Legacy Interactive to Create Law & Order Interactive Game

Popular Television Series Is Natural Addition to Legacy's Successful Real Life Game(TM) Franchise Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Legacy Interactive(R), creator of the successful Real Life Games(TM) series of interactive CD-ROM simulation games, has signed a licensing agreement with Studios USA, producers of the hit television drama Law & Order, to develop a new game based on the popular show.

The critically acclaimed Law & Order is currently television's longest- running drama series, airing on NBC and in syndication on cable networks TNT and A&E. The series will enter its twelfth season this fall. It has also launched one successful Law & Order-branded series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which airs on both NBC and USA, and a second, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, airing this fall, also on NBC and USA.

Several cast members from Law & Order television series, including Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe), S. Epatha Merkerson (as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren) and Elisabeth Rohm (as Assistant D.A. Serena Southerlyn) will participate in the production of the interactive game.

In developing Law & Order Interactive, Legacy is working closely with Law & Order executive producer and series creator Dick Wolf, president of Wolf Films, to ensure that the game stays true to the spirit of the enduringly popular show. The initial cases for Law & Order Interactive were written by two regular screenwriters of the show and contain the mystery, twists and turns as well as the moral and legal dilemmas that are the signature elements for the series.

"Our customers, more than 60% of whom are women, like fast-paced excitement and thrills, but also real-life scenarios and problem-solving situations that challenge the mind more than the trigger finger," says Legacy CEO Ariella Lehrer. "We're very excited about bringing Law & Order Interactive to our Real Life Game series, with all the twists and turns of criminal investigation and courtroom drama."

"Law & Order is arguably the most successful TV show in the modern era. We have an opportunity to give the 60 million weekly fans of this show the next step in this experience, a chance to become a part of the show's fiber. The small leap is, do these fans want to become the cops and lawyers, and do they want an interactive experience based on a great story? We think they do," said Arthur Hasson, executive vice president, sales and new business, Studios USA.

"Legacy Interactive is recognized for the excitement and sophistication of its reality-based games. It's the perfect match for bringing Law & Order to interactive gaming."

Law & Order Interactive will put players on the case in the streets of Manhattan, first as detective and then as prosecutor, following the television drama's successful formula. From evidence-gathering and analysis to suspect- interrogation to courtroom suspense, Law & Order Interactive will keep the excitement high and the pressure on. Cutting-edge 3-D animation technology will place players in the middle of the action. In addition, the game will offer sophisticated content, maximum player control, rich and realistic graphics, and multiple options at every turn.

Law & Order Interactive will premiere in the Winter of 2002 and it will benefit from a new distribution deal with worldwide industry leader Vivendi Universal Publishing (VU Publishing). Under the agreement, VU Publishing will distribute the games worldwide. "Throughout the world, people are captivated by reality-based TV shows and these titles bring the excitement, drama, and real-life scenarios that fans enjoy with the added element of interactivity," said Philip O'Neil, Senior Vice President of Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing North America. "We are thrilled to work with Legacy Interactive to help bring exciting reality-based games to gaming enthusiasts everywhere."

About Studios USA
Studios USA, a division of USA Networks Inc.'s (Nasdaq: USAI) Entertainment Group, responsible for some of the biggest dramas, action and talk hits on television, consists of first-run production and distribution, as well as network development and production.

About Legacy Interactive
Legacy Interactive(R) is an interactive entertainment company that creates and sells realistic simulation games for CD-ROM and the Internet (located on the Web at http://www.legacyinteractive.com/) the company's success derives from the development of Real Life Games(TM) based on licensing the rights to popular television shows. To date, Legacy Interactive has sold over half a million copies of its popular, award-winning Emergency Room(R) series that includes: Emergency Room 2, Emergency Room Disaster Strikes, Emergency Room Life or Death, Code Blue, and most recently, Emergency Room 3. The Company is at the forefront of cutting-edge multimedia convergence offering an online, interactive version of Legacy Interactive's successful ER games -- ERsim.com http://www.ERsim.com -- which allows users to play and create unique medical cases online. Recently, Legacy Interactive has formed an interactive partnership with TLC (The Learning Channel) and the network's popular medical documentary series, Trauma: Life in the E.R.

For further information please contact Neil Schubert, Senior Vice President, Publicity, Advertising & Promotion of USA Television Production Group, +1-310-360-2507, neil.schubert@studiousa.com; or Patricia McCafferty, Media Relations Consultant of Legacy Interactive, +1-301-838-3388, press@legacyinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Legacy Interactive