PlayStation 2 to get Music and LMA Manager 2001, Codemasters’ genre-dominant gaming brands.

Codemasters’ PlayStation 2 line up will be led with Music and LMA Manager, two of the company’s best selling PlayStation-exclusive video game brands. Debuting for the Easter holidays in 2001, LMA Manager 2001 and the new Music title will be Codemasters’ first titles to be published for the new console.

LMA Manager 2001 on PlayStation 2 continues the game’s PlayStation heritage of being the only football management game designed especially for consoles, rather than PC. 

LMA Manager 2001 on PlayStation 2 will be the console’s first truly pan-European football management game. Rather than featuring just the English and Scottish leagues of the PlayStation One version, LMA Manager 2001 on PlayStation 2 opens up the whole of Europe giving players absolute control over any of the English, Scottish, Italian, German, Spanish or French league football clubs.

With hundreds of clubs across 32 countries, over 300 stadiums across Europe and 8000+ authentic players, complete with home, away and goalkeeper strips, Codemasters is confident it will repeat its predecessor’s 32-bit success and become the number one football management selling game on the console.

Another best-selling PlayStation brand making a welcome reappearance on PlayStation 2 is Codemasters’ Music. The company’s genre-creating Music is the only music-based creativity package for video game consoles.

The new Music project is in development at Jester Interactive, the company that devised the original software, and is scheduled for a spring 2001 launch. The, as yet untitled, PlayStation 2 edition promises to take advantage of the benefits offered by the machine’s hardware and will deliver a revolutionary new approach in the creativity software itself. 

Codemasters is promising the most user-friendly computer music package created for home systems. The PlayStation 2 title will offer incredible flexibility, even to the extent of having a customisable front end. The software will expand on the range of different musical styles offered by previous incarnations and will eliminate the constant riff loading, provide users with instant access to samples.

Says Mike Hayes, Codemasters’ Marketing Director, “Both LMA Manager and Music are two of Codemasters’ most successful PlayStation game brands and perfect to bring onto PlayStation 2. The developments are not simple conversions from PlayStation One originals but fully designed and developed for the PlayStation 2 and its expectant audience.”

ENDS

CODEMASTERS WEB SITE

•	www.codemasters.com

| Notes to Editors:
Established in 1986, Codemasters is a leading developer and publisher of best-selling interactive entertainment products for a global audience on current and future gaming platforms and channels. This has been quite a year for Codemasters. The company is the winner of Queen’s Award For Enterprise in the Innovation category and was featured in the Sunday Times’ Fast Track taking the number two position for the highest annual profit growth at 118.97%. Furthermore, the Central Region’s Entrepreneur of The Year 2000 awards saw David Darling, Founder and Chief Executive of Codemasters, scoop both the “Overall Entrepreneur of the Year” and “Young Entrepreneur Of The Year” awards. Codemasters’ genre-leading brands include Colin McRae Rally, Touring Cars, Micro Machines/Maniacs, and LMA Manager. With an annual turnover in excess of $100 million, the company is headquartered in Southam, Warwickshire, UK where it employs over 400 staff, and maintains European operations in Germany, France, Spain, Benelux and plans to set up operations in Scandinavia. The company entered the US publishing market in 1999 and has an online gaming US-based development facility in Oakhurst, CA. More information about the company and its products is available online at www.codemasters.com.