Sierra Sports has decided to recall all copies of its newly released NFL Football Pro '99 because of "errors in the program's code," according to a press release Thursday.

　　Customers will be offered a full refund. Those that want to keep the game will be offered reparations in the form of a US$20 rebate for the next football game and a T-shirt and will be informed when various beta patches to fix the apparently broken game are released.

　　Sierra's total recall and virtual non-release of Football Pro '99 is almost unprecedented, though it follows in the wake of yearly complaints from Sierra Sports players who are almost always left dissatisfied at the state of their games and the inevitable promises of "maybe next year." Perhaps this time Sierra decided to take the financial blow (reportedly over 100,000 units) rather than face the disappointed consumers once again.

　　In the meantime Sierra plans on releasing NFL Football Pro 2000 in August, utilizing the existing fixed code of the recalled version.

　　"I want to apologize to all our loyal customers for releasing a product before it was ready," said David Grenewetzki, president of Sierra. "We came through 1998 with one great product after another only to stumble on virtually the last title we shipped in the year. We knew the potential for this product, but we let the impending end of the football season influence our decision process. We figuratively 'dropped the ball.'"

　　"The recall and reparation actions are the first step in correcting our mistake and restoring confidence in an exceptional product line," said Sean Gleason, director of marketing at Sierra Sports. "We intend to open our doors to Football Pro fans during development and let them constantly remind us of the importance of customer satisfaction. Suggestions from the Football Pro Home Team will be vital to bringing the definitive NFL experience to the PC in August '99 with the release of Football Pro 2000."

　　According to Sierra, any consumers who purchased the game before January 20, 1999, may return the game CD with a copy of the original receipt to Sierra for a full refund. Call Sierra at 1-800-757-7707 or send the returns to: Sierra Software Returns, 4100 W 190th St., Torrance, CA 90504. Consumers will also receive a certificate of up to US$29.95 in value for a Sierra product.