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Zoo Tycoon Expansion 'Marine Mania'

by Thomas on July 30, 2002 @ 5:24 p.m. PDT

Dolphins, elephant seals and jellyfish are swimming into cyberspace. Microsoft Game Studios today announced it will launch "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania," an expansion pack for use with the "Zoo Tycoon" PC game, in October 2002. "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" is an entertaining and engaging game for the entire family, with more than 20 aquatic creatures including sea otters and octopuses, additional zoo-enhancing objects such as aquatic shows and marine scenery, and 10 new scenarios to test players’ zoo-building skills.

Microsoft® "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" continues the tradition of family fun started by "Zoo Tycoon," the top-selling "tycoon" game title by dollars for the last three quarters since its release in October,* and "Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs," which allows players to add prehistoric beasts to the everyday zoo.

The "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" expansion pack seamlessly integrates with "Zoo Tycoon," allowing players to immediately add aquatic creatures to their ultimate zoo. In addition to offering new creatures, ranging from the great white shark to the giant squid, "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" allows players to enhance their zoos with customizable aquatic shows including a dolphin show. Zoo guests can now enjoy attractions such as the shark tunnel and the dolphin ride, which enables them to swim with the dolphins. Players can enrich their marine exhibits with a variety of objects, including 21 species of underwater organisms (including kelp and sea anemone), five new animal toys and sunken treasure.

Players are challenged to create and manage underwater exhibits or merge aquatic tanks with traditional land habitats. Interactive tutorials and marine specialists are on hand to help players maintain animal happiness. In addition, 10 new scenarios test players’ ability to manage and maintain a successful zoo.

"Playing computer games is a great way for parents to stay connected with their kids," said Chuck Frizelle, product manager at Microsoft Game Studios. "‘Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania’ continues the family fun of the ‘Zoo Tycoon’ franchise, stimulating creativity and encouraging players of all ages and skill levels to build and manage the ultimate zoo."

"Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" also includes all the prehistoric content available in "Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs." Players can merge prehistoric and contemporary land and aquatic animals to create a zoo they could never visit in real life. "Zoo Tycoon" and "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" were developed for Microsoft by Blue Fang Games LLC.

About "Zoo Tycoon"

"Zoo Tycoon" is the top-selling "tycoon" game title by dollars for the last three quarters since its release in October.* Simple to play yet challenging to master, "Zoo Tycoon" offers engaging gameplay for animal lovers and simulation game fans of all ages. The captivating imagery, clever gameplay and interactive tutorials in the vibrant and appealing "Zoo Tycoon" make it easy to play right out of the box. "Zoo Tycoon" has something for everyone, stimulating creativity and imagination as players respond to the needs of the animals and guests. Additional information is available at http://www.zootycoon.com/.

About Blue Fang Games

Blue Fang Games LLC is a computer game development company located in Boston. Blue Fang was founded by two former Papyrus Design Group/Sierra Online veterans, Adam Levesque and John Wheeler, who led the development of the best-selling and critically acclaimed NASCAR Racing series of products. They formed the company in July 1998. Today, Blue Fang Games is a thriving game company, committed to making high-quality games. Blue Fang Games can be located on the Internet at http://www.bluefanggames.com/.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox (TM) video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon"; Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as "Halo (TM)," "Project Gotham Racing (TM)" and "NFL Fever"; and Zone.com (http://zone.msn.com/), the official games channel for the MSN® networkand home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "Outsmart (TM)."

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.


NPDTechworldSM, October 2001--March 2002. Based on total U.S. retail sales.

Microsoft, Zoo Tycoon, Marine Mania, Xbox, Age of Empires, Halo, Project Gotham Racing, MSN and Outsmart are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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