"We believe we are entering the market at a time of change and consolidation that will test the mettle of many of the existing players," says Emmanuel Jones, Managing Director of 4AM. "Although we are relatively new to the scene, we enter the market with bags of enthusiasm, creativity and ambition and intend to play a major part in shaping and growing the business in the years to come."
4AM plans to launch its first four titles into the UK market before Christmas 2003, with the first of these – role-playing game The Fate – due to hit the streets on August 7th. The Fate will be followed in September by WhiteDay (a 3D horror adventure set within a mysterious school) and Jurassic Wars: Evolution (the latest in the Jurassic Wars series of real-time strategy games).
These three game titles will be followed by an exciting dance-based product which will make its UK debut in October.
"Our initial line-up is licensed from the cream of Eastern development talent," offers Victor Jones, 4AM's Head of Games Publishing. "While we will continue to license quality titles from all over the world into the future, our plan is to move towards developing our own games and intellectual properties at the earliest opportunity and we aim to become a truly global operation within the next three years."
4AM started life as a German music production company in 1999. The company was founded by singer, songwriter and producer Emmanuel 'Ka$h' Jones, designer and singer Viola Perkams and marketing specialist Nils Jürgensen. 4AM moved into the composition and production of music for computer games in late 2002, at which point the founding team were joined by Victor Jones, a marketing specialist with more than 12 years experience in the airline and leisure industries. At this point the decision was made to expand into game publishing and 4AM set up a number of licensing deals with some of the biggest names in the Far East, including Wizard Soft, Actoz Soft and Front Far East.
Further information on 4AM and its initial line-up are available on the official 4AM website.