Dubai, December 14, 2009: Organized by Pluto Games, in collaboration with Codemasters, Nissan, and Sony PlayStation, Faisal Al Hamdan raced his way to victory in the Collin McRae: DiRT 2 Arabia challenge finals held at Virgin Megastores, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. 14-time FIA Middle East rally champion Mohammed Ben Sulayem attended the finals and presented Al-Hamdan with the key to the 2010 Nissan 370Z sports car. The Nissan 370z prize will be a one-of-a-kind car autographed by the rally legend.
"We couldn't have hoped for a closer finish at the finals of such a great regional competition with such a fantastic prize", commented Hal Bame, Director Distributor Territories at Codemasters. "Dirt 2 has been and continues to be a huge success for Codemasters in the Middle East and we look forward to running an equally successful campaign next year with our official Formula 1 2010 game."
The race saw 9 racers from across the GCC region battle it out to claim the title of DiRT 2 Arabia Champion, which included hundreds of entrants. Through the three elimination rounds, Al Hamdan led the scoreboard with the best lap time amongst the players. The final round of the races saw Faisal Al-Hamdan triumph over Youssef Al Badri, flown in from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, defeating him by a fraction of a second. 2nd and 3rd place winners, each received a limited edition Dirt 2 and SONY PS3 console bundle, signed by Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
- Ends -
About Colin McRae: DiRT 2
The stunning sequel to the critically acclaimed smash hit of 2007, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is set to revolutionise off-road racing. Big event atmosphere, incredible locations and a stellar line-up of the most powerful, officially licensed off-road racers are brought together in an all new World Tour.
Colin McRae: DiRT 2 sets its spectacular events in lush jungles, huge stadiums and around stunning locations in London and LA, each lined with hundreds of thousands of cheering spectators. A line-up of best of breed vehicles from race one lets players focus on fast-paced, redline racing. Each can be customised and upgraded to enter different classes and grow with the player's skill and reputation.
With a host of traditional and new events, including Rally, Rallycross and Raid, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 will deliver an unprecedented experience on a tour that goes places racing fans have never been before. Built on the latest iteration of the award winning EGO Engine at Codemasters Studios, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 delivers jawdropping levels of damage. Complete with comprehensive multiplayer options, including full 8 player head-to-head racing, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 is rally, redefined
About Codemasters
Codemasters is a leading developer and publisher of best-selling interactive entertainment products for a global audience across multiple gaming platforms and channels. Established in 1986, the company's dominant brands include Colin McRae DiRT, Race Driver GRID, Overlord and Operation Flashpoint; the company recently secured the exclusive worldwide video game rights to FORMULA 1. Codemasters is headquartered in Warwickshire UK, with North American operations based in Universal City, Calif. The company also maintains operations in Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Benelux and Malaysia. Codemasters receives over two million visitors to its web site every month, discover why at www.codemasters.com
About Nissan Middle East
Nissan is a leading automotive brand in the Middle East. It boasts one of the most popular and successful vehicle line-ups in the region. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. became the first Japanese car manufacturer to establish a regional HQ in June 1994. Nissan operations cover over 20 countries across the region making it one of the largest representations in the Middle East amongst Japanese automotive brands.
Nissan reported its best ever Middle East regional sales results for the financial year 2008 with the company and its distributors achieving over 200,000 sales.
About Pluto
A member of Pragma Holding, Pluto is currently one of the leading retail distributors in the Middle East with four fully owned offices in Saudi (Riyadh & Jeddah), UAE, and Egypt as well as sales force in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan.
Pluto's distribution business was launched in 2002 and has since offered its partners and retailers quality products and value added services such as product knowledge seminars and trainings, merchandising, joint marketing initiatives, stock management, unified pricing, transparency by linking suppliers with local retailers, product localization and a hassle free environment for all retailers.
Pluto represents a large portfolio of world-class brands including Microsoft, Saitek, UBISOFT, THQ, Konami, Atari and many others. The company has been proactively managing a broad range of entertainment software, accessories and consoles, offering retailers more than 600 SKUs a year.
About PlayStation Division, Sony Gulf FZE
PlayStation Division, Sony Gulf FZE based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) , and PLAYSTATION®Network software and hardware across the GCC, Levant and North African markets.
Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006, over 16.8 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 137.7 million systems worldwide.
Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 44.5 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 15 million accounts have registered to PlayStation Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and over 236 million items have been downloaded.
For more information, please contact:
Tarek El-Moukachar
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Tel: +9714 3344550
Fax: +9714 3344556
Email: t.elmoukachar@asdaa.com
© Press Release 2009
