RAGE SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DAVID BECKHAM GAME AGREEMENT WITH SKY FOR ITS DIGITAL GAMING PLATFORM

As the excitement builds for the World Cup™ 2002, Sky will allow digital satellite viewers across the UK to literally put themselves in David Beckham’s boots with the launch of the new David Beckham Soccer™ ‘International Challenge’ game.

David Beckham Soccer ‘International Challenge’ will be available to play on the Sky Gamestar platform from May 10th and the game will cost 50 pence per session for unlimited plays. Sky Gamestar is currently the most popular measured interactive service on Sky Active with 1.4 million viewers using it on average each week and revenues will be jointly shared by both Rage and Sky.

Players must hone their shooting skills to take England through the first and second, Quarter and Semi finals of the world championships and lead England to victory by scoring the Golden Goal against Germany in the Final – all without moving from their armchair!

Fans who play the game can win exclusive England and David Beckham merchandise by taking on the role of the England Captain in free-kick and penalty shootout scenarios.

To take the free kicks and penalties, players must set the direction and elevation, the amount of spin they want on the ball and the power with which they want to strike. Real addicts can even compete nationally in a high-score competition - the tougher the shot, the more points you get.

“Rage is delighted to have extended its relationship with Sky and believe that our David Beckham Soccer ‘International Challenge’ game will be one of the most successful titles played on the Sky Gamestar platform,” said Simon Lilley, Marketing Director at Rage. “We also believe that this new game is a great way for Rage to continue to expand our official range of David Beckham branded computer and video games.”

“We are delighted to have an officially endorsed David Beckham game exclusively on Sky Gamestar and believe that this new game will give a major boost to our already successful games portal,” added Adrian Pilkington, Head of Games at Sky. “Currently around 1.5 million people are playing our games each week and we are confident that David Beckham Soccer International Challenge will encourage players to get a taste of what it is like to play in the World Cup”

The new David Beckham game is the second title to be released on the platform by Rage following the successful launch of its Denki Blocks™ puzzle game in September 2001, which has already had over 1 million people play the game since it was launched, and enhanced versions of David Beckham Soccer will also be available for the PlayStation®2 and Xbox™ towards the end of May.