January 24^th, 2005 (2:08pm) - Black Bean announced today that it has signed an exclusive deal with Alfa Romeo to develop a racing videogame based on the prestigious Italian car brand.

Black Bean’s acquisition of the worldwide Alfa Romeo rights underlines its determination to make an impact in the world of multiplatform videogame development and publishing. The Alfa Romeo brand is well-known and synonymous of stylish sport cars.

The game is being developed by award winning developer Milestone, critically acclaimed for its Screamer franchise, the Superbike series published by Electronic Arts and the recently released Racing Evoluzione (known as Apex in North America), an Xbox exclusive game published by Atari.

S.C.A.R. – Squadra Corse Alfa Romeo (this is the title of the game) is in development for the PS2, Xbox, PC platforms and Mobile and will be released in the second quarter of 2005.

"We are thrilled to be working with such a strong brand", said Marco Minoli, Head of Marketing at Black Bean. "Italy is traditionally a country with a few number of companies working on the development and publishing segment; our intention is to create synergy with local strengths, such as car design and styling and prestigious brand like Alfa Romeo which have a high level of awareness both nationally and internationally".

"Working on S.C.A.R. with Alfa Romeo is really exciting", said Antonio Farina, Milestone’s President, "it is in fact a dream come true for us: to combine the leading-edge of Italian technology both in real life racing and in simulation to produce a game which celebrates the Italian leadership in driving; Alfa Romeo is not only a winning company nowadays (being one of the leading brands in the World Touring Car Championship, ndr), but a glorious brand from the early years of racing, and this will be reflected in the game".

"Driving an Alfa Romeo", said Hans Hoegstedt, head of Marketing and Communication in Alfa Romeo, "is not like driving an ordinary car in an ordinary context. It is pure driving desire turned into a car which is also the expression of one’s personality. When you are in the driving seat, your hands on the leather steering wheel, you are at one with your Alfa Romeo: the road before your eyes, the tyres’s grip on the road, your heart beating at the same rpm of your engine."

"This new alliance with Black Bean, allows us to offer our clients as well as all those who share our passion for driving the chance to re-live the unique experience of being at the steering wheel of an Alfa Romeo"