Atari goes into bat for Ashes Cricket 2009

Mike Bantick
Monday, 11 May 2009 09:02

Your IT - Entertainment

The popular outdoor sport of Cricket is getting another indoor electronic iteration with Atari and Codemasters having a crack at Ashes Cricket 2009.

Publisher Atari Australia has announced the forthcoming chance for Australian gamers to again give the poms what for, with Ashes Cricket 2009.

According to Atari:  The Ashes, the most exciting and thrilling confrontation in international cricket, will be brought to game screens this July as Codemasters in partnership with Atari Australia, today announced it will publish Ashes Cricket 2009 as the official game of this year’s tournament for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and PC; a Nintendo Wii version will be released later in the year.

Providing gamers with the most authentic Ashes experience possible without having to don their whites, Ashes Cricket 2009 is fully licensed by Cricket Australia, the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) and the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club, the world's most famous cricket club and owner of the Ashes urn), providing the game with all the official players, kit, stadia – including Lords and The Brit Oval – and equipment from this year’s Ashes Series.

Coming from the home of video game cricket, Ashes Cricket 2009 is set to build on the heritage that Codemasters has enjoyed with its best-selling Ricky Ponting series and will continue to lead the field with great batting, bowling and fielding gameplay and authenticity that made the series a huge hit with cricket fans the world over. The title is being produced by Codemasters and in development at Transmission Games (Ricky Ponting 2007 Pressure Play (PSP)).

Delivering all the exciting, athletic, skilful and technical elements of the sport, the game’s comprehensive ‘Ashes’ mode will feature all five Tests played out at carefully detailed recreations of each authentic venue. In addition, gamers will also be able to play Test matches, One Day Internationals, 20 over games and a series of challenge modes. The high definition current generation versions will feature full online multiplayer as well as support for local multiplayer games.

“The Ashes is set to be the sporting event of the European summer and it’s great to be producing the official game of the series,” commented Jamie Firth, Producer, Codemasters. “In partnering with the development team at Transmission Games, Ashes Cricket 2009 is a cricket title with an unprecedented heritage that comes from two companies that know and love the sport. Codemasters’ cricket titles became the number one cricket gaming brand for over ten years and it’s a reputation that we fully intend to continue with Ashes Cricket 2009.”