From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Dec 11 2002 - 21:39:39 MST
Rafal,
It seems Hugh Hefner's business manager was
eavesdropping on our conversation.
Dec 11, 2002
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For almost 50 years, Playboy
founder Hugh Hefner has made a living selling the
dream of his lavish lifestyle featuring the opulent
mansion, decadent parties, and beautiful women.
Now the company has signed a deal to offer video game
junkies the chance to don Hef's fabled smoking jacket
and slippers and stroll through the legendary love
den.
Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:PLA - news), which
oversees the internationally-known Bunny brand, on
Wednesday said it has entered into a licensing deal
with privately held game developers Groove Games and
Arush Entertainment for a series of titles.
The companies said the first game, targeted for a 2004
release on all major game platforms, would let players
take a crack at building the Playboy empire and
"living the ultimate Playboy lifestyle."
Citing market research, Playboy said its readers spent
more than $300 million on video games in the last
year. Video game hardware and software sales are
expected to top $10 billion in the United States in
2002.
"The game will probably be getting an 'M' rating,"
Donald Case, a spokesman for Scottsdale, Arizona-based
Arush, told Reuters.
An "M" rating, as assigned by the Entertainment
Software Rating Board, means that a game is not
intended for anyone under the age of 17.
"It most likely will not feature full frontal
(nudity), but it will contain topless stuff," Case
said.
He said it has not yet been decided if the player will
actually take the role of Hefner or a Hefner-like
character.
Case added that while the license is exclusive for
simulation-type games for seven years, Playboy still
has the right to license its brand for other types of
games.
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