The house that Sonic built has jumped on the Unreal Engine 3 bandwagon, licensing Epic Games' tools and tech for some unannounced North American-developed games. Sega joins Capcom, Square-Enix, Activision, Silicon Knights and many more as those who just can't get enough UE3 in their development lives.

Now, this doesn't mean that we're going to be up to our ears in even more bald space marines, as the engine is capable of much more. However, if Sega does intend to use this for the upcoming Aliens RPG, it's not going to help perception of Epic's platform.

Let's hope the company is putting this to good use on something like a next-gen Samba de Amigo, Streets of Rage or Shinobi. Don't cross your fingers. Michael McWhertor

SEGA LICENSES EPIC GAMES' UNREAL ENGINE 3 FOR UPCOMING NEXT-GEN TITLES

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (May 16, 2007) - SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games to adopt the Unreal Engine 3 for use in several upcoming projects being developed in North America.

"SEGA is pleased to arm our developers with the sophisticated tools contained in Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America, Inc. "Its versatility and power will help SEGA create incredible gaming experiences."

"Epic is extremely excited to be working with SEGA," said Mark Rein, Vice President, Epic Games, Inc. "SEGA has a long history of innovation and leadership in our industry and we're honored that they've chosen to use Unreal Engine 3."

Details of the projects currently being worked on will be announced later in the year.

About SEGA of America, Inc.
SEGA of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The SEGA of America, Inc. Web site is located at www.SEGA.com.

About SEGA Europe Ltd.
SEGA Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe's Web Site is located at www.sega-europe.com.

About Unreal Engine 3
The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for cutting-edge graphics and a best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 is expected to maintain those features while adding massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations, and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry. Unreal Engine 3's new toolset is designed specifically to accelerate developers' productivity for ultra-complex, next-generation content. Additional information on Unreal Engine can be obtained at www.unrealtechnology.com.

About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and game engine technology for PC and console. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in their Unreal series and their latest game, Gears of War , broke sales records on Xbox 360 selling more than 3 million copies worldwide in the first ten weeks and awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Game Developers Choice Awards, GameSpot, GamePro and many others. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including, Console Game of the Year winner, "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell TM" by Ubi Soft; PC Gamer's Game of the Year, "Deus Ex" from Ion Storm/Eidos; "America's Army: Special Forces," by the United States Army, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (PC) by Electronic Arts. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic Games was also awarded Studio of the Year at the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards and Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through Epic's Web site at http://www.epicgames.com.

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