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Updated 7:12 AM ET September 7, 1999 |
Called "A Winner" by Major Gaming Press, Mob Rule to be Backed by the Largest Marketing Campaign since Starship Titanic, Targeting Both Hard-Core and "Casual" Gamers Alike
NEW YORK (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE) - Simon & Schuster Interactive announced today it's much
anticipated PC game title MOB RULE (Windows(R) 95/98, $39.95 estimated
street) has shipped nation wide and is now available at computer
software retailers everywhere. The title will be backed by the largest
marketing campaign since the company's other hit PC/MAC game "Starship
Titanic."
MOB RULE has received critical acclaim from some of the largest
computer gaming and consumer press:
"For anyone who was disappointed by Gangsters, Mob Rule will cheer you
up. With good graphics, fun gameplay, and a great sense of humor, Mob
Rule looks to be a winner." - Game-Revolution.com
"What's really impressive about Mob Rule is the way that it takes
relatively simple concepts and tools and pulls them into tricky
scenarios which are always easier said than done." -- Happy Puppy
Games (happypuppy.com)
"Mob Rule is shaping up to be a fun little game for any would be
Capone or Siegel." - Computer Games Online (cdmag.com).
"The juxtaposition of city simulation and mob atmosphere is a natural,
and all indications are that Mob Rule will build on this foundation
with solid gameplay, a twisted sense of humor and a long list of
options that should entice even the choosiest gamers." - The
Adrenaline Vault (www.avault.com)
"Mob Rule is clever, addictive, and possibly one of the most
entrepreneurial games we've seen in a while." -- USA TODAY
"MOB RULE will be backed by our largest marketing campaign since
Starship Titanic," said Walter Walker, vice president of sales and
marketing for Simon & Schuster Interactive. "We are going to promote
this game to the hard-core gamers and to casual gamers alike."
The marketing campaign for MOB RULE will consist of:
- Broadcast TV ads - Network cable and local network TV affiliates
in top markets.
- National Consumer Print Press
- Hard core gaming publications - PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World,
Computer Games Strategy Plus
- Trade - MCV, Gameweek, GamesBusiness
- Online - Games sites, consumer web sites
- Poster Snipes - In key college markets.
About MOB RULE
Unlike anything in the entertainment software market today, MOB
RULE combines go-to-the-mat gameplay action with macabre comedy and
the artificial intelligence (AI) of a cityscape simulation to give
players a thoroughly entertaining strategy game.
Without Insurance You Could End Up Sleeping with the Fishes
Welcome to 1930's America. Thanks in a large part to Prohibition,
organized crime is on the rise and a number of criminal Families are
fighting for national control of the illicit markets - booze,
prostitution, numbers, you name it. It's a dog-eat-dog world of
corruption, murder and sex...and as the new kid on the block, you're
lookin' like a milk bone.
Your quest for total criminal control will take you to five
cities, all ready for that corrupt touch!
- Hicksville - Tiny backwater `burb with not an ounce of illegal
activity...until you arrive.
- Cripple's Bend - A snowed out wasteland just waiting for someone
to expose its penchant for corruption.
- Detroit - A decently sized city comprised principally of slums,
your job is half-done here when you arrive... can you finish it?
- New York - You'll need to become a worm in the Big Apple,
spreading your criminal businesses across its skin until the very
core disintegrates.
- Capital City: The Mother Lode - Over-run with powerful, rival
families, Capital City is your ultimate proving ground. If your
business acumen and paranoid tendencies are JUST right, you'll
walk away holding the leash of the North American Cosa Nostra.
You begin MOB RULE with one humble building from which you create
an empire. Start by taking over city blocks and adding the basics - a
soup kitchen (to get money to further your efforts), a breeder house
(you need to make new workers and tenants), and so on. To get you
going in the right direction, a Godfather is provided who helps you
through the "training missions." These missions will lay the
foundation for your world dominance.
Along the way, you'll learn how to:
- Build a new business - Peep show, Brothel, Burlesque Theater,
Saloon, Speak Easy and so on. All key to making big money to
further your "family."
- Bribe the police - There's two types of police - those that
monitor your `hood and the other your opponents'. You'll need to
bribe both so they won't "bust" your illegal business, and so
they'll leave you alone when your opponent's house mysteriously
blows up!
- Interact with "undesirables" - These are people you wouldn't dare
bring home to mom. From Hoodlums (they commit arson, among other
things) to Hookers (distract those Police with a good
strip-tease!), you're bound to find a character you can associate
with!
MOB RULE is now available for the PC (Windows (R) 98/95) at an
estimated street price of $39.95. A "demo" (or demonstration) version
of Mob Rule is available at all major online games sites or at the Mob
Rule web site: www.mobrule.net.
Mob Rule has been rated T or "Teen and above" by the
Entertainment Software Review Board (ESRB). More information can be
found at www.esrb.org.
Simon & Schuster Interactive (www.ssinteractive.com) is the
consumer software publishing unit of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Based in
New York, S&SI is the Codie Award winning publisher of the
best-selling "Douglas Adams Starship Titanic" adventure, the
best-selling parody "Deer Avenger," the award-winning Richard Scarry
children's software line and Star Trek(TM) entertainment / reference
titles.
Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc., is a
global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated
to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all
ages, across all printed and multimedia formats. Its divisions include
Simon & Schuster Trade Publishing, Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster
Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster New Media, Simon & Schuster
Online, Simon & Schuster U.K., and Simon & Schuster Australia. For
more information about Simon & Schuster, visit our website at
www.simonsays.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: All brand and company/product names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Contact: Simon & Schuster Interactive
Peter Binazeski, 212/632-3544
e-mail: peter.binazeski@simonandschuster.com
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