Ubisoft Takes a Walk on the Wild Side With Open Season

San Francisco, CA – April 13, 2006 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that the Open Season video game, based on Sony Pictures Animation's first feature-length CG animated film, will be shipping mid- September 2006 on all available video game platforms, two weeks prior to the movie's September 29 release. Developed by Ubisoft's award-winning Montreal studio, Open Season will allow gamers to relive the humor and adventure of the movie by creating a fun and immersive interactive world that conveys the same comedic storyline, zany characters and artistic images projected in the animated film.

"We have been working hand-in-hand with Ubisoft's team to create a game that captures all the fun of Open Season," said Mark Caplan, executive director, interactive at Sony Pictures Consumer Products. "Sony Pictures' leadership in digital entertainment coupled with Ubisoft's award-winning development team is a great partnership that brings innovation to both the film and video game businesses."

"Ubisoft is thrilled to be collaborating with the movie production team of Open Season to bring the humorous adventures of Boog and Elliot to the interactive world," said Tony Key, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft. "Ubisoft is committed to making the best movie-based video games in the industry. We do this by partnering closely with our licensing partners and movie makers to create an experience that remains true to the spirit of the film but expands it far beyond the theater."

Open Season is a riotous romp in the great outdoors, where the rowdy brood of forest animals turns the tables on a bunch of unsuspecting hunters. When a domesticated grizzly named Boog gets lured into leaving the creature comforts of home by a fast-talking mule deer named Elliot, he finds himself lost in the woods just three days before hunting season. Forced to "rough it" in the great outdoors, Boog goes native, rallying all the forest animals to take back their home and send the hunters packing. The Open Season video game will allow player to relive the movie experience by playing as Boog and Elliot.

Game features include:

• Interaction with Beth, Shaw and all of the animal favorites from the Open Season film.
• Throwing skunk bombs, hurling rabbits, using acorn-firing squirrels and pulling outrageous woodland pranks to scare the pants off the hunters.
• Rolling in a giant snowball, riding the rapids on a floating outhouse, zipping through tunnels in a crazy mine cart ride and taking on more madcap adventures as Boog discovers how to go from mild to wild.
• Ability to challenge friends or team up in hilarious four-player mini-games.

About Open Season the Movie:

In Columbia Pictures' new action-adventure comedy OPEN SEASON, the first feature-length animated film from Sony Pictures Animation, Boog (Martin Lawrence), a grizzly bear with no survival skills, has his perfect world in the tranquil town of Timberline turned upside-down when he meets Elliot (Ashton Kutcher), a scrawny, fast-talking wild mule deer. Open Season is based on the humor of cartoonist Steve Moore (In The Bleachers), who also serves as Executive Producer with John Carls. The film is being directed by Roger Allers (director of The Lion King) and Jill Culton (credits include Monsters, Inc., and Toy Story 2). The co-director is Anthony Stacchi (credits include Antz). The producer is Michelle Murdocca (credits include Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2). OPEN SEASON is scheduled for theatrical release on September 29, 2006.

About Sony Pictures Animation:

Sony Pictures Animation is a division of Sony Pictures Digital. Under the leadership of executives Sandra Rabins and Penney Finkelman Cox, the division identifies and nurtures fresh voices and dynamic visions for the world of CG animated features for Sony Pictures Entertainment.

About Ubisoft:

Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through its strong and diversified lineup of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 21 countries and sales in more than 50 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge videogame titles to consumers. Ubisoft generated revenue of 538 million Euros for the 2004–2005 fiscal year, an increase of 8 percent over the previous fiscal year at constant exchange rates. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.