Acclaim bags Sega PS2 trio

Acclaim has agreed a co-publishing deal with Sega for three forthcoming titles, which will see the publisher responsible for European distribution of updated PS2 versions of some of the well-known Japanese company's recent classics.

Included in the deal are Virtua Tennis 2 and Virtua Cop: Elite Edition, both of which are planned for release in November, as well as Sega Bass Fishing Duel, which is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2003.

"We're very excited about this new agreement with Sega," enthused Acclaim president Rod Cousens. "These are great titles, proven arcade hits and they were all developed by Sega's own studios, which rank among the finest in the world. Individually they have garnered much praise from the world's gaming press and we're certain that PlayStation 2 gamers are going to be thrilled at the prospect of being able to play them on their own consoles soon."

Previously, Sega's PS2 titles were handled in Europe by a distribution agreement with SCEE, with Infogrames co-publishing games on all other platforms. In recent days, speculation has been rife that the one-time platform holder is planning to resurrect its UK-based publishing operation at some point in 2003, enabling it to take control of the marketing and distribution of its own products in Europe once again.