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(Press Release - Xbox 360)

New York City, August 25, 2005: Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC—the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy books in the world—announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft Game Studios® for the publishing rights to three novels based on the world of Perfect Dark®.  The first novel available in October, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector, sets up the world of Agent Joanna Dark as gamers worldwide eagerly await the upcoming release of Perfect Dark Zero™, a videogame made exclusively for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft.  As a key title in the Microsoft Game Studios lineup, Perfect Dark Zero is set to showcase the raw power of the Xbox 360 and is already creating a frenzy of anticipation among videogame fans of all ages.

“Tor’s mission is to provide great books that explore human innovation and our ability to push the limits of technology.   Perfect Dark Zero is on the cutting edge of high fidelity interactive games and we think our relationship with Microsoft Game Studios is a perfect match,” says Tom Doherty, President and Publisher of Tor Books.

Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the international award-winning and multi-million-selling first-person shooter Perfect Dark from famed game developer Rare, Ltd.    Players can choose between a story-driven single-player campaign and various multiplayer options, including four-player split screen and co-operative action, for infinite re-playability.

Set in the year 2020, three years before the original Perfect Dark, players of Perfect Dark Zero assume the role of Agent Joanna Dark in a gripping story where the action in this sci-fi thriller centers on espionage, conspiracy and a mysterious global conflict.

“We wanted gamers to find out more about Joanna,” said the Perfect Dark team. “What’s her background?  Where did she come from? How does she turn into this ‘perfect’ agent?”

The novel, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector (available in trade paperback from Tor at $12.95) will be the first in a line of three 

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novels that will answer those questions and take fans and newcomers alike deep into the Perfect Dark universe, building on the game’s rich action and intrigue as readers enter into a shadowy world of the near future.  The novel will go on-sale October 4^th and will be authored by Greg Rucka, acclaimed thriller novelist and commonly considered to be one of the "Big Three" writers at DC Comics.

“The team at Rare has done some amazing work on the Perfect Dark storyline.  The life of Joanna Dark is so rich and mysterious, it only seems natural to explore it further in novels, ” says Tor Editor Eric Raab.

The Xbox 360 and Perfect Dark Zero were officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005 as an audience of millions watched celebrities, professional athletes, musicians, and Xbox officials take the wraps off the radically innovative new system, ending months of intense speculation and finally giving fans worldwide a sneak peek at the game behind one of the industry’s most anticipated launches ever.

Tor Publicity Director Elena Stokes says of the anticipation for Perfect Dark Zero, “What Tor is doing with the release of Perfect Dark: Initial Vector is giving fans a chance to see inside the world of Perfect Dark before the game launches.  We’re giving readers an insider’s look into the secretive world of Joanna Dark.”

About Tor Books

Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is a New York-based publisher of hardcover and softcover books, founded in 1980 and committed (although not limited) to SF and fantasy literature. Between an extensive hardcover and trade-softcover line, an Orb backlist program, and a stronghold in mass-market paperback, Tor annually publishes what is arguably the largest and most diverse line of science fiction and fantasy ever produced by a single English-language publisher. Books from Tor have won every major award in the SF and fantasy fields, and for the last eighteen years in a row we have been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in SF.

About Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is the most powerful video game and entertainment system, delivering the best games, the next generation of the premier Xbox Live online gaming service, and unique digital entertainment experiences that revolve around you. The system will launch this holiday season in Europe, Japan and North America, to be followed by availability in Australia , Colombia , Hong Kong , Korea , Mexico , New Zealand , Singapore and Taiwan in 2006.