Activision: RZA in “DJ Hero 2”

From/De: Activision

Award-Winning Producer-Rapper RZA Joins All-Star Crew of Turntable Legends in DJ Hero(R) 2

Hip Hop Music Icon and Founder of The Wu-Tang Clan to Provide Likeness and Two Exclusive Mixes to 2010’s Best Soundtrack in Entertainment

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept 02, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Award winning producer-rapper, world famous DJ and founder of one of rap’s most influential groups, The Wu-Tang Clan, RZA will ascend to the virtual stage on October 19 in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) highly anticipated video game DJ Hero(R) 2. Joining a distinguished rank of playable characters appearing in the game, including Deadmau5, David Guetta, DJ Qbert, and Tiesto, RZA also mixed and produced two exclusive tracks featuring LL Cool J “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” Mixed With Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five “The Message” and Damian Marley “Welcome To Jamrock” Mixed With Walter Murphy “A Fifth of Beethoven.”

“I’m very excited to be involved with DJ Hero 2. As both a DJ and gamer from an early age, the game combines two of my passions,” said RZA. “I loved working with the team and am excited for the fans to hear the two brand-new mixes I put together just for this game. Bong bong!”

“RZA rounds out the crew of in-game playable characters representing the biggest and best DJs in hip hop, pop and dance from around the world,” said Dan Neil, Music Director, FreeStyleGames. “These world-renowned DJs, along with our award-winning team at FreeStyleGames, have mixed a host of the biggest hits from the hottest artists today to produce 83 masterpieces that deliver the best soundtrack in entertainment.”

The ultimate mixer of music and friends, DJ Hero 2 will deliver the definitive way for players to come together and party with a host of new multiplayer modes – including DJ Battles that pit DJ against DJ in mixes produced specifically for battle gameplay – and invite vocalists into the spotlight with integrated on-screen singing and rapping of lyrics and rhymes while bringing the party to life with jump-in/jump-out Party Play gameplay. Featuring the biggest dance, pop and hip-hop hits by the hottest artists everyone knows and loves remixed by world-class DJ’s in an all-new way, the game’s soundtrack delivers 83 unique creations only available in DJ Hero 2. Further immersing players into the music, the game offers a heightened level of creative input and allows everyone to add their own touch, directly impacting the beats they’re spinning with freestyle scratching, crossfading and sampling. The game will also feature an all-new career-based Empire Mode where players start out as an up-and-coming DJ on the road to becoming the head of a major entertainment empire, all of which is founded solely on their success as a DJ.

Dropping on October 19, DJ Hero 2 will invite a wave of new digital disc jockeys to the turntables as the game will be available as a Party Bundle which will include a copy of the game, two turntable controllers and a microphone, offering the ultimate party-in-a-box. Gamers who experienced DJ Hero(R), the #1 new videogame intellectual property of 2009, can pick up DJ Hero 2 as a Turntable Bundle featuring one turntable controller and a copy of the game or as standalone software. The game is in development by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION(R)3 and the Wii(TM) system from Nintendo. The game is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Lyrics) by the ESRB. For more information about DJ Hero 2, please visit www.djhero.com, www.facebook.com/djhero and www.twitter.com/djhero.

About RZA

Most well known as the founder of The Wu-Tang Clan, RZA is fast becoming a recognized as a multi-faceted talent for his rapping, producing, directing, writing, and acting. As a producer, RZA is responsible for many influential classics such as The Wu Tang Clan’s 1993 debut Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers, which is considered to be one of the most influential albums in its genre. Since that album he has created countless solo albums for the group, plus three more group albums.

A writer as well, in his 2005 New York Times bestseller The Wu-Tang Manual, RZA provided the barest glimpse of how that mythology worked. His second book The Tao of Wu, was released in the fall of 2009. In film, RZA has amassed a number of credits from action to comedy in such films as American Gangster and Funny People. His next film due for release this November sees him opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in the comedy Due Date. He is currently in pre-production for The Man with the Iron Fist, a film he is set to Direct and star in, co-written with Eli Roth.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.