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GBA

Next Generation Tennis coming to GBA

by Billy Berghammer - June 17, 2002, 12:14 pm EDT

No really, that's the name of the game. All the info right here...

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WANADOO presents Next Generation Tennis on PS2 (RRP £29.99) / GBA (RRP £24.99) / PC (RRP £19.99)

Due for release in July 2002.

Who has never dreamed of stepping into a famous player’s shoes, of playing on the centre court and of having your winning shot applauded by a jubilant crowd? For those who want to try their luck, Next Generation Tennis will give them access to the most prestigious tennis courts in the world.

For the casual as well as the passionate fan, Next Generation Tennis combines responsive gameplay and stunningly realistic settings.

Playing Next Generation Tennis is like playing a match and watching it live on TV at the same time, with slow motion replays, umpire announcements, realistic player behaviour and crowd noise all adding that touch of authenticity. With over 10 game modes (including 4 hidden ones), Next Generation Tennis offers a broad palette of pleasures, from the most classic to the most innovative. Check out the attached shot of two of the world's top tennis starts, Gustavo Kuerten (curly hair) and Sébastien Grosjean (brown hair) enjoying a game of Next Generation Tennis at this year's E3 (for a high-resolution image contact adam@lunchpr.com ; for player biogs, see below).

The Career mode, for example, lets the user create a player profile (man or woman) and take on the greatest players on the professional circuit. As an upcoming bright hope of the tennis world, the player’s aim is to reach the very top after twenty seasons. Taking part in training sessions and winning at singles and doubles will improve the player’s abilities as he strives for perfection.

The player created can then be reused in the other game modes (see ‘game features’ below). A password will be provided at the end of each career to enable the player to compare his performance with hundreds of others on the game’s official website…

Certain modes take full advantage of the Multiplayer mode (such as the ‘Challenge’ mode which allows the player create his own tournaments) while others are pure arcade style (as in the ‘Two against one’ and ‘Race’ modes in which the player must defeat as many opponents in a row as possible in one-game or one-point matches). In most modes, the player can unlock bonuses related to his performance (new modes, court types, locations, players, kit and videos).

Thanks to the help of the teams at Roland Garros and the US Open, who provided exact plans of their stadiums, the development team were able to produce faithfully accurate models of the most famous courts at Roland Garros and the US Open, as well as of 6 other courts with different surfaces (grass, synthetic). The playersb (including ten top professionals – see Appendix, below) must prove themselves on the authentic courts of these world-famous tournaments, in front of crowds who react to their performance.

For the creation of Next Generation Tennis, Wanadoo put together a team of over 17 people from Carapace and 5 from Spark, all passionate about sport and with experience of developing top level games. Their CVs include titles such as Rayman 2, F1 Racing, Dinosaur, etc…

To this team we added the specialist experience of Alain Solvès. A trainer on the professional circuit, he defined each player’s profile, giving them personal playing styles and tactics in order to increase the game’s realism. His input was crucial in ensuring that the game reproduced all of tennis’ many subtleties.

Next Generation Tennis - Game Features

A true tennis simulation

2 official licences: Roland Garros and US Open, with 6 faithfully recreated courts

4 main types of shot available (lob, top spin, normal, slice) as well as side spin

Ball behaviour tailored for different surface types

Realistic player behaviour based on their playing styles and preferred surfaces

Over 500 animations created with motion capture

Artificial Intelligence developed with the co-operation of a professional trainer

F.T.F sound banks used for background sound effects + Surround sound

Rich and varied content

12 courts and 4 different surfaces + different locations + 3 training courts + 2 hidden courts (sand and ice)

10 professional players (including 4 women) with playing styles modelled on their temperament and faithfully recreated physical appearances

The possibility of playing a man against a woman in singles or doubles

Arcade and simulator modes:

Arcade: play successive opponents in singles or doubles

Exhibition: singles, doubles, or two against one

Challenge: create your own tournament

Career: create a player and aim to reach the highest level after 20 seasons. Compare performances on the Internet

Race: defeat as many opponents in a row as possible in one-game or one-point matches

Training

Numerous bonuses (hidden modes, locations, kits, players, courts...) to be unlocked in all game modes

Up to 4 players in Multi Tap on PS2 and LAN on PC

Press contact:

Adam Hartley, Tamasen Franks or Danielle Woodyatt at Lunch PR

T 020 7633 0633

E firstname@lunchpr.com

120 Southwark St, London, SE1 OSX

Appendix: The Players

Gustavo Kuerten

Gustavo Kuerten is Brazilian and was born in 1976.

Guga has showed that he has a real gift for tennis : he has won sixteen tournaments until now. He won the French Open three times (1997, 2000 and 2001) and, in 2000, he won the Masters Cup and finished the year ranked number one in the world; he is the first South American player to achieve this performance.

Guga has as well won five Masters Series tournaments : Monte-Carlo in 1999 and 2001, Cincinnati in 2001, Hamburg in 2000 and Rome in 1999. His best shots are his serve and his backhand down the line.

Besides tennis, Guga enjoys soccer and surfing. He also has his own website : www.guga.com .

Sébastien Grosjean

Sébastien Grosjean is French and was born in 1978. Sébastien has won two tournaments in his career including the Paris Masters Series in 2001 and the Nottingham tournament in 2000. He played for the first time the Masters Cup in 2001, in Sydney, and showed all his talent by reaching the finals.

2001 has been a very good year for Sébastien : he reached Australian Open, French Open and Monte Carlo Masters Series semi-finals and Marseille tournament finals, in his hometown.

Sébastien is a baseline player; his strongest shots are his serve and his forehand.

Tim Henman

Tim Henman was born in 1974 in England. He won 9 titles in his career, and is famous for his 3 semi-finals in Wimbledon. One of the biggest turning points of his career was his victory in 1997 against Kafelnikov on Centre Court at Wimbledon after what he began to believe in his abilities and kept on progressing. Tim is one of the world’s best players at the net and has also a very good serve.

Nicolas Kiefer

Nicolas Kiefer is German and was born in 1977. Nicolas won six titles during his career, including four in Asia. In 2000, he wins Dubai tournament –against Juan Carlos Ferrero- and Hong Kong tournament –against Mark Philippoussis. Moreover, he reaches two Grand Slams quarterfinals, at the Australian Open and at the US Open. In 2001, Nicolas reaches Moscow tournament finals and four Masters Series tournaments sixteenth-rounds (Cincinnati, Hamburg, Rome and Indian Wells).

Todd Martin

Todd Martin is American and was born in 1970. Todd has been twice finalist at a Grand Slam during his career; in 1994, he reaches the Australian Open finals and in 1999, the US Open finals. Todd has won 8 tournaments in his career and has reached 12 finals. Among others, he won Sydney tournament twice, in 1996 and in 1999. Todd’s strongest shots are his serve and his slice backhand.

Besides tennis, Todd plays golf and pool. He is one of the best golfer on tour with a handicap of two.

Tommy Robredo

Tommy Robredo is Spanish and was born in 1982. In 2001, Tommy, 19, has won Sopot tournament and has reached Casablanca tournament finals. As well, he reached round sixteen of the French Open and the US Open. In 2000, Tommy has won, in doubles, the Australian Open junior and the French Open junior titles. Moreover, he reached the French Open junior singles finals. The same year, he also won two challengers, Espinho and Sevilla.

He even has his own website (www.tommy-robredo.com).

Elena Dementieva

Elena Dementieva is Russian and was born in 1981. Elena has ended year 2001 ranked 15 in the world. She has been the first Russian woman to reach the US Open semifinals, in 2000. This same year, she captured the silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. She was as well a member of the Russian Fed Cup team in 1999 and 2001. In October 2001, in her hometown at the Moscow tournament, she reached the finals, beating in quarterfinals Martina Hingis ranked number 1 in the world at that time.

Elena is a baseline player who likes hard courts; her best shot is her crosscourt forehand.

Barbara Schett

Barbara Schett is Austrian and was born in 1976. Barbara has won three tournaments in singles and five in doubles in her career. She has been part of the Austrian Fed Cup team since 1993 and played the 2000 Olympic Games with the Austrian team. In 2000, Barbara won Klagenfurt tournament as No. 1 seed. She is right-handed with a two-handed backhand.

Chanda Rubin

Chanda Rubin is American and was born in 1976. Chanda won three tournaments in singles and ten in doubles including the Australian Open in 1996. She was part of the United States Olympic team in 1996 and of the United States Fed Cup team from 1995 until 1997 and in 1999. She reached her best ranking in 1996 when she was ranked 6th in the world.

Chanda is right-handed with a two-handed backhand.

Virginie Razzano

Virginie Razzano is French and was born in 1983. Virginie, despite her young age, has already a whole career behind her. She has been champion of France “minime” in 1997, champion of France “cadette” in 1998 and champion of France junior in 1999. In 1999, she wins the Australian Open junior and in 2000, the French Open junior. This same year, she plays the French Open in the senior main draw as well, and looses against Mary Pierce in the third round. In 2001, Virginie reaches again the third round at the French Open and at the Australian Open, and wins the Open Gaz de France in Paris in doubles with Iva Majoli.

She also likes to be close to her fan club and therefore has her own website : www.virginierazzano.com

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