Sony Online Entertainment Lifts International Barriers to Play Top Online Games; Online Gaming Set to Explode Worldwide With All-New Payment Options Available

Business Wire, May 24, 2001

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2001

In an effort to expand online gaming globally, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced today that two alternative payment methods will be available for SOE's massively multiplayer games.

Game Cards will be sold in retail stores this fall throughout Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia as well as North America. Additionally, JCB (Japanese Credit Bureau) credit cards are now accepted, making EverQuest(R) and SOE's other massively multiplayer games more accessible to an international audience.

Currently, SOE requires an American credit card number to subscribe to the online game and ultimately this has limited EverQuest's growth abroad. Game Cards will allow cash holders to experience the best-selling online game of all time in 90-day increments and will be available on retail shelves worldwide.

The JCB Card offers a great opportunity for SOE to reach gamers in Japan and many other Asian countries. With over 40 million cardmembers worldwide, JCB's sophisticated global payment system network has made it the number one card in Japan and number four internationally among all of the major credit cards.

"There has been a universal increase in demand for access to our best-selling game, and now we have found a way to reach this broader market by changing our billing methodology," said Scott McDaniel, vice president of marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "We're looking forward to inviting a whole new group of players into the world of EverQuest."

The EverQuest online game currently boasts more than 385,000 active subscribers, and recently released a popular expansion pack to the game, EverQuest(R): The Scars of Velious(TM), last Fall. During peak periods, more than 90,000 adventurers and dragon slayers have explored the EverQuest world simultaneously. The active global EverQuest subscriber base is comprised of players from various countries throughout the "real" world, including the U.S., England, Canada, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Germany and New Zealand.

The Station (www.station.com) is the official provider of EverQuest, with software updates and news about the game, message boards and other community features, as well as an easy-to-use billing system for the EverQuest monthly subscription fee of $9.89.

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), the online gaming division of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, is a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming. Headquartered in San Diego, SOE develops, publishes and distributes entertainment for the PC and online markets. With more than 10 million registered users, SOE's award-winning Web site, The Station(R) (www.station.com), hosts a variety of entertaining games and player communities spanning all genres. In addition to blockbuster hits EverQuest(R) and Jeopardy! Online, SOE has an array of cutting-edge online games in development such as PlanetSide(TM), Star Wars(R) Galaxies(TM) and Sovereign(TM).