NEWS - Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Top Spin Hits Shelves This Week
Tennis is a nice game. Women wear pretty white dresses and men wear collared shirts and hit a little ball over the net in a civilized manner, but Microsoft’s XSN Sports™ is about to change all of that. Tennis is going to get a huge dose of attitude. Microsoft Game Studios today announced that “Top Spin,” the highly anticipated tennis game exclusively for the Xbox®, will take its serve and volley game to store shelves in North America on October 30 for an estimated retail price of $49.99. “Top Spin” is the complete tennis experience that allows gamers to define their playing style, take risks, pull off world-class tennis shots, taunt opponents and work the crowd to develop a unique image on the court. As part of the XSN Sports brand, “Top Spin” offers tennis fans the ability to create and compete in their own online tournaments via Xbox Live™ while keeping track of hard-earned stats on their own virtual sports page, the centralized website XSNsports.com. For the next few weeks, gamers have an opportunity to hone their skills in “Top Spin” against challengers both online and off. All XSN Sports’ features and functionality – including official XSN Sports “Top Spin” tournaments – will officially become available to tennis gamers on November 18. “Top Spin” has a variety of features including:- Intense action and realism. “Top Spin” delivers all the intensity of professional tennis, from cross-court winners and crushing ground strokes to rocket serves. Players can master all the shots, including slices, lobs, drops, spins and several trick shots.
- Courts. Gamers can battle it out on clay, hard court and grass surfaces, each impacting both player and ball movement. “Top Spin” features world-class tennis arenas as well as unique courts to play on including an airplane hangar, a desert court in Qatar and the fictitious “People’s Tennis Park” in China.
- XSN Sports. All XSN Sports games bring the power of the Xbox and the PC together for the first time through XSNsports.com, so gamers are always plugged into the competition. Tennis fans can customize their own “Top Spin” tours and tournaments to earn their rank, any time and any place, on a global scale using Xbox Live. Whether its taking on all challengers in singles matches, or finding a skilled partner for doubles play, it’s up to the gamer to control his or her own destiny.
- Player Creator. With one of the most in-depth player creator features ever seen in a sports game, gamers can mold facial features to create players that look exactly like themselves.
- Build a career. Customizing a player’s style and personality as well as getting coaching to correct a weakness are all parts of building a career in “Top Spin.” Gamers can work their way up from the local playground, through the amateur ranks, to playing real pros in the world’s top tournaments, while earning endorsements along the way.
- “In the Zone”. “Top Spin” challenges gamers to take risks. Tennis fans can try difficult shots to get their player “In the Zone," and use that momentum to improve their play. Gamers can develop their player’s image on the court by pumping his or her fist after a great shot, slamming a racket to the ground, or taunting an opponent.
- The Players. Featuring 16 top professionals including Anna Kournikova, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis and Lleyton Hewitt, “Top Spin” gives gamers a chance to be the best, or beat the best the tennis world has to offer.
Source: http://www.xboxlive.com
