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Empire Interactive has revealed that it plans to bring the crazy excitement of the classic Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console via Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA).

Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe is one of the most awaited titles that was recently voted as one of the most wanted games for XBLA in an article by the Computer and Video Games website. The coming in of the title is sure to be a great piece of news for not only hard-core fans but also for new generations of gamers who have yet to experience what some believe is the finest combat sports game ever made.

“We are pleased to be bringing this all-time classic to Xbox Live Arcade,” said Ian Higgins, CEO of Empire Interactive. “With its brutal and addictive gameplay, and the ability to play multiplayer over Xbox Live, we are sure this will be the definitive version of Speedball.”

Speedball – the Bitmap Brothers classic was first released for the Amiga in 1988 and attained enormous success right away. However, the title’s major recognition came post the release of its sequel, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (1990) – the title which reached new gaming heights and sold over two million units. It is still considered by many to be one of the best games of all time. The Xbox Live Arcade version is a perfect conversion of Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe but with the addition of an all-new High Definition version, more teams and downloadable content.

Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings said, “This is another example of Empire updating a classic IP and bringing it to a brand new audience. Double Dragon will launch next Wednesday, and will be our first foray onto Xbox Live Arcade. Our announcement of Speedball 2 demonstrates our continued intention to bring high quality classic titles to a broader market.”

The latest XBLA version of Speedball II will enhance this classic game at without loosing any of the classic elements that have made it a firm favorite among gamers.

Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe and Double Dragon is expected to release on the Xbox Live Arcade on May 9, 2007. A PC version of Speedball II, developed by Frogster is on its way and is slated to release in the Q2 of 2007.