* From: bwardell@stardock.com (Brad Wardell)
 * Subject: GAME: Entrepreneur for OS/2!
Stardock Releases Entrepreneur 1.2
Entrepreneur shows just how much fun a real-time corporate warfare game
can be!
Livonia MI -- Stardock Systems made Entrepreneur 1.2 generally available
today.  Entrepreneur is a real-time, multi-player, strategy game set in the
real world of business.  The object of the game is build up a corporate
empire while battling it out with ruthless competitors in your market.  By
managing your research, marketing, and manufacturing resources, you must
capture a majority share of the world's market to win.
"We got the idea for the game from hearing people complain about Microsoft
and other aggressive companies.  One user said that to them 'it's all
just a game'.  We thought about that and decided he was right and that it
would be a very fun game!" said Brad Wardell, President, Stardock Systems,
Inc.
Entrepreneur takes place on a map of a world (the game comes with many
worlds to play on and free maps are available on the website) that is
divided into regions.  Each region has its own requirements in a product
that must be met.  The company that is able to meet the needs of the world
the best generally wins.
The player begins with a single site and a sales executive.  The site
provides a location to build the marketing, research, sales, manufacturing
and recreational buildings that make up the backbone of every corporate
empire. The sales executive makes sure your company is represented in the
region of the world it is in.
Since each region has different desires, you must tailor your product to
their demands through research and development.  This makes for very
divergent strategies depending on where you begin in the world.  For
example, one player may dominate North America through their leadership in
reliability while the buyers in Europe may demand performance and thus be a
minor player there to companies who are ahead of you in performance.  Of
course, some regions are more equal than others.  Each region also has its
own level of wealth and economic health as well as having different employee
qualities which affect whether you would want to build a factory in their
region.
To bring in more reality and more ruthlessness, Entrepreneur lets people see
just how powerful marketing is.  As the player's company grows, they can
build up their marketing infrastructure.  Soon, they'll be creating all
types of different marketing campaigns ranging from TV campaigns all the way
down to good old FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).  Marketing campaigns act
as movable units on the map, so players can move those units to places they
think they can do the most damage.
On top of all this, certain regions have special resources.  If the player
is the market leader in a region with a special resource he or she gets
access to it.  The resources types are political, scientific, labor,
criminal, and media.  If the player has enough of these resources, Direct
Action Cards that are available will begin to light up.   Players receive a
random Direct Action Card at the beginning of each game year.
Direct Action Cards are the great equalizer of Entrepreneur and their powers
can vary between insignificant to helping clinch the game.  Have enough
political resources? Then use your clout with the government to shut out a
competitor from a target region.  Hold enough labor resources? Lure away an
enemy sales executive or incite a labor strike at a target region.  There
are dozens of cards in Entrepreneur to choose from and they really do stir
things up.
The game is won when any player has achieved a basic monopoly share of the
market (you don't necessarily drive your opponents out of business but keep
them around for anti-trust purposes -- like say giving them $200 million to
keep them afloat...).
While many games that have multi-player support have poor computer players
that don't play well, Stardock takes its computer players seriously.  The AI
in Entrepreneur was developed by the same team that created the AI for
Galactic Civilizations (the 1995 game of the year from the Internet Top
100).  Each computer player has a unique personality, so that one computer
player that makes a mistake may not be found in a different one.  The AI in
Entrepreneur has been hailed in every review of the game as well as by
players on-line.
Multi-player play is pretty much expected today and Entrepreneur may have
the best Internet performance of any game currently available.  Players can
play people from around the world and Entrepreneur can handle latency times
as great as 5 seconds or more without missing a beat (most games can't
handle more than .5 seconds).  With STARDOCK.NET, players can visit other
players in a chat forum right from within the game and join their games
easily -- no searching around for someone to play.
Another unique feature to STARDOCK.NET is its hall of fame.  The top 100
scores are kept track of so players can get an idea of who is the best at
it.  Imagine Quakeworld or Battle.net where players can keep track of number
of "frags" and thus be recognized for their...ruthlessness.
New in v1.2:
Entrepreneur 1.2 adds several new direct action cards such as the ability to
break a strike when an opponent incites one at your offices and gambling
your resources to get a new card.  It also supports playing the auto
industry multi-player.  Moreover, STARDOCK.NET will now display your ranking
by your name and several usability enhancements suggested by players have
been added.
The game has quickly become a hit amongst strategy game players who are
looking for a game that involves true strategy elements and isn't a test of
reflexes as many of the more recent strategy games have become.
Entrepreneur has been widely called "The best strategy game of 1998" by
users on the Internet and has received universal praise in reviews.
Stardock is also committed to providing free enhancements and updates to the
game and expects to create an expansion pack for it in the summer of 1998.
Entrepreneur currently has two markets available to play in, the computer
market and the auto market. Stardock expects to release several more in the
near future such as the soft drink industry at E3 in Atlanta along with
several new maps.
Entrepreneur is now available in most stores (such as CompUSA, Micro Center,
FutureShop, Electronics Boutique, Babbages, Software Etc. and Fry's)  It is
also be available directly from Stardock at 1-888-STARDOCK.  Entrepreneur's
list price is $49.95.  Stardock Systems, Inc. Can be reached at
(734)762-0687 or via fax (734)762-0690.  Its email address is
info@stardock.com.   Stardock's web site is http://www.stardock.com.  The
game requires a high end 486 PC or better running Windows 95, Windows NT, or
OS/2 Warp 3 or later, and a CD-ROM drive.
###
Entrepreneur v1.2
List Price: $49.95
Available: Now!
Part No. E1295ET
UPC code: 7-08192-01024-0
Published and developed by Stardock Systems
Trademark Notices:
Entrepreneur the game is a trademark of Stardock Systems, Inc.
All other trademarks are held by their respective owners.
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