Backyard Football ships

Donovan McNabb Stars in Infogrames' First Ever Backyard Sports Console Game Best-Selling CD-ROM Series Makes Nintendo GameCube Debut With Backyard Football BEVERLY, Mass., Oct. 28 - Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl Quarterback and NFL® standout, helps lead the Backyard Sports(TM) CD-ROM series to a whole new field this week. Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM - News), the National Football League® (NFL) and Players, Inc. have announced that two new Backyard Football(TM) games have shipped to retail. Backyard Football(TM) for Nintendo GameCube(TM), the first game in the award-winning Backyard Sports(TM) series to launch on the Nintendo® console, is joined by Backyard Football for the Nintendo's® Game Boy® Advance system. Both games will be the only console football games that let kids play with NFL pros featured as kids, including McNabb and nine other pros. "The growth of the console gaming market among kids under the age of twelve is growing tremendously, with the Nintendo GameCube proving to be very popular," said Petrina McPhee, director of brand marketing for Infogrames kids line. "Bringing the Backyard Sports series to the console market was the next logical step for the brand as sports games lend themselves very well to the console experience." "We are pleased to be partnering with Infogrames again to introduce the football experience to kids with the Backyard Football games," said NFL Vice President of Consumer Products Gene Goldberg. "These games let kids experience the game of football in a fun interactive way while teaching them the basics about the game and letting them play with their real-life heroes." In another effort to bring the Backyard Football experience to kids, the NFL and Infogrames' Backyard Football games have partnered to bring the Backyard Kids(TM) to national TV. Aimed at helping to teach football to kids, "NFL Backyard Basics: Football Tips from the Pros," is a TV special that stars Backyard Kids and real life and animated NFL stars. Airing on CBS at 2:00 PM on November 16th, this special features Donovan McNabb and five other NFL pros teaching football basics to kids around the country. McNabb appears as himself and as his kid counterpart from the Backyard Football game on the Nintendo GameCube(TM) system. In Backyard Football for Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance, kids choose their teams from 30 Backyard Kids and ten National Football League pros including Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos®, the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre, Rich Gannon and Jerry Rice of the Oakland Raiders(TM), the San Francisco 49ers'® Jeff Garcia, Jevon Kearse of the Tennessee Titans®, the Indianapolis Colts'® Peyton Manning, the Atlanta Falcons'® Mike Vick and the Miami Dolphins'® Ricky Williams. Players select to play as one of the 32 NFL teams or create their own by choosing custom team names and uniforms. Then it's off to the field where kids can choose one of seven fields and whether they want to play a single game or a season's worth. Backyard Football for Nintendo GameCube contains a tutorial that explains the basics of football -- from the object of the game to what each player specifically does and examples of certain plays. It also features the first time the Backyard Kids and the Backyard environments appear in 3D, as well as an instant replay feature and rumble feedback. Both Backyard Football games support head-to-head play -- Backyard Football for Nintendo GameCube with two Controllers or with a Game Link® cable in Backyard Football for Game Boy Advance. Developed by Left Field and Humongous Entertainment, Backyard Football for Nintendo GameCube is suited for ages 7 and up and is available at retail nationwide for an approximate retail price of $49.99. Backyard Football for Game Boy Advance was developed by Torus Games and Humongous Entertainment and retails for approximately $29.99. Backyard Football(TM) 2002 (Win/Mac), the #1 selling football CD-ROM game for 2001 (according to NPD Techworld), is also currently available at retail for approximately $19.99.