KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Samurai Warriors®: KATANA for Nintendo Wii™ has reached gold status and is set to ship to North American retailers starting on January 15, 2008. Players can pre-order the game now at GameStop.com, EBGames.com and Amazon.com.

KOEI has also launched the official minisite for Samurai Warriors: KATANA at: www.koei.com/katana. On the site players can learn more about the game, watch exclusive movies and more.

About Samurai Warriors: KATANA
Using an exhilarating first-person perspective, Samurai Warriors: KATANA is based on the hugely popular Samurai Warriors series and delivers total arcade-style action right into your own home. By mastering different weapons using the motion-sensitive Wii Remote™, veteran and first-time players alike will discover a whole new dimension of excitement to the Samurai Warriors series of games.

On each mission, legendary samurai and allies will serve as your guide. Prevent pirates from invading your ships, rescue maidens from a burning castle, and explore mysterious caverns stalked by ninjas. These and many more challenging missions require quick reflexes, fast thinking, and precision marksmanship.

On the battlefield ninja assassins will be poised to strike at your every turn, but with close-range and long-range weapons, you’ll be well equipped for your counterattack. Combat gets up close and personal with the classic samurai sword, spear, and mighty war hammer, but you can still target enemy soldiers in the distance using a bow and arrow, a gun, and even a cannon.

Samurai Warriors: KATANA offers three different modes of play. Action-packed with nearly 30 hours of game play, Musou Mode takes you on an incredible adventure through Feudal Japan. Samurai-in-training can prepare for battle with a multitude of challenges in Trial Mode. Here you’ll earn gold which can be used to purchase weapons and precious items. And in Vs. Mode, you can go head-to-head with a friend in eight exciting mini games.

Developed by KOEI’s award-winning internal team, Omega Force, Samurai Warriors: KATANA is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Language, Violence) by the ESRB. Samurai Warriors: KATANA has three difficulty levels for players of all skill levels, and is for up to 2 players (in Vs. mode). This game features Dolby® Pro Logic II audio. Media can find watermark-free assets at gamespress.com. For more information about Samurai Warriors: KATANA, visit www.koei.com/katana.