WRC 4:  The Official Game of the FIA World Rally Championship

London - September, 2004 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is pleased to announce the November release of WRC 4: The Official Game of the FIA World Rally Championship on PlayStation®2. Developed by Evolution Studios in close cooperation with International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC), the TV rights-holders of the Sport, WRC 4 is the fourth addition to the multi-million selling franchise and is the only officially licensed product of the FIA World Rally Championship for next generation consoles. 

WRC 4 allows fans to fully participate in the action of the WRC season, experiencing the thrill of all 16 WRC locations on 5 continents.  Including more than 100 different stages – Point to Point, Super Special, Shakedown and Sprint Stages – players can also choose to race in any of this year’s WRC rally locations, including the new rallies in Mexico and Japan.  As well as showcasing new cars, including the Peugeot 307 WRC, the Group N4s and Super 1600s, Evolution Studios has introduced online play allowing WRC 4 to recreate the true competition and the gritty, fast-paced realism of Rally on PlayStation 2. 

Encouraging players to take their rallying skills to another level, the revolutionary 1-16 player Online Mode introduces a number of new aspects to WRC 4,  primarily the innovative “live lobby” system – the first of its kind in any online rally game.  The live lobby allows players to get straight into the action, with no waiting around for games to begin or clumsy “challenge” system.  Even if already in progress, players can compete against other players ghost cars, whilst endeavouring to post their fastest time.  The top scores will then go on to receive Global Ranking points, tracking the player’s movement in the global high score table.  The more points achieved, the higher the position gained.   The player’s skill level is a measure of their current form taking points accrued over the past 50 games which are rated accordingly.  
An onstage replay camera gives the player the opportunity to review their performance and analyse how to shave those vital seconds off their time.

Buddy lists form the core of the online mode, enabling players to see what game their friends are currently playing before joining. Players are able to password protect  their custom games so they are able to pick and choose who has access, or keep an open game session and challenge players worldwide.

WRC 4 will be available in autumn 2004.

www.wrc4-thegame.com

For more information on SCEE titles, please visit our website

www.playstation.com

Developer:  Evolution Studios Genre:  Racing  No. Of Players:  1-4 (2-16 online)  
 Platform: PlayStation®2 
Peripherals: Analogue Controller (DUALSHOCK®2), Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation®2), Network Adaptor (Ethernet) (for PlayStation2), Speedster TM2, Driving Force USB Wheel.
Release Date: Autumn 2004 

WRC 4: The Official Game of the FIA World Rally Championship and translations thereof © 2004 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. All rights reserved. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Developed by Evolution Studios. An official product of the FIA World Rally Championship licensed by International Sportsworld Communicators Limited.