Sony Online Entertainment Teams With Total Entertainment Network To Bring Classic Games Slate to The Station@sony.com; Distribution Deal Broadens Sony's Leading Online Game Service Offerings with Popular Card, Board, Word and Puzzle Games

Business Wire, March 1, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 1999--Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced today an agreement with Total Entertainment Network(tm) (TEN(tm)) to bring that Internet game provider's Classic Games to SOE's premiere online game service, The Station@sony.com (http://www.station.sony.com). As a result of the agreement, TEN's popular card, board, word and puzzle games -- also known as classic parlor games -- will be added to The Station's roster, which features online games and gameshows including several of the most-played games on the Internet, JEOPARDY! Online and Wheel of Fortune Online. Terms of the multi-year distribution agreement were not disclosed.

"Through this agreement, SOE is supplementing our current premiere branded offerings with TEN's suite of popular parlor games, making The Station a `full-service' Internet game service," said Lisa Simpson, President of Sony Online Entertainment. "We understand how consumers want to be entertained online, whether they're a casual gamer, mainstream online user or game enthusiast. With these new additions to round out our programming menu, The Station continues to deliver on its `We've got your game' tagline."

Since The Station launched nearly two years ago, the site has enjoyed rapid customer acquisition with over 2.7 million registered members to date -- the fastest rate of registration for entertainment sites on the Web today.

Simpson added, "With the industry's increased focus on site `stickiness,' classic games will only help us to increase the amount of time people spend on The Station, and drive them to play our games even more often, ultimately making The Station even more appealing for advertisers and partners."

Initially, TEN will distribute 11 single and multiplayer games on The Station including Checkers, Chess, Crosswords, Spades and Hearts along with others. Under the agreement, TEN will also regularly provide new games to The Station's line-up in the coming months.

"We're excited to be partnering with Sony Online Entertainment to bring our collection of recreational Internet games to one of the leading online game sites," said Erick Hachenburg, TEN's President and CEO. "Our classic games are great complements to The Station's branded entertainment properties, and Sony Online Entertainment is a tremendous addition to TEN's growing lineup of distribution partners."

The games will be located in a new "Classic Games" channel on The Station which will identify those games as provided by TEN.

"Given the diverse and demanding audience at The Station, TEN was the clear choice as it was able to offer us high quality products that have been proven to scale," said Roger Smith, Vice President of Programming at SOE.

Total Entertainment Network (www.ten.net) is the premier Internet provider of recreational games and game communities for the mass market. TEN has distribution relationships with many of the Web's most popular destinations, and has also pioneered competitive computer gaming, through entities such as the Professional Gamers' League (www.pgl.com) and the NASCAR Racing Online Series (NROS) (www.nros.com).

Sony Online Entertainment produces and distributes online entertainment targeted to mainstream consumers and game enthusiasts. SOE's initial site, The Station@sony.com (located at http://www.station.sony.com), is one of the leading online entertainment networks. The Station distributes online entertainment from Sony Pictures Entertainment, 989 Studios, and third-party developers. SOE's advertising sales and partnership marketing team also works with Sony Music Online and Sony Pictures Entertainment Online to offer integrated marketing and sponsorship opportunities for online advertisers across the Sony Online Entertainment network of premiere branded entertainment-based Web sites. SOE is a joint venture of Sony Corporation of America and Sony Pictures Entertainment, and is located in New York City and Los Angeles.