In Splinter Cell, the player controls Sam Fisher, a field operative of a secretive "black-ops" NSA sub-agency called Third Echelon, geared up to infiltrate high-security strongholds, seize critical intelligence, destroy threatening data and neutralize the enemy - all without leaving a trace."The Splinter Cell buzz keeps getting louder thanks to our local marketing efforts with Microsoft," said Alain Corre, Ubi Soft's Managing Director for Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America. "We already have 1.1 million pre-orders across the world for the game, and the momentum is building as more people discover how we've taken stealth-action gaming to a whole new level."
"Splinter Cell is emerging as one of the most-wanted games on Xbox this Christmas," said Michel Cassius, European Director of Publishing, Xbox. "It's the best-looking games ever created, and has already been garnering rave reviews in the specialist press in addition to its ECTS Game of the Show award. We're pleased that the developers chose Xbox to bring their vision to life, especially since this is a game that is redefining the stealth-action genre. We're working with our partner Ubi Soft to ensure this game gets a marketing campaign every bit as effective as one of Sam Fisher's secret gadgets."
The joint marketing campaigns include a 30-second specific TV advertisement that will run from mid-November to its release date in Britain, France and Germany. This spot will also be broadcasted in cinemas in the UK, Spain and Germany among other countries. Another 30-40 second television advertisement - sponsored by Microsoft and featuring Splinter Cell along with a lineup of other Xbox games - will be aired in 16 countries from November until mid-December.
To catch people by surprise, actors have been hired in Belgium, Spain and other countries to visit retail outlets disguised as Sam Fisher, the hero of Splinter Cell. In France, actors dressed as the covert Third Echelon agent have been sent to mix with crowds at concerts, sporting events and other gatherings. A press and trade event at the renowned Café l'Atlantique in Milan, Italy, for example, featured hundreds of demo stations to play Splinter Cell and attracted approximately 100 journalists and 100 buyers in October. In Germany, the game will be demonstrated at console stations installed by Microsoft at major universities.
Local efforts are also focused on building a strong in-store presence for Splinter Cell. Ubi Soft and Microsoft sales teams have negotiated attractive consumer offers on a country-by-country basis, and continue to visit local retailers to promote the game. Microsoft includes Splinter Cell in its demo units in major European and Australian retail stores, and has positioned the game among its key titles during its Xbox tours. It also includes the game in its promotional materials - including a DVD that promotes Xbox games and Xbox game catalogues - and features it on its Web site.
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