Ubi Soft® Entertainment and the Japanese giant Capcom announced today that they have signed an exclusive publishing agreement concerning 7 benchmark games for GAME BOY® Advance including: Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival, Street Fighter Alpha 3 (final name to be confirmed), Mega Man Battle Network, Breath of Fire and Final Fight One. Ubi Soft will publish these games in Western and Eastern Europe, Australia and New Zealand. All of them will be released between now and the first quarter of 2002
The titles covered by the agreement all belong to cult series that have already enjoyed worldwide success on older-generation consoles. Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire and Final Fight all contributed to the success of the NES and Super Nintendo consoles. Since the launch of the first Street Fighter game for arcade machines in 1987, over 24 million console games in the series have been sold! This cult series, which has influenced an entire generation of gamers, is one of the most successful games ever, and many people regard Street Fighter II, released in 1991, as the greatest video game of all time. The no less prestigious Mega Man franchise of products, which debuted in 1987, has sold more than 5.6 million units. Now more than 14 years old, Mega Man remains an undisputed classic in the action/platform genre. Final Fight, first released in 1989 in game arcades, is yet another worldwide benchmark among street-fighting games. The mythical Breath of Fire series, which was created in 1993, was a pioneer in the role-playing genre; and Breath of Fire will be the first role-playing game for GAME BOY® Advance.
"We are very pleased to inaugurate a new partnership with a video-game giant like Capcom", declared Alain Corre, Managing Director for Europe, Asia Pacific and South America, Ubi Soft Entertainment. "This agreement strengthens Ubi Soft's catalogue of leading brands on the very promising GAME BOY® Advance format. This will let a very broad public become acquainted - or reacquainted - with these exceptional games on a portable format, with gaming quality close to that of a home console."
Commenting on the agreement, Shigeru Ota, President, Capcom Eurosoft stated: "Capcom has been an ardent supporter of, and developer for, the GAME BOY® Advance format as is evident with these great titles. A partnership with Ubi Soft, with its wealth of publishing experience plus excellent sales and distribution network, will provide a high level of support for these quality GAME BOY® Advance titles and ensure their success during the crucial period of the format's launch."
Ubi Soft Entertainment is a global producer, publisher and international distributor of interactive entertainment products. A leading company in the industry, Ubi Soft's strong and diversified lineup has grown considerably. As well as developing original properties, Ubi Soft has also steadfastly partnered with several high-profile companies and is dedicated to delivering consumers with quality videogame titles while offering blockbuster franchises. Some of Ubi Soft's recent licenses include Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks and Sony Pictures. Founded in 1986, the company has offices in 18 countries including the United States, Canada, France, Germany and China and sells its products in a total of 52 countries. For more information about Ubi Soft, visit their official web site.
Capcom Eursoft, headquartered in London, England, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capcom, Co., Ltd. of Japan. A leading force in the multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment industry, Capcom's legacy spans 22 years of entertaining video gamers. Capcom develops, markets, and distributes home video games for the PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 game consoles, Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color System, personal computers, and coin-operated games. Worldwide recognizable product lines include the Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire, and the Resident Evil series. World headquarters in Osaka, Japan, the company also has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Sunnyvale, California. The company is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange code number 9697.