You'd Better Watch Out — The Elves are Back in Town; CDNOW Sponsors NStorm's ``Elf Bowling 2 — Elves in Paradise''

Business Wire, Nov 16, 2000

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2000

Hold on to your stockings -- those bawdy, naughty elves are back in town! "EB2 -- Elves in Paradise" hit cyberspace November 15, 2000. Last year's visit with the Elves was the feel-good, e-mail-this-to-your-friends hit of the holiday season. Millions of people enjoyed the game experience, and continued to play throughout the year, long after the last pine needle was plucked from the carpet.

This year the snickering elves are back with Santa, but there is a new twist as Santa's ne'er-do-well brother, Dingle Kringle, joins Santa and the Elves on a cruise ship headed for an island adventure. Players compete in a crazy shuffleboard tournament, with the Elves -- oh that naughty Santa -- serving as "pucks" and providing their own special, colorful commentary. There are plenty of hilarious surprises to continue the irreverent escapades of the Elves, and players register their scores to compete with other participants from around the world. "EB2 -- Elves in Paradise" is a production of NStorm, an innovator of transaction-generating games, e-Cards, and e-Mail programs. NStorm is a division of Vectrix Business Solutions, Inc.

CDNOW, the leading online music destination, is sponsoring this year's adventure with the Elves. "We're delighted to be part of the 'Elf Bowling' phenomenon," said Howard Blumenthal, Senior Vice President of Media at CDNOW. "We loved the game last year, and we know this year's game will be even more popular."

CDNOW developed a special Groove and Play Giveaway sweepstakes to promote the game. Players exiting the game can click on the treasure chest which links to the Groove & Play Giveaway sweepstakes. There are many chances to win gift certificates to CDNOW, which can be used for CDs, DVDs, collectibles, electronics, T-shirts, CD storage cases, and much more. The Groove & Play Giveaway sweepstakes offering four levels of prizes ends on January 17, 2001. The four levels of prizes are:

-- 1 Grand Prize -- $500.00 Gift Certificate

-- 50 First Prizes -- $100.00 Gift Certificate

-- 25 Second Prizes -- $50.00 Gift Certificate

-- 100 Third Prizes -- $25.00 Gift Certificate

Not Just Another Sequel

"EB2" promises to repeat the explosive success of last year. An "EB2" movie trailer was posted on the NStorm site (www.nstorm.com) on November 2 to give registered NStorm users a sneak preview of the "Elf Bowling" sequel. More than 74,000 downloads have occurred since that date. "Based on our experience with the 'viral' nature of Internet games, we project that about 500,000 people have already seen the trailer," said Dan Ferguson, NStorm Creative Director, and one of the original creators of the Elf series. "That is a tremendous response. We're anxious to see if everyone thinks 'EB2' is as fun as we do."

"EB2" has big boots to fill. Last year during its peak hours, Elf Bowling was played over 900 times per second. Media Metrix called Elf Bowling "a phenomenon." USA Today reported that Elf Bowling was the first game not bundled with a Microsoft operating system to hit the top 10 in four years of tracking.

"EB1" was played all year long, racking up nearly one million downloads...more than 65 million games played, outdoing the success of other popular computer games like Doom and Quake. Why was it so successful? "We think there are several reasons. It's irreverent and those elves are surprisingly naughty. You get a chance to see a different side of Santa, and who hasn't wanted to torment the elves?" said Matt Johnson, Multimedia Director at NStorm and an original Elf Bowling creator.

NStorm -- What Are They Thinking?

"We are fundamentally interested in changing the way companies engage customers to complete business transactions," said Mike Bielinski, Vectrix COO, and another original creator of the Elf series. "Our value is in helping companies develop and execute more efficient and meaningful customer transactions. One of the ways is to take the client's product directly to the consumer to trigger the transaction. In the case of "EB2", we have created an engaging game that will be relevant to the client's customers and intended to drive brand awareness and CDNOW transactions. That may not sound so different or even difficult, but when your brand and product offering is being self-propelled voluntarily through cyberspace from one person to another it takes on a dynamic that is extremely powerful," added Bielinski.

"CDNOW wanted to do a viral marketing initiative that launched in time for the holiday shopping season to create a buzz and drive brand awareness. We felt NStorm's breakthrough game EB2 was the right vehicle to increase CDNOW's awareness during the holiday season and throughout the next year," said Sam Liss, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at CDNOW. "The audience playing the game uses computers to shop, gather information, communicate with their friends and buy music online. 'EB2' is an innovative way to connect game players to CDNOW."