989 Sports® Helps Tip Off the Start of College Basketball Season With the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
Highly Acclaimed College Basketball Game, NCAA® Final Four® 2003, To be Featured in the Charity Tournament
PRNewswire
FOSTER CITY, Calif.
11/13/2002
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. and 989 Sports® announced today its sponsorship plans for the seventh annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic to be held November 14-15 in New York City. This yearly college basketball tournament features eight teams, including six schools ranked in the preseason top-25. In addition to the exciting action on the court, both players and fans will have the opportunity to play the newest release from 989 Sports, NCAA® Final Four® 2003, the most realistic and exciting college basketball game available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Furthermore, 989 Sports will team up with Coaches vs. Cancer® to give away PlayStation 2 systems to local hospitals and present the "989 Sports High Scorer Award" to the player who nets the most points each night.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a )
Other events centered around the basketball tournament include a video game competition among the athletes and promotional opportunities for fans to win PlayStation prizes. Each basketball team will hold an intrasquad tournament playing NCAA Final Four 2003 with the winners squaring off to have a PlayStation 2 unit donated to the American Cancer Society on the team's behalf. ESPN2 will show highlights from these contests during their telecasts of the basketball games. In addition, several lucky fans attending the games will play NCAA Final Four 2003 on the arena screen with the chance to win PlayStation 2 games and apparel.
"We are thrilled to be a part of such a fantastic event, providing both fundraising for an important organization and high-level college basketball action," said Sharon Shapiro, director, promotions, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We are looking forward to working with Coaches vs. Cancer to help them in their charitable efforts, and we are excited to showcase our newest release, NCAA Final Four 2003, the best college basketball game available for the PlayStation 2."
About NCAA Final Four 2003
NCAA Final Four 2003 combines all new player models and gameplay with a brand new on-screen player rating system. Furthermore, a new feature allows players to perform spin moves, post up moves, and cross over dribbles with the touch of the right analog stick, and all new "motion blending" technology makes this game the smoothest college basketball simulation ever produced. The Dynasty Mode is just one of several new play options allowing gamers the opportunity to use an all-new recruiting feature to build the ultimate college basketball powerhouse. CBS Sports' Billy Packer and Eddie Doucette call the action while over 300 Division I schools and arenas are available giving college basketball fans the ultimate Final Four experience.
The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates NCAA Final Four 2003 "E" for "Everyone." For more information about the ESRB visit www.esrb.org.
About Coaches vs. Cancer
The Coaches vs. Cancer program, created by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches exists to leverage the strength, community leadership and celebrity of our country's basketball coaches to raise awareness and in turn, reduce cancer risk through education programs while raising funds for the American Cancer Society.
About 989 Sports
989 Sports® is the sports software brand of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Known for its top-selling sports franchise titles such as NFL GameDay™, MLB™, NBA ShootOut, NHL FaceOff™, NCAA® Final Four® and NCAA® GameBreaker™, 989 Sports is committed to developing authentic and innovative sports games to appeal to both the professional athlete and hard- core sports videogame fan.
About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one™ game console, and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is set to revolutionize the home entertainment market, offering the most compelling interactive content and the capability to be used as a network terminal in the coming broadband era.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-aAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, 1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840
SOURCE: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
CONTACT: Ron Eagle, +1-858-824-5585, or ron_eagle@playstation.sony.com,
or Ben Schechter, +1-858-824-5689, or ben_schechter@playstation.sony.com, both
of Sony Computer Entertainment America
Web site: http://www.playstation.com/
Web site: http://www.989sports.com/