Published: June 16, 2009
2K Sports Signs NHL Superstar Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals as Cover Athlete for NHL 2K10
NEW YORK - (BUSINESS WIRE) - 2K Sports announced today that Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals,
the 2009 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Award winner and Hart Memorial Trophy
candidate, will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for the
next iteration of the popular NHL 2K franchise, NHL 2K10.
While leading the National Hockey League (NHL) in goals scored for the
second consecutive season, Ovechkin has become one of the most
recognizable faces of the NHL in only his fourth season, and will bring
his electrifying personality and unmatched passion for the game to NHL
2K10 this year.
"It's a good time to be Ovi!," said Ovechkin, left winger for the
Washington Capitals. "It's an incredible honor, and I look forward to
working with 2K Sports to make NHL 2K10 the most fun and
amazing hockey video game experience ever. I can't wait to put some of
my moves in there."
In celebration of the announcement, Ovechkin will be participating in 2K
Sports' first-ever outdoor hockey motion capture session tonight in the
Roman Plaza at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from 8:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
PT. The open-air rink recalls the September 27, 1991, LA Kings vs. New
York Rangers hockey showdown when Wayne Gretzky led the Kings to victory
in a similarly unusual and picturesque open-air setting at the famed Las
Vegas resort. Joining Ovechkin on the ice will be Vancouver Canucks
center and 2009 Selke Trophy finalist, Ryan Kesler, along with
play-by-play commentator for the San Jose Sharks, Randy Hahn, who will
act as host MC. Only media will be allowed into the rink area for this
private event, as synthetic ice will be laid down to create a special
hockey rink and 2K Sports' game producers will put Ovechkin through a
number of dynamic drills to capture his signature style data for NHL
2K10.
The 2009 NHL Awards will take place on Thursday in Las Vegas, and
Ovechkin is one of three finalists that are being considered for the
highly coveted Hart Memorial Trophy, an annual award given to the player
judged to be the most valuable to his team. The winner is selected via a
poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association in all NHL cities
held at the end of the regular season. Ovechkin is also a finalist for
the Lester B. Pearson Award, which honors the NHL's most outstanding
player as selected by the members of the NHL Players' Association.
Ovechkin was the winner of both awards last year, and has already
received this year's Maurice "Rocket" Richard Award for leading the NHL
in goals scored during the regular season.
Ovechkin, also known to fans as "Ovi" , was the first overall selection
in the 2004
NHL Entry Draft and is one of the most heart-pumping players to
watch in the NHL today. After winning the Calder
Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year in 2005-06, Ovechkin went on
to lead the NHL during the 2007â08
season with 65 goals and 112 points to capture the Maurice "Rocket"
Richard Award and Art
Ross Trophy. That season, he also won the Lester
B. Pearson Award and the Hart
Memorial Trophy. He is the first player to win all four awards in
the same season, and has participated in the NHL All-Star game in 2007,
2008, and 2009. This past season, Ovechkin led the NHL again with 56
goals, winning his second Maurice "Rocket"
Richard Award in as many years, joining Jarome
Iginla and Pavel
Bure as only the third player to win the award twice, and the second
player after Bure (2000â2001) to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
Developed by Visual Concepts, NHL 2K10 is not yet rated
by the ESRB and will be available this fall for Wii system from
Nintendo, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft,
PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system, and PlayStation®2 computer
entertainment system. For more information, please visit www.2ksports.com/games/nhl2k10.
2K Sports is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two
Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a
global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive
entertainment software games for the PC, PLAYSTATION3 and PlayStation®2
computer entertainment systems, PSP (PlayStationPortable) system, Xbox
360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii and
Nintendo DS . The Company publishes and develops products through its
wholly owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K, which publishes its titles
under 2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play. Take-Two also distributes
software, hardware and accessories in North America through its Jack of
All Games subsidiary. The Company's common stock is publicly traded on
NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information
please visit our website at www.take2games.com.
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Awards name and
logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team
marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. All Rights Reserved.
NHL 2K10 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHL.
NHL 2K10 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA, National
Hockey League Players' Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of
the NHLPA. (c) NHLPA.
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks
of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from
Microsoft.
"PlayStation," "PLAYSTATION" and "PS" Family logo are registered
trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo.
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their
respective holders.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are
considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and
may be identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "potential," "predicts,"
"projects," "seeks," "will," or words of similar meaning and include,
but are not limited to, statements regarding the outlook for the
Company's future business and financial performance. Such
forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs of our
management as well as assumptions made by and information currently
available to them, which are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks
and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual
outcomes and results may vary materially from these forward-looking
statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties including: our
dependence on key management and product development personnel, our
dependence on our Grand Theft Auto products and our ability to develop
other hit titles for current generation platforms, the timely release
and significant market acceptance of our games, the ability to maintain
acceptable pricing levels on our games, our reliance on a primary
distribution service provider for a significant portion of our products,
our ability to raise capital if needed, risks associated with
international operations, the matters relating to the investigation by a
special committee of our board of directors of the Company's stock
option grants and the claims and proceedings relating thereto (including
stockholder and derivative litigation, actions by governmental agencies
and negative tax or other implications for the Company resulting from
any accounting adjustments or other factors) and risks associated with
the Company's concluded process to evaluate its strategic alternatives
including stockholder litigation arising therefrom. Other important
factors and information are contained in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2008, in the section
entitled "Risk Factors," as updated in the Company's Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2009, and the Company's
other periodic filings with the SEC, which can be accessed at www.take2games.com.
All forward-looking statements are qualified by these cautionary
statements and apply only as of the date they are made. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5988225&lang=en
2K Sports
Bryan Lam, 415-507-7677
bryan.lam@2ksports.com
or
Access
Communications for 2K Sports
Brian Roundy, 917-522-3540
broundy@accesspr.com
or
Take-Two
Interactive Software, Inc.
Alan Lewis, 646-536-2983
alan.lewis@take2games.com
Copyright © 2010, Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010, NewsBlaze,
Daily News
Tags: Business wire, Games and Multimedia, nevada, new york, Sports, , High Tech, Consumer Electronics, Software