Major Milestone Achieved With Release of First Next Gen Game
for Xbox 360
Silverstar Reaffirms Prior Guidance For Q4
LONDON, June 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Empire Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings (Nasdaq:SSTR), is excited to announce that FlatOut Ultimate Carnage(tm) has now achieved gold status. The destructive and high-octane Xbox 360(tm) racer game will be launched on June 22, 2007.
Exceeding the already high expectations set for the game, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage has been hailed by the UK Specialist Gaming media as one of the best looking and technologically advanced racing games on the new Xbox 360 platform. "Wow, no seriously WOW!" wrote Xbox 360 World. "We've played it and we're very, very hot for it. Beautiful," said Games Radar. "... set to take the 360 by storm," according to 360 Gamer and "... this really can't be beaten" from Gamesmaster.
FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is a first of its kind in both gameplay and graphics. Building on the success of FlatOut 2, including multiple Racing Game of the Year awards and its status as an Xbox Live multi-player favourite, European support is focused on Xbox 360 websites and the Xbox Live marketplace.
Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings, stated, "The June 22 European launch date for FlatOut Ultimate Carnage represents a milestone for us. It is our first Next Gen product release -- and will be released on time during this quarter and was produced within budget. It has received enthusiastic initial reviews as well as very positive reactions from retailers throughout Europe. Our European orders are in line with our projections and reflect a ship date during June 2007. The completion of the project also fulfils our contractual obligations to our U.S. distribution partner, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Warner Bros. has been previewing the game to U.S. retail channels with an anticipated North American launch date in September 2007. The game has garnered positive feedback from U.S. retailers as well."
Mr Kabatznik concluded, "As previously announced, the launch of FlatOut Ultimate Carnage was a key driver for our fourth quarter revenues and earnings. Therefore, we are pleased to reaffirm prior quarterly guidance of revenues between $10.5 and $12.5 million, EBITDA of between $2.2 and $3.5 million and operating income between $400,000 and $1.7 million."
The first phase of the marketing blitz is to over three million dedicated gamers in Europe through the Xbox Community Network (XCN) and through playable demos made available through Xbox Live. Additionally, the game will receive extensive advertising support through both electronic and print media sources.
Rob Noble, Empire European Marketing Manager, stated, "The media campaign has strongly targeted Xbox 360 specialist websites for front-of-site rich media advertising. Xbox 360 gamers will see the ads more than two million times. This will include video footage of the destruction racing and invite people to enter competitions to win the chance to drive FlatOut Racing Experiences. The video trailer is now on Marketplace, the downloadable playable demo will be next and www.flatoutgame.com is designed to deliver the feel of the chaotic destruction in FlatOut with video, 3D screens, music and a special focus on the new Deathmatch Derby mode."
About Empire Interactive:
Empire Interactive is a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software that has been established for 19 years. Headquartered in the UK, Empire Interactive also has offices in the U.S., Germany, France and Spain. The company develops and publishes a varied range of titles for all current platforms in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Games such as Starsky & Hutch, Big Mutha Truckers, Ford Racing and FlatOut have all enjoyed success across the world. Its budget label, Xplosiv, is one of the fastest growing in Europe. Further information about Empire Interactive and its products can be found at www.empireinteractive.com.
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About Silverstar Holdings:
Silverstar Holdings, Ltd. is a publicly traded company (Nasdaq:SSTR), focusing on acquiring controlling positions in high-growth retail-driven and fee-based electronic game businesses that stand to benefit from the economies of scale generated by the Internet and other technology-related platforms. It currently owns Empire Interactive, PLC and Strategy First, Inc., a leading development and worldwide publisher of entertainment software for the PC.
About Bugbear Entertainment Ltd:
Bugbear Entertainment, Ltd. is an award-winning Finnish game developer focusing on action driving games with over 2.7 million units sold to date. The company's worldwide blockbuster hits are the highly innovative FlatOut and FlatOut 2 on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC CD with over two million units sold worldwide. Bugbear's international breakthrough was the critically acclaimed PC title Rally Trophy in 2001, which was followed with Tough Trucks on PC in 2003. An N-Gage exclusive story-driven arcade racer Glimmerati was published in July 2005 to rave reviews. The company has just finished FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for Xbox 360 and is working on other unannounced projects. For more information please visit www.bugbeargames.com.
About Xbox 360:
Microsoft revolutionized the gaming industry with the November 2001 launch of Xbox (www.xbox.com), its first-generation video game and entertainment system, now sold in 26 countries. Microsoft introduced its next-generation system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, in the 2005 holiday season in Europe, Japan and North America, and launched the system in Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan in 2006. Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft (www.xbox.com) is the most powerful video game and entertainment system, delivering the best games, the next generation of the premier Xbox Live online gaming service, and unique digital entertainment experiences that revolve around gamers.
The statements which are not historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future financial results, additional financing requirements, development of new products, regulatory approval processes, the impact of competitive products or pricing, technological changes, the effect of economic conditions and other uncertainties detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.