Top Spin 4 In Development By Mafia II Creator 2K Czech

The fourth installment in the Top Spin tennis simulation series is in development at 2K Czech, developer of Mafia II. Publisher 2K Sports today announced that Top Spin 4 is scheduled for release in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Greg Thomas, president of product development for 2K Sports, has promised "a bold new take on the sport," something the team hopes to achieve by providing "an uncanny level of realism in the player and stadium models", audio captured directly from real tennis matches, and a redesigned control scheme. The game will continue the series simulation heritage with animations based on popular players, TV-style presentation and a character roster that includes contemporary athletes, as well as legendary pros from history. North American pre-orders of the game made at GameStop will come with an exclusive vintage Andre Agassi playable character, while supplies last. The news runs contrary to analyst assumptions that Mafia II was the only live project at 2K Czech, leading to speculation that that title was unlikely to be profitable for the publisher, an assertion Take-Two has firmly refuted.