Microsoft and TECMO/Team NINJA announced today that Ninja Gaiden II, the blockbuster action-packed sequel to Ninja Gaiden, is now shipping to retailers throughout North America. Ninja Gaiden II features a new and improved game engine, developed from the ground up exclusively for Xbox 360, by legendary video game developer Tomonobu Itagaki and Team NINJA.

In Ninja Gaiden II, gamers must guide Ryu Hayabusa on a mission to avenge his clan and prevent the destruction of the human race. Armed with an assortment of ninja weaponry, players must help Ryu skillfully maneuver through a world fraught with peril. Ninja Gaiden II features a new auto-health regeneration system, levels, adventures, enemies and thrilling combat, representing a true evolution of the highly popular franchise. The newly added Ninja Cinema feature will allow gamers to record Ryu's combat exploits as movie clips on their Xbox 360. The best Ninja Gaiden II players in the world will be able to upload their clips to Xbox Live for everyone to download and view, making Ninja Cinema a great way to accelerate the growth of the Ninja Gaiden II player community around the globe.

Fans are encouraged to participate in the Ninja Gaiden II, Weekend of Vengeance from June 13-15. There will be an Achieve & Win sweepstakes where one lucky fan will win a Ninja Gaiden II Custom Elite Xbox 360 Console and a Ninja Gaiden II Swiss Army Victorinox console/laptop bag. Other prizes include 1600 Microsoft Point Cards, Xbox 360 120GB hard drives, 12-month Xbox Live Gold Subscriptions, Ninja Gaiden II T-shirts and much more. Gold members must register and then play Ninja Gaiden II during the June 13-15 Vengeance Weekend. Also that weekend, to help celebrate ninjas, Gold members can watch free classic ninja movies, including Ninja Hunter, A Life of Ninja and Ninja in the Deadly Trap. Finally, all seven hilarious Ask A Ninja episodes and the hour-long documentary Way of the Warrior: Ninja Gaiden II will also be available as free downloads to all Xbox Live subscribers, Silver and Gold. For more information, visit www.xbox.com/ng2weekend.

Ninja Gaiden II will have an estimated retail price of $59.99 and is rated "M" for Mature. For more information, visit www.xbox.com/ng2.