Tantalus Interactive announces its partnership with Japanese publisher Kemco to develop an innovative new racing title for the DS platform. The two companies collaborated in 2003 to produce the award winning Top Gear Rally on GBA, a game ultimately published by Nintendo.

This extension of the relationship will see the creation of an original racing title for the DS, leveraging Kemco's popular Top Gear brand. The new game, Top Gear: Downforce, will ship late in 2006 and will be the second DS release for Tantalus, following on from the SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger.

Tantalus CEO Tom Crago said the company was happy to have the opportunity to develop another title in the Top Gear franchise. "We loved the original Top Gear on N64, and of course our rally title on GBA was a big success. We want to create a racing game that feels perfectly at home on the DS platform, something built from the ground up to exploit the cool features of the hardware."

Kemco President Masakatsu Hirose shared Crago's enthusiasm. "Top Gear Rally on GBA rates among Kemco's most successful releases. Many people enjoyed this title, and we know that with Tantalus we can create a new game within the franchise that will be just as popular."