, the company has reached the leadership in the Italian PC-games distribution with a market share of 40%. www.leaderspa.it /Fredrik Malmberg