SPEED and Xbox Offer Live-Action Mini-Series

CHARLOTTE, November 1: SPEED,
the automotive lifestyle and motor sports network, has joined forces with
Microsoft Game Studios to launch a live-action, four-episode series based on
the popular Forza Motorsport
video game franchise, which is available exclusively on Xbox 360.

The four-episode Forza
Motorsport Showdown is produced by
Bud Brutsman of the popular SPEED reality show Payback and is scheduled to begin airing in February 2007.
The series will be hosted by Lee Reherman, best known as 'Hawk' from the television
show American Gladiator.

Each episode follows a
diverse group of racers through a rigorous roster of competitive motor sports
disciplines—drifting, road racing, autocross and drag racing—in a
$100,000 winner-take-all format.

“These are real people,
real crews and real cars battling it out for a significant prize,” said Robert
Ecker, the VP of programming for SPEED. “It's a very visually appealing
production, with an incredible amount of drama and suspense. Each team and
personality has to excel in all of the racing categories to have a chance.
There's not a lot of room for error.

“This was the first time
SPEED had been approached about doing a video game-based reality series
offering a serious prize—while providing a wider appeal to a more
youthful audience,” continues Ecker. “To Microsoft Games Studios' credit, they
didn't want this to be an infomercial about Forza Motorsport 2. They wanted
this to be a stand-alone show with its own reality twists and uninhibited
drama. It's a very refreshing approach.”

“In essence, gaming is
reality-based entertainment in its purest form,” added Jeff Bell, the corporate
VP of global marketing at Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. “The upcoming
Forza Motorsport Showdown series
demonstrates how great games can be a creative force for telling compelling
stories in other media such as television and film.”