EIDOS PLC ANNOUNCES
HITMAN CONTRACTS
Copyright 2004 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ April 13th 2004 ]
Eidos,
one of the world's leading publishers and developers
of entertainment software, today announced that
its highly-anticipated, action-stealth game Hitman:
Contracts, developed by IO Interactive, has gone
gold for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment
system, the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft
and the PC and will be available at retail beginning
April 21, 2004 in North America. The release of
Hitman: Contracts will be supported by a massive
multi-million dollar marketing campaign -- one
of the largest to-date by Eidos North America.
"As the
follow-up to the multi-million unit selling Hitman
2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts is one of
this year's 'must-have' titles for gamers. Eidos
will unleash an exciting marketing campaign with
tremendous reach and frequency to back the next
installment," said Paul Baldwin, Vice President
of Marketing for Eidos Inc.
Hitman:
Contracts will be backed by an in-depth marketing
campaign encompassing television, radio, print,
online, channel and public relations activities.
The multi-million dollar "make the hit" television
campaign features four different 15 and 30-second
spots, which will run for a total of six weeks
beginning two weeks prior to the game's in-store
date. The radio campaign will run nationwide for
two months on the Howard Stern Show, and it will
feature live reads and sponsorship in the second
annual "Mrs. Butterface" contest during the week
of May 10, 2004. Hitman: Contracts' print effort
includes ads slated to run in lifestyle publications
such as FHM, Blender, Penthouse and Stuff magazines.
Eidos will also achieve significant reach via
major advertising for the game in all the gaming
magazines.
Additionally,
Eidos will charge a focused online campaign, part
of which includes releasing the Hitman: Contracts
television spot via Interscope Records and the
50 Cent and Eminem DeskSite units. DeskSite is
a highly- targeted, customizable, opt-in software
program that automatically delivers full-screen,
broadcast-quality video entertainment directly
to the consumer's PC desktop.
On the
channel front, major retail promotions will flank
high-impact frontline real estate at prominent
retail venues such as Best Buy, EB Games, GameStop,
Toys 'R' Us, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and
more. Eidos will back the Hitman: Contracts launch
with pre-order incentives, employee sales programs,
and top-tier in-store merchandising and national
ad support. In addition, the title will be promoted
via mainstream consumer and gaming focused comprehensive
public relations campaigns.
Hitman:
Contracts is the follow-up to Hitman 2: Silent
Assassin, which to- date has sold more than three
million copies since its release in November 2002.
The game explores the dark psychology of killing
for a living as the player takes on the role of
the world's deadliest assassin, Agent 47. Hitman:
Contracts promises to be the most disturbing and
action-packed episode of the series. Hitman: Contracts
is in development by IO Interactive, the Danish-
based studio recently acquired by Eidos. Hitman:
Contracts will ship throughout Europe beginning
April 30.
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