Electronic Arts Sets Worldwide Record for Online Gaming; Ultima Online Beta Test Hosts Nearly 3,000 Gamers Simultaneously Playing in the Same Virtual World Over the Internet

Business Wire, August 21, 1997

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 1997--Electronic Arts(TM) (NASDAQ:ERTS), a leading global interactive entertainment software company, today announced that Ultima(TM) Online has established the worldwide record for the largest number of people concurrently playing in the same virtual world over the Internet by hosting 2,850 gamers.

Ultima Online, the groundbreaking fantasy role playing game, was developed during the past two years at Electronic Arts' (EA) ORIGIN(TM) Systems subsidiary in Austin, Texas. More than 25,000 people from around the world have paid to participate in the beta test, which began in June.

Michael Yocco, industry analyst for Paul Kagan Associates, Inc., a Carmel, Calif.-based market research firm, said, "Ultima Online is a watershed event in the history of gaming. The sheer magnitude of the effort and vision demonstrated by Ultima Online will set the standard for online games in the years to come. This title clearly puts Electronic Arts miles ahead of other companies creating gaming content for the Internet."

Ultima Online is the brainchild of Richard Garriott, a gaming industry legend and the inspiration behind Ultima, the world's most popular role playing series. Ultima Online transforms the fantasy land of Britannia into a living, perpetual, virtual world that exists on the Internet.

Complete with a virtual ecology, closed economic system, limited resources and an underlying ethical code, Ultima Online takes a variation on popular games that allow players to plan and create simulated societies by letting them live in them.

The total game geography covers more than 189 million square feet of stunning 3-D terrain that depicts a variety of climates and regions -- arid deserts, tropical islands, forests, swamps, mountains, underworld regions and more. Showing the entire game surface area at once would require 38,000 17-inch monitors -- nearly enough to occupy a football field.

It can take up to eight full hours for players to travel from one end of the main continent to the other and hundreds of hours more to explore the entire virtual world.

Unlike other online or multiplayer offerings that support groups ranging from two to 12 players per game, Ultima Online was designed from its inception to provide a "massively multiplayer" experience supporting thousands of gamers simultaneously over the Internet.

In a recent poll conducted by Next Generation Online, a recognized source of information about the interactive entertainment industry, Ultima Online generated nearly half of all votes cast and captured the title of the game most likely to represent the future of online gaming. Electronic Arts expects to have its history-making game generally available worldwide early this Fall.

"ORIGIN Systems enjoys a long history in the gaming industry and Ultima Online represents our most ambitious effort ever," said Garriott.

"We're committed to utilizing the Internet to provide a new and compelling experience for the rapidly expanding segment of society that seeks recreation through interactive entertainment. The tremendous interest we're generating from gamers, retailers, financial analysts, market research firms and other game providers worldwide underscores the historic importance of Ultima Online."

More information on Ultima Online can be found on the Internet at http://www.ultimaonline.com . Featuring a complete background of the game's online fantasy world, the Web site averages 150,000 user sessions per day and approximately eight million hits per week.

ORIGIN Systems develops and publishes state-of-the-art entertainment software. To date, the company has released more than 50 titles, including the award-winning Ultima, Wing Commander(TM) and Crusader series of games. ORIGIN is based in Austin, with additional offices in Hunt Valley, Md., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts.

Electronic Arts, headquartered in San Mateo, is a leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of $625 million for fiscal 1997. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for personal computers and advanced entertainment systems.

EA has international subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Company has North American development operations in San Mateo; Baltimore; Austin; Seattle; Walnut Creek, Calif.; and Vancouver, British Columbia. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com . -0-

Note to Editors: ORIGIN, Ultima, Britannia, Wing Commander and Electronic Arts are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Industry analysts available to comment on the online gaming industry are:

Seema Chowdhury, Forrester Research, 617/497-7090 David Cole, DFC Intelligence, 619/484-5145 Michael Yocco, Paul Kagan Associates, Inc., 408/624-1536