Electronic Arts' Ultima Online, the Best-selling Internet-Only Game in History, Redefines the Meaning of Online Trading

Business Wire, April 13, 1999

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 1999--

Bidding for UO accounts on Popular Internet Auction Site Reaching

Into the Thousands of Dollars

Electronic Arts(TM) (Nasdaq:ERTS), the world's largest interactive entertainment software company, appears to be breaking new ground once again with its popular virtual world Ultima(TM) Online. In recent weeks, people have been flocking to one of the Internet's best-known auction sites, eBay, to bid on Ultima Online (UO) accounts, being sold by UO players. Several of the accounts have traded at more than $2,000 and two accounts have sold for $3,000 each.

Thousands of people come each day to live an alternate fantasy life in the medieval-based online community known as Ultima Online. The Internet-only world is the creation of ORIGIN Systems(TM), Electronic Arts' Austin, Texas-based subsidiary. Currently there are 125,000 active players in Ultima Online, which has received critical acclaim from publications ranging from The New York Times to Next Generation magazine and "Online Game of the Year" awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and Cnet Gamecenter.

"In Ultima Online, we're providing the perfect medium for people to live an alternate life in a virtual world," said Richard Garriott, senior vice president at ORIGIN(TM) and the creator of the Ultima series. "People are spending hundreds of hours a month developing characters and assets that now have real monetary value. Real world money is being used to purchase virtual real estate. Once again the world of Ultima Online has grown and evolved in ways we could have never imagined. I can't wait to see what the future holds."

Dave Turner, a firefighter in Texas, was one of the first to sell his UO account in early March. He made $521 on the sale. "I had to take on a second job, but hated to see my character go away for good. I'd spent more than a year building up his online assets and felt there was value in those assets."

But Turner couldn't stay away. Three weeks after selling his account, he went to the store and purchased another copy of Ultima Online to begin another life in UO's virtual world of Britannia(TM). He now logs on to UO and spends several hours a week with the person who purchased his first account, teaching him the ways of Ultima Online. "Working with newer players is one of the most satisfying aspects of UO," says Turner.

Jonathan Caputo is the CEO of Sumo Inc. (http://www.InternetList.com), an Internet directory and resource company located in Florida. He recently spent $1750 on an Ultima Online account, which will be installed at the company to provide after-hours entertainment for his employees. "I knew we would have a great time playing the account and taking advantage of all the gold (more than 2,000,000 pieces) that came with it. You cannot account for the efficiency you get from happy employees."

The fantasy world of Britannia has continued to develop and grow since Ultima Online first shipped in September 1997. In the fall of 1998, ORIGIN shipped Ultima Online: The Second Age(TM), which adds new worlds, monsters and an extremely flexible in-game chat feature to the already rich Ultima Online landscape. UO was designed from its inception to be scaleable, enabling the game to provide an enjoyable and engaging experience for thousands of players at the same time. On average, approximately 14,000 people are in the game at any one time and players in Ultima Online are logging on to the game an average of 17 hours each week. Half of the people who play Ultima Online enter the fantasy world every single day.

Ultima Online: The Second Age is currently available for US$39.95. After the first 30-days of free gametime, players are charged $9.95 per month. An Internet connection (not included) is required to play. The game is available from the EA Store, http://www.eastore.ea.com and EA Direct Sales at 800/245-4525, or through your local computer game retailer. More information on Ultima Online can be found at http://www.uo.com or you can take a virtual tour of the game from a real player at http://www.owo.com/tour/tes.html.> Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.1 billion for calendar 1998. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for personal computers and advanced entertainment systems. Electronic Arts markets its products under seven brand names: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS(TM), Maxis(TM), ORIGIN, Bullfrog(TM) Productions, Westwood Studios(TM) and Jane's(R) Combat Simulations. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com.

ORIGIN Systems

ORIGIN Systems develops and publishes state-of-the-art entertainment software. To date, the company has released more than 60 titles, including the award-winning Ultima, Wing Commander(TM), Privateer(TM) and Crusader series of games. ORIGIN also develops titles under the Jane's Combat Simulations brand. ORIGIN is based in Austin, Texas, with additional offices in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts. More information about Origin's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.origin.ea.com.