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BANJO -KAZOOIE & PLAYABLE AVATARS CONFIRMED FOR SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING

BANJO -KAZOOIE & PLAYABLE AVATARS CONFIRMED FOR SONIC & SEGA ALL-STARS RACING

 

Monday 21st December 2009 – SEGA® Europe Ltd., SEGA® of America, Inc. and Microsoft today announced an exciting new partnership for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing™.  For the first time ever in a racing game for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, you will be able to jump in to the game in the form of your Avatar and race against your favourite Sonic & SEGA characters.  In yet another addition to the character roster and exclusive to the Xbox 360 version, Banjo and Kazooie will make a welcome return to the console and take to the starting grid in their Bolt Bucket all terrain vehicle!

Working closely with the Rare Studio to bring the popular characters to life, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing sees Banjo and Kazooie taking their place on the starting grid alongside classic SEGA characters such as Sonic, AiAi, Amy, Knuckles and Ryo Hazuki.  As well as mastering the drift system to get the best out of the tracks, and picking up  weapons such as Sonic speed boots and homing rockets along the way, Banjo and his faithful sidekick Kazooie will be able to unleash their own unique All-Star move in a bid to cross the finish line in pole position!

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing will also be the first racing game for the Xbox 360 to feature fully playable Avatars.  Have you ever pictured yourself speeding around the lush green hills of Sonic’s Seaside Hill Zone?  Or wondered how you’d look rolling around the levels of Super Monkey Ball?  Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing will allow your Avatar to hop in to the All-Stars Racing “Avacar” and put your pedal to the metal around SEGA world inspired tracks!  If you find yourself towards the back of the race, or taking hits from everyone’s weapons, it’s your friends that will come to your rescue in the Avatar All-Star move, with recognisable faces from your Xbox LIVE Friends List offering a helping hand!

“We’re very excited to see Banjo and Kazooie back on the screen racing against these great SEGA characters” said Shintaro Kanaoya, Head of Business Strategy and Development at Rare.  “We’re also very proud to see the Xbox 360 Avatars, which were conceived of and developed at Rare, incorporated into the game and allowing players to put themselves in the driving seat.  The project has been an excellent collaboration between Rare and SEGA, and we’re looking forward to its retail release and tearing around the tracks!”

David McLean, Regional Director, Entertainment & Devices Division, Microsoft, says; “Avatar characters are proving increasingly popular to the Xbox 360 owner and the ability to bring them to life as fully playable characters is not only an exciting concept to bring to Australia, it’s a world exclusive! It’s even more thrilling to be launching this activity with such a big title, especially when it heralds the return of Banjo & Kazooie to the platform.”

“SEGA are proud to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Microsoft to incorporate characters as big as Banjo and Kazooie in the Xbox 360 version of the game,” commented Darren Macbeth, Managing Director SEGA Australia. “We are dedicated to continue to work with first party publishers to bring the best there is to offer to gamers and to individual platforms and having truly playable Avatars for the first time in a game is testimony to our commitment.”

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing sees Sonic and friends speed around tracks set in medieval castle ramparts, lush rainforests and bustling cities, all taken from the visually rich and varied universes of Sonic and SEGA.  Are you gonna be faster than Sonic?

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing featuring Banjo Kazooie will be in stores Early 2010.  For more information please visit www.sega.com/sonicracing or for press assets please visit www.sega-press.com.

About SEGA® Europe Ltd.:

SEGA® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe’s web site is located at www.sega.com.

About SEGA® of America Inc.:

SEGA® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home.  The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.  SEGA of America’s Web site is located at www.sega.com.