Prince of Persia - the Sands of Time

Ubi Soft and Jordan Mechner Announce a Fresh Take on the Legendary Prince of Persia Series for Holiday 2003

Ubi Soft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, today announced it is developing a brand new Prince of Persia game: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Jordan Mechner, creator of Prince of Persia, is working hand in hand on the latest title in the series with Ubi Soft's Montreal production studio, most recently renowned for creating Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. Scheduled to ship for all platforms starting in Q4 2003, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is poised to become the latest success story in a series of hit games from Ubi Soft.

First recognized for groundbreaking cinematic techniques in games like Karateka, The Last Express and, of course, Prince of Persia, Mechner is now widely heralded as one of the world's premier computer game designers. Ubi Soft's partnership with Mechner is a reflection of its ongoing strategy to work directly with the industry's best and brightest.

"With Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ubi Soft and Jordan Mechner are channeling their combined talents to breathe new life into the action/adventure genre. They're creating rich characters, white-knuckle action and a plot with more twists than the exotic, elaborate castle featured in the game," said Serge Hascoet, Editor in Chief, Ubi Soft Entertainment. "We're thrilled to move forward with the legendary Prince of Persia brand and eagerly await the launch of the next masterpiece from our world-famous Montreal studio."

A new Ubi Soft brand, Prince of Persia is credited with changing the face of computer gaming in the 1990s by introducing lifelike animation and story-driven action. The franchise was one of the first to gain success based on an appealing human lead character and a dramatic storyline. The first three games in the series boast combined sales of more than 3 million units.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time takes place within an exotic, mysterious world representing Persian architecture, animals and attire. After his father invades the palace of the Maharajah, the Prince, tricked by a treacherous vizier, uses a magic dagger to release the dangerous Sands of Time from an ornate hourglass. With the aid of a beautiful, mysterious, and potentially untrustworthy ally, players embody the Prince to recapture the Sands of Time and restore peace to the land.

March 3, 2003

Jim - News Contributor, GameCubicle