Virtua Tennis 4 Is Serving Up Exclusive Content For PS3 Tennis Fans

Firstly let me introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me. My name is David Kempshall, I’m the Brand Manager for Virtua Tennis 4 and I have worked on the game since the original version launched on arcade machines across the world in 1999. This is the first of a series of blogs about Virtua Tennis 4, which is out on April 29th, but I’d like to start with a few words about the big earthquake that hit Japan on March 11.

Everybody over here deeply appreciates your concern and consideration for us. Things have still not gotten back to normal and areas around Tokyo are suffering from planned outages due to electricity shortages, but we are doing our very best to deliver Virtua Tennis 4 to you.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy the game when it’s released!

Today’s blog is geared up to tell you all about what’s new for Virtua Tennis 4 on the PlayStation 3; there’s a host of new features including PlayStation Move compatibility, a brand new World Tour and online centre, plus plenty of others.

However, I’m happy to announce that on the PlayStation 3 VT fans can expect some extra exclusive content not available on other platforms, and today is where we’ll tell you a little bit more about this.

Firstly, the game features legend players for anyone wanting to relive some classic tennis moments. On the PS3, you’ll be able to get your hands on Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Pat Rafter, who will be exclusive and playable from the moment you load up the game.

Legend players are not the only piece of exclusive content on offer for PS3 gamers, as Virtua Tennis 4 will also feature two exclusive Party Games. The first one is a trip back to an old VT classic in the form of the very popular Pin Crusher, where you are challenged to play a game of tenpin bowling serving the ball to try and knock down skittle on the opposite side of the court.

Pin Crusher is playable with a standard controller only, but for PlayStation Move players, there is also an exclusive Party Game called Net Blitz, which challenges you to build up a score by returning balls into different sized nets. The smaller the net, the more points it will earn you if you hit it. It’s a very fun experience using the 1:1 PlayStation Move compatibility and is sure to have people in living rooms fighting for the high score as they progress through the five levels.

The other thing I’d like to talk about today is a fantastic mini-game we are developing for PlayStation Home. This is due to launch in time for the French Open and has a Space Invaders feel to it. Check it out from 22nd May and see if you can get a high enough score to earn our exclusive VT4 personal space and some exciting items with a VT spin.

Check out the videos and screens of both Party Games for a taste of what you can expect. We’ll also be following up in the coming weeks with some more blogs when we have more news and on demos and other areas of the game.

Oh, and check out the racquet pack that will also be on sale from 29th April. Here’s a quick visual; more details to follow about what you get and where this will be sold in the next blog.