Microsoft Leads the PC Games Market by a 10-1 Margin, According to Media Metrix; Nearly Four in Five PC Game Users Play a Microsoft Game

Business Wire, May 12, 2000

Business & Technology Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2000

Media Metrix (NASDAQ: MMXI), the pioneer and leader in Internet and Digital Media measurement worldwide, reports that nearly 80 percent of all PC game users, or 38 million people, played a PC game from Microsoft in the month of March 2000. The number of people playing a Microsoft PC game was nearly 10 times the nearest competing game publisher, Sierra Online, at 3.9 million users. Rounding out the top five publishers of PC games by unique users were Hasbro Interactive at 3.2 million unique users, Slingo, Inc. at 2.0 million users and Blizzard Entertainment with 1.7 million users, according to the Media Metrix SoftUsage Report for March 2000.

"The key to Microsoft's success has been twofold: first, building simple and easy to learn and play games, and second, bundling those games with every copy of the Windows operating system," said Bruce Ryon, senior vice president and general manager of the New Media Group, Media Metrix. "However, Microsoft has also done well beyond bundling. Not counting the 32.8 million unique users of the four games bundled with Windows 95 and 98 - Solitaire, Freecell, Minesweeper and Hearts Network - the number of Microsoft PC unbundled game users was 5.1 million users in March or 1.2 million users greater than its nearest publishing competitor."