Gaming News - August 2006

San Francisco, CA (August 24, 2006) - SEGA today announced the line up of tennis stars and new features for its upcoming Virtua Tennis 3.

From SEGA:

Virtua Tennis 3 now allows gamers to challenge the top female tennis pros as well as the men's tennis stars on their road to the championship. Get ready for game, set and match with an all new World Tour Mode, new Mini Games, new Court Games and, in another first for the Virtua Tennis series, a new multi-set option allowing gamers to choose and play up to five sets of tennis. Virtua Tennis 3 will be available in spring 2007 on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and PSP (PlayStationPortable) system in North America.

World number one ranked and 2006 Wimbledon Champion Amelie Mauresmo heads up the roster of women's tennis greats with global superstars Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Martina Hingis. Nicole Vaidisova, Lindsay Davenport, and Daniela Hantuchova complete the list of women's headliners featured in the game.

Gamers can also experience the raw power and speed of the world's top male players in Virtua Tennis 3 with four time Wimbledon Champion Roger Federer, as well as Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Tim Henman, Lleyton Hewitt, David Nalbandian, Sebastien Grosjean, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Tommy Haas. Additionally, Virtua Tennis 3 features the next generation of tennis superstars including James Blake, Mario Ancic, Gael Monfils, and Taylor Dent, making his first appearance in the Virtua Tennis franchise.

"With an impressive roster of internationally-ranked tennis pros in SEGA's Virtua Tennis 3, players can take on the world's top tennis stars and Grand Slam champions," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "Virtua Tennis 3 maximizes the technological advancements of the new consoles and injects a variety of new mini-games, player creation customization features, and a new multiplayer Court Game mode for a non-stop, action-packed experience."

Virtua Tennis 3, allows players to create their own tennis superstar to take part in an all-new iteration of the popular World Tour Mode. The extensive player creation mode allows players to build up stats, and compete in exhibitions and tournaments to become a world champion. In addition to the World Tour mode, Virtua Tennis 3 will include 10 new addictive Mini Games that feature all the hallmarks of the classic mini games fans know and love. Two classic mini games are also included to help perfect players' footwork, shot accuracy and overall skills. Virtua Tennis 3 also introduces Court Games, an exhilarating new multiplayer mode new to the franchise that takes the basic gameplay and essence of the mini games and ads an innovative and quirky twist.