Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves™, the Next Chapter in the Continuing Sly Cooper Adventure, Returns for the Ultimate Heist This Holiday Season

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today the launch of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves™, a comedic crime caper, action-adventure game designed exclusively for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Created by Seattle-based developer Sucker Punch Productions, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves builds upon the award-winning Sly Cooper franchise with an all-new animated adventure allowing players to join Sly and his crew as they struggle against new villains and old adversaries in an effort to recover the Cooper family fortune. Showcasing Sucker Punch's signature toon-shaded artistic style and outstanding storytelling, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves returns for Sly's most elaborate heist with a variety of new gameplay features, including eight playable characters, 3D gameplay, challenging co-op and head-to-head multiplayer games, new vehicles, mini-games, disguises, enhanced combat move sets and much more.

"Sucker Punch developed a game that will once again attract PlayStation 2 fans of all ages, while providing additional challenges and more in-depth gameplay to suffice hardcore gamers," said Grady Hunt, senior producer, product development, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "While we've stayed true to the aspects of the Sly Cooper franchise players love, we've also added a breadth of new features, sophisticated humor, deeper character development and extensive replay value to deliver an innovative, yet true platform gameplay experience."

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves begins with Sly and his crew in disarray and struggling with setbacks. Bentley was crippled in the final battle with Clockwerk at the end of Sly 2: Band of Thieves and confined to a wheelchair, and Murray, feeling responsible for Bentley's tragic accident, has quit the team and chosen a path of non-violence and solace. Meanwhile, Sly learns of a secret family vault that houses the amassed Cooper family fortune. Upon arriving at this hidden location, Sly discovers another enemy group attempting to steal the Cooper fortune. Sly and Bentley quickly realize they will need considerable help to defeat this new rival. Their recruiting starts with Murray, and once back on-board, Sly, Murray and Bentley set out to enlist some new and familiar faces in an effort to pull off a World Class heist.

True to the evolution of the Sly Cooper franchise, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves showcases Sucker Punch's critically acclaimed comic-book inspired graphics mixed with a unique combination of stealth and platforming action that has made the previous titles in the series achieve "Greatest Hits" status. Set in exotic and remote locations including China, the Australian Outback and Venice, Italy, players will be drawn into visually stunning worlds that are more dense and interactive than previous installments. In addition to taking on the evolving-roles of Sly and his two partners in crime, Murray and Bentley, gamers will experience a fresh cast of some new and familiar playable characters each with their own distinct move set, including franchise favorites Inspector Carmelita Fox and the Lounge Lizard Dimitri. Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves also takes the "heist" gameplay mechanic introduced in Sly 2: Band of Thieves™ to the next level as team missions are built around the playable characters on-screen simultaneously collaborating rather than switching off between characters.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves also includes 3D glasses, where, in certain areas of the game, players can opt to play in 3D. The introduction of 3D allows players to experience an unprecedented amount of depth and realism, as they watch objects fly off the screen and characters and environments come to life.

Players hungry for a more in-depth gameplay experience will have the opportunity to complete Master Thief Challenges and replay missions, thus providing an opportunity to sneak around an environment again using alternative moves and disguises in order to achieve even higher Master Thief ratings. The added replay value also will allow players to replay the majority of missions in 3D and locate special objectives and rewards. In the new multiplayer mode, players will play head-to-head and cooperative missions that have their own special power-ups.

To prepare for this holiday season, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves is receiving full marketing support in the following categories to extend consumer awareness for this genre-breaking title.

National Broadcast/Cable Advertising Campaign

The television campaign for Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves kicked off the week of 9/19 with a campaign airing on kids and youth-oriented networks. The spots will run in various time slots on broadcast, cable and syndicated programming continuing through the holiday season. A total of three different executions will air on targeted programming with spots on Cartoon Network, Fox, TBS, USA Network and Nickelodeon. Cartoon Network also will run an integrated on-air sweepstakes for Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. This promotion will run in a two- week window and highlight Sly's stealthy nature. Cartoon Network will also create a custom mini-site for demos, sweepstakes, prizing information and a game review.

National Print/Online Advertising Campaign

To support the mainstream appeal of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, a targeted print advertising campaign, will reach more than 15 million readers through a wide variety of publications including EGM, Game Informer, Nickelodeon, National Geographic Kids, Disney Adventures, Family Fun and many more. In addition, an aggressive online advertising campaign will include over 89 million impressions through outlets such as Yahooligans, IGN.com, Neopets.com, Disney.com and many more. Finally, an integrated web scavenger hunt targeted at the younger consumer can be viewed at www.slymask.com. This campaign entails a search for Sly's mask through a variety of mediums with the winner taken on a trip to Alcatraz -- for a true crime tour.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has rated Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves "E 10+". For more information about the ESRB visit www.esrb.org.

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, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) 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. PSP is a new portable entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio.

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, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the PSP 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.

About Sucker Punch Productions

Sucker Punch Productions creates innovative games featuring award winning characters, artwork, and technology for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The Seattle based studio is the creator of the Sly Cooper series of action-adventure games- which have received IGDA and AIAS awards for "Original Game Character of the Year," "Outstanding Achievement in Animation," and "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction." Sucker Punch's next big title, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, is on store shelves September 27, 2005. Additional information can be found on the company's Web site at http://www.suckerpunch.com/ .

SOURCE: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

CONTACT: Jennifer Clark, +1-650-655-5994, or
jennifer_clark@playstation.sony.com, or Alyssa Casella, +1-650-655-3617, or
alyssa_casella@playstation.sony.com, both of Sony

Web site: http://www.suckerpunch.com/

Web site: http://www.playstation.com/