Playboy: The Mansion coming to PS2 and Xbox
by Kit

Friday, April 23 2004

Throw your own parties, and setup your own photoshoots.

Co-publishers Groove Games and ARUSH Entertainment today announced that their upcoming title Playboy: The Mansion, published under license from Playboy Enterprises, will be available on the Xbox and PS2 video game systems during the 2004 Holiday season.

Currently under development at Cyberlore Studios, Playboy: The Mansion combines "intriguing" social interaction, party-throwing simulation and empire- building challenges.

The player steps into the virtual slippers of world-famous Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner, building Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Mansion into dynamic cultural icons. Gamers also will live the lifestyle, rubbing elbows with stunning women and popular celebrities, and share the mystique of the Mansion by hosting extravagant, exciting parties. Crafty management of the Mansion’s social scene will be required to keep the business end of things thriving. Scoring hot celebrity interviews and arranging sexy photo shoots are just some of the tasks that players will encounter in growing the empire. The innovative Photoshoot gameplay will allow the player to take control of the camera, shoot models for magazine covers and pick and choose the best overall theme for each issue in order to maintain the excellence that the buying public demands.

Rendered in a fully 3D environment with actual Playboy estate areas such as the Game House and the world-famous Playboy Grotto, the game portrays an accurate, virtually livable version of the actual Playboy Mansion. Gamers will be able to create their own versions of the Mansion as they step into the role of the Playboy mogul, hosting lavish parties designed to be the envy of Hollywood. With Campaign and Empire modes, players can either follow an intriguing and involved storyline, or be set loose to explore and create on their own.

The release of Playboy: The Mansion marks Playboy’s entry into the video game category and underlines the growth of Playboy’s licensing business in the entertainment arena. In addition to game industry advertising and merchandising initiatives, ARUSH and Groove will aggressively market the game in Playboy magazine and on Playboy.com to support the launch. Playboy readers spent over $300 million on video games over the last year with more than 3.1 million readers owning a video game system.

Playboy: The Mansion, distributed in North America by Hip Interactive, will be on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 2004 in West Hall Booth 2208. For more information on the game, please visit http://www.PlayHef.com.

--- Kit