Hot Shots Tennis Ready to Serve Up High Energy Sports Action for PlayStation®2

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today the release of Hot Shots Tennis, available exclusively throughout North America for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Developed by Clap Hanz, the team behind the highly acclaimed Hot Shots Golf® franchise, Hot Shots Tennis is a free-wheeling sports action game, designed to provide endless fun for both gaming novices and veteran players alike. Available at $29.99 MSRP, Hot Shots Tennis provides huge entertainment value, offering brisk gameplay, brilliant graphics, and multiplayer action that fans of the series have grown to love. Casual gamers will enjoy the game’s pick up and play design, zany characters, and multiple game modes. More seasoned players will uncover a deep feature set that brings a variety of strokes and challenge modes to master.

“Clap Hanz has their own wonderfully addictive style of fun and Hot Shots Tennis is no exception, from over-the-top characters to solid gameplay with realistic physics,” said Jeff Reese, Director, Software Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. “With intuitive controls and a scaling level of difficulty, Hot Shots Tennis will encourage both hardcore and casual gamers to jump right in and get hooked.”

Players can choose from up to 14 playable characters, each with a distinct personality and set of tennis skills, as well as select from five wacky chair umpires. In addition, players will have access to 11 different court locations, each with different surfaces and distinct settings, such as lush jungles, beachside resorts, ancient ruins, and traditional Japanese gardens. The eye-popping visuals, unique characters, and play styles all combine to provide a nearly endless variety of gameplay and personality to experience.

Those looking for an individual challenge can play the “Hot Shots Challenge Mode,” where the goal is to excel in seven different player classes while unlocking hidden items such as new players, costumes, court settings, and chair umpires. For multiplayer team fun, players can hook up extra controllers and get the party started with head-to-head two-player matches or four-player doubles action (with a PlayStation 2 multitap). Novice players will appreciate the intuitive control scheme and pick up and play action, while tennis enthusiasts will enjoy the challenge of mastering shot direction, timing, and angles to become a true tennis champ. Additionally, Hot Shots Tennis provides a comprehensive training mode, where players can take part in various on-court drills to improve timing and accuracy, earning scores that can be saved as a benchmark for skill progression. All of these elements are tied together with the signature Hot Shots look and feel to deliver tennis action that’s one of a kind.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates Hot Shots Tennis “E” for “Everyone” (Descriptors: Mild Suggestive Themes). For more information about the ESRB, visit www.esrb.org.