MMMMEEEEEEEEOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Malcolm’s Translation: ManiaPlanet and Trackmania 2 Canyon announcements and fact sheet]

UBISOFT® SPEEDS AHEAD ON DEVELOPMENT OF MANIAPLANET AND TRACKMANIA2 CANYON

Closed Beta Of Sequel to Popular Online Racing Game and New Network Gaming System Coming in July

London, UK – April 27th, 2011 – Today, Ubisoft announced that TrackMania2 Canyon, the sequel to the hit racing game TrackMania, will be available as a closed beta beginning in July. The TrackMania2 Canyon closed beta also will mark the beginning of ManiaPlanet, a new networked gaming system for PCs that provides easy-to-use tools for community-based game creation and participation.

After Nadeo released TrackMania in 2003, the game and its extensions grew to become an online phenomenon, attracting more than nine million players who in turn created hundreds of thousands of customized racetracks, thousands of videos, and hundreds of 3D car models. Nadeo has improved upon that foundation with TrackMania2 Canyon, delivering tremendous advances in graphic quality, racing realism and network infrastructure while maintaining the intuitive gameplay, captivating racing modes and familiar community tools that make the TrackMania series unique.

“TrackMania always has been about delivering the purest, simplest and most enjoyable form of racing, and combining it with the creativity and talent of our online community,” said Stephanie Perotti, worldwide online director at Ubisoft. “With TrackMania2 Canyon, we’re giving players a more modern, realistic and visually stunning racing experience that they can build upon and personalize in ways that simply aren’t possible with other racing games.”
TrackMania² Canyon will be the first game released on ManiaPlanet, a system offering customers an unparalleled networked gaming experience. ManiaPlanet includes the creative instruments already familiar to the TrackMania community – such as the map editor, the players’ creations explorer and the ranking and match-making systems – and extends them into other popular gaming genres, including the first-person shooter and the role-playing game. As part of ManiaPlanet, these tools also will become more interactive and easier to access, resulting in greater game depth and diversity for players.

In addition to TrackMania2 Canyon, a closed beta of ShootMania, ManiaPlanet’s FPS, will be available in the coming months. QuestMania, an RPG, also will be available via closed beta at a later date. The result will be a single ManiaPlanet community where players are free to engage with any of the three games however they choose, whether by creating and communicating, organizing and cooperating, competing, or simply playing for fun.
“ManiaPlanet is about putting players at the center of the gaming experience,” said Perotti. “With TrackMania, ShootMania and QuestMania, we’re offering approachable, fun and first-rate online titles. More importantly, these games are powered by the players and their limitless imaginations and creativity.”

More information about ManiaPlanet, TrackMania, ShootMania and QuestMania can be found here: www.maniaplanet.com

 

MANIAPLANET – A new gaming network for a new generation of players…

Maniaplanet takes the network gaming dimension of TrackMania’s racing universe and brings it to two brand new products from Nadeo: ShootMania and QuestMania.

Maniaplanet contains several unique elements all rolled into one online environment: a creative suite that allows you to design your own levels, a massive online network to distribute them worldwide, and a competitive gaming environment for immediate multiplayer action. For instance, Maniaplanet will allow you to quickly and easily create challenging FPS maps for Shootmania – then test them instantly and share them with your friends for the ultimate customized battle experiences. QuestMania will be based on the same principle of easy creation and intuitive gameplay in its own novel role-playing setting.

Whether you’re a pro level creator, you just want to test your skills with challenging maps – or you just want to play on the best maps available, Maniaplanet offers it all; including one of the best world and regional ranking systems of any game network.

More than 9 million people have already raced, created and shared the fun with others on TrackMania. The addition of ShootMania and QuestMania will create the best 2.0 gaming experience to fans of even more genres.

With the player right at the center of the experience, Maniaplanet takes gaming to another dimension; games will be played the way YOU want!

 

TRACKMANIA 2 CANYON – The TrackMania phenomenon is back!

Developer: Nadeo
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release date: Q4 2011
Genre: Racing
Rating: PEGI 3+

Trackmania returns, part of the brand new Maniaplanet network gaming system which will also include ShootMania, an online shooter game and QuestMania, an innovative new RPG.

TrackMania² Canyon will let you experience the fun and adrenaline of racing stunning cars on sensational tracks in a major update to Nadeo Studio’s online racing phenomenon.

TrackMania² Canyon goes far beyond traditional driving games with arcade racing in a fully customizable world of tracks generated by players themselves! With loops, wall rides, ramps and a multitude of other stunts, you’re in for the ride of your life.

Key Features

• INCREDIBLE UPGRADED GRAPHICS. Race in a stunning Canyon environment with infinite possibilities and optimized to run on most PCs.
• ENHANCED CREATIVE FREEDOM on tracks and scripts. More design elements and programmable parameters than ever before.
• INTUITIVE AND ACCESSIBLE GAMEPLAY in both solo and multiplayer modes.
• UNIQUE ARCADE RACING EXPERIENCE. The car feels more realistic and the handling is more precise than ever.
• FUN AND CRAZY MULTIPLAYER. 100+ players can challenge each other at once!
• OFFICIAL RANKINGS in both solo and multiplayer modes.
• IN-GAME VIDEO STUDIO. Edit TV-quality highlights of your best races.
• EMBEDDED COMMUNITY TOOLS. Share amazing creations and video highlights with people from all over the world.