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NILE RODGERS, RENOWNED MUSIC PRODUCER TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE SOUNDTRACK TO "OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL" VIDEOGAME

Producer of Madonna's "Like A Virgin," David Bowie's "Let's Dance," and Many Others Lends His Talent to Forthcoming Xbox Game

NEW YORK, February 25, 2003 - Music producer and videogame fan, Nile Rodgers who produced mega hits such as Madonna's "Like A Virgin" and David Bowie's "Let's Dance" will be lending his talents to Simon & Schuster Interactive's "Outlaw Volleyball: Spike or Die" videogame soundtrack

(Xbox(tm) Live; Available: June 2003; Rated: "RP" by the ESRB). Rodgers will be the executive producer of the music in this much anticipated videogame.

"I'm a huge videogame fan," said Rodgers. "Last year I played 'Outlaw Golf' for the Xbox and couldn't put it down. It was a blast. When I heard Simon & Schuster was creating a new Outlaw game I wanted to get involved. I am a strong believer that game music is becoming as integral to the game experience as soundtracks are to movies. This is the hottest new area for 'earballs' so producing the soundtrack to 'Outlaw Volleyball gives me an opportunity connect with this audience and expose them to incredible new talent."

Final track listings for OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be announced soon.

About Nile Rodgers

The career of Nile Rodgers is one of the most enduring and prolific in music - from Madonna to Eric Clapton. Nile and his late partner Bernard Edwards introduced the world to CHIC in 1977. Their No. 1 hit "Le Freak" remains Warner Brothers' biggest selling single of all time. As a two-time Grammy Award winner and four-time Grammy Award nominee, Nile has written for, produced and/or played for artists such as Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Eric Clapton, the Vaughan Brothers, Mick Jagger, Duran, Duran, Britney Spears, Sting, B52's, Seal, Sister Sledge, Jeff Beck, INXS and many more. The Harry Fox Agency recently stated that Nile's music is the most sampled of all time with artists such as the Sugarhill Gang, Will Smith, P. Diddy, Notorious BIG, Faith Evans, Mojo and Spiller all having hits based on his songs. Nile is responsible as either artist, producer, or writer of songs that have accounted for sales of over

100 million records.

About OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL SPIKED GAMEPLAY

Players begin by choosing one of four game modes:

* Tour - Show your volleyball skills on all 10 courts

around the country.

* Exhibition - Want a quickie? Get going fast with a

quick game.

* Tutorials - Learn how to play with yourself with

this handy mode. Spikes, diving, and serves are just a few of the skills you'll learn.

* Drills - Get toned and ready to compete with fun mini-games

such as "Spectator Invaders", "Bump-a-palooza," "Block Party," and many

others.

NO ANIME CHARACTERS HERE

Unlike other games that feature cartoon-like anime teenage girls, OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL has the hottest, most detailed and rowdy ladies in any sport videogame to date. Check out these three arresting ladies:

* Summer - The famous blonde stripper from "Outlaw

Golf" reaches for larger balls in OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL.

* Harley - Also returning from the links is Harley.

Not since '8 Mile' has trailer trash looked this good.

* Donna Maroni - Straight from the paradise known as

Staten Island, Donna is one tough babe.

OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will also have 13 other characters to choose from for a total of 8 male and 8 female. Additional details on these wacky characters will be announced soon.

BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF EACH OTHER

Just like in OUTLAW GOLF, a key element to keeping your character's sanity is to beat on someone. This time instead of beating on a caddy, players can choose to beat on any of the two opposing players. And after beating on an opponent, the winner will get their opponent's composure and skill points. This will affect their gameplay during the match.

Fighting controls will be the same as seen in many fighting games.

Punching, kicking and basically beating of any sort will be allowed.

IS YOUR PARTNER NOT PERFORMING?

Want to be all you can be? Gamers will need to play through mini-games and drills to improve their player's attributes. After successfully completing them, points are rewarded and they can be used to improve attributes such as team work.

COURT - NOW IN SESSION

OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will have the most exotic locales seen in any volleyball game. There are 10 courts included in the retail version with additional courts that can be downloaded via Xbox Live.

Some of the courts included in the retail version are: Tar Beach (on the roof of a tenement), Dogville State Penitentiary, Vice Beach, plus

courts in sewers, jungles, and many others.

STOP PLAYING WITH YOURSELF!

OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be the first volleyball game to be on Xbox Live, allowing gamers to compete against others from around the world. Gamers can choose to play with up to 3 other players and compete in online

tournaments. Winning teams receive points and are ranked against others

from around the world.

AVAILABLITY

OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be available in June 2003 for the Xbox.

ESRB RATING OUTLAW VOLLEYBALL will be rated by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). All advertising and promotional materials currently carry a "RP" or "Ratings Pending" logo. More information on the ESRB and its rating system can be found at www.esrb.org.

Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

About Xbox

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Xbox Live

Xbox Live(tm) is the first comprehensive, online game arena fully dedicated to fast-action broadband gaming experiences. Xbox Live will allow gamers to play multiplayer Xbox games with other gamers everywhere via a high-speed Internet connection. With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, the Xbox console was built from the ground up to be an online gaming system.

Xbox Live will enable all gamers to find and play with their friends easily, talk to other players during game play through the Xbox Communicator headset, and download current statistics, new levels and characters to their Xbox hard drive.

Simon & Schuster Interactive www.ssinteractive.com  is the digital entertainment unit of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Based in New York, S&SI publishes entertainment, education and reference titles for the PC, Macintosh, Pocket PC, Sony Playstation 2®, Microsoft XBox®, Nintendo® Game Boy® Advance, and Nintendo GameCube*.

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.

Viacom is a leading global media company, with preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, and music. Viacom's well-known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, Viacom Outdoor, Infinity, UPN, The New TNN, TV Land,

CMT: Country Music Television, Showtime, Blockbuster, and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.



For More Product Information
Outlaw Volleyball (XB)