Sega® Corporation today announced that the company has signed a binding letter of intent (LOI) with Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. to co-publish all SEGA ESPN Videogames sports titles, including ESPN NFL Football, ESPN NBA Basketball, ESPN NHL Hockey, ESPN College Hoops and ESPN Major League Baseball worldwide.

The ESPN Videogames titles, developed and marketed by California-based Visual Concepts Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of SEGA Corporation, will be co-published under the Sega/Global Star Software label. Under the terms of the worldwide agreement, Take-Two will be the exclusive distributor of ESPN videogames while SEGA will provide development infrastructure and marketing support.

The multi-year co-publishing and distribution agreement includes a provision for Take-Two to further extend its participation in Sega's sports game business and all associated intellectual property for current and future gaming platforms. Exclusive distribution of ESPN Videogames will be managed by Jack of All Games in North America and Take-Two Europe for international territories.

"The combined efforts and resources of SEGA and Take-Two will create an exciting and powerful partnership that will heighten the level of aggressive competition in the sports game segment," said Hisao Oguchi, Representative Director and President of SEGA Corporation. "Along with this deal, Sega is committed to offering great entertainment in the growing overseas market."

"We believe this exclusive relationship with Sega is an exceptional opportunity for Take-Two," said Paul Eibeler, Take-Two President. "We have tremendous respect for the critically acclaimed properties Visual Concepts have created and are confident in Take-Two's global sales and distribution resources will be able to fully support the products."

Visual Concepts' critically acclaimed ESPN Videogames are considered some of the most innovative, high-quality sports games on the market. ESPN NBA Basketball, and ESPN NHL Hockey were the world's #1-rated games last year in their respective genres, and ESPN NFL Football is a top-ranked offering considered by many to be the most realistic, true-to-life football simulation available anywhere and for any price.

Source:XboxSolution