After proclaiming Virtua Fighter 5's PlayStation 3 exclusivity to the dogs and back, Sega dropped this minibombshell on the video game world.

SEGA ANNOUNCES VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 FOR XBOX 360

Premiere Fighting Game Franchise Makes First Appearance on Microsoft's Next Generation Videogame Console

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (December 21, 2006) ? SEGA? of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced that the highly anticipated arcade fighting game, Virtua Fighter? 5, will make its way onto the Xbox 360? video game and entertainment system. Virtua Fighter 5 is scheduled for release on Xbox 360 in North America and in Europe late summer 2007. The game will also be available for the PLAYSTATION?3 computer entertainment system on February 20, 2007 in North America and will be available in Europe simultaneously with the system's launch in March 2007.

"SEGA delivers the most technical fighting game experience on Xbox

360 with this installment of the award-winning Virtua Fighter series,"

said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President Marketing, SEGA of America.

"Virtua Fighter 5 takes full advantage of Xbox 360's hardware with

action-packed gameplay, customizable characters, stunning graphics and

highly detailed 3D fighting environments."

Virtua Fighter 5 features beautifully detailed stages from around

the world where players face off in fast-moving martial arts battles

against one of 17 characters. Two new characters join the elite group

of fighters, all with their own unique fighting style. With more skill

and strategy than ever before, players will employ a new "Offensive

Move" technique to take down their opponents from different angles. The

game also includes the ability to customize your own character by

selecting from four base costumes and a wide range of unlockable

accessories and earnable items. As players win more tournaments they

will not only earn costumes and accessories, but also prizes and

in-game money that will allow them to buy items from the in-game shop.

The Virtua Fighter series from SEGA has one of the most prestigious histories in video games," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "It's a franchise that has grown an army of loyal fans both in arcades and on consoles worldwide, and is consistently rated extremely high by the media. Fighting game fans have been hungry for Virtua Fighter 5 and we can now proudly deliver this game with SEGA to Xbox 360 gamers around the world."

Virtua Fighter 5 is being developed by the renowned AM R&D Development No.2 team based in Japan. For more information, please visit the official Web site at www.sega.com/VF5.