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Football fans hold key to Xbox game's success
Another marketing ploy digs deeper in the bottomless pit of football fans' bank accounts...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: Thursday 07 March 2002

UK computer games developer Codemasters is preparing for the launch of Microsoft's Xbox with a football game aimed at the fans of some of Europe's best supported clubs - and Aston Villa, Chelsea and Leeds.

Fans of super clubs such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool, and Manchester United will be offered versions of the games which are individually badged and branded for each different club - with 15 versions in total being produced. Each game will be individually tailored to appeal to the club's fans.

The game, expected to be launched in the autumn, will be available on PlayStation 2 as well as Microsoft's long-awaited Xbox which launches in the UK next week.

The 15 clubs who have signed licensing agreements with Codemasters are:

AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Hamburg SV, Inter Milan, Juventus, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester United, Rangers, Borussia Dortmund.