Sony Online Entertainment Announces EverQuest: Trilogy — the First EverQuest Anthology; Most Successful Online Fantasy World Ever to Ship in Trilogy Set

Business Wire, May 7, 2001

Business Editors/Entertainment Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2001

Sony Online Entertainment announced today EverQuest(R): Trilogy(TM), an anthology that includes the original game and two expansion packs, will be available this fall. With over 375,000 subscribers, EverQuest is the most successful massively multiplayer online role-playing game ever.

"EverQuest: Trilogy offers prospective EverQuest fans the largest online fantasy world in a single, all-encompassing package," said Don Vercelli, vice president of Sales and Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "With five enormous continents, 13 races, and over 400 supporting characters from snow orcs to giant scorpions, the EverQuest: Trilogy package guarantees unlimited hours of gameplay."

EverQuest: Trilogy features:

--       EverQuest(R) Classic game
--       EverQuest(R): The Ruins of Kunark(TM) Expansion Pack
--       EverQuest(R): The Scars of Velious(TM) Expansion Pack
--       Collectible Map of Norrath
--       Two collectible EverQuest figurines

EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark expansion was released April 24, 2000. Since then, it has become a part of the basic EverQuest package, giving players more than twenty new zones and a new playable race of lizard men called the "Iksar." In addition, the maximum player character level was raised from fifty to sixty. The most recent expansion, EverQuest: The Scars of Velious, was released on Dec. 5, 2000. It provides nineteen more zones of content designed for level 30 characters and above.

Continuing to grow with top-selling expansions The Ruins of Kunark and The Scars of Velious, EverQuest is one of the largest fantasy worlds ever created online. During peak periods, more than 90,000 adventurers and dragon slayers have explored the world of Norrath simultaneously. The active global EverQuest subscriber base is comprised of players from various countries throughout the "real" world, including the U.S., England, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy and Australia.

The Station(R) (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 EverQuest's 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 website, 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).