Yahoo! Launches Games on Demand; Broadband Service Delivers Ability to Rent and Play PC Games Online; Be the First to Play Action Game ``Zapper'' Through Games on Demand

Business Wire, Sept 23, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech & Entertainment Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 2002

Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, today unveiled its newest premium broadband offering, Yahoo!(R) Games on Demand, a for-pay games service that offers users the ability to rent and play PC games directly through a streamed service. With the launch of Yahoo! Games on Demand (http://gamesondemand.yahoo.com), Yahoo! continues to provide innovative services for broadband-enabled desktops and bring consumers the newest and most-requested entertainment on the Web.

"Games are an extraordinarily engaging form of entertainment, and online games are growing rapidly in popularity," said David Mandelbrot, vice president and general manager, Yahoo! Media, Entertainment, Information and Finance. "Yahoo! Games on Demand is part of our company-wide strategic initiative to deliver innovative broadband services to our users. With the strength of our Yahoo! Games platform, which hosted more than four billion minutes of online game-play and more than eight million users in August, the addition of Yahoo! Games on Demand allows us to develop deeper relationships with casual and devoted game players alike."

Leading Titles from Activision, Eidos Interactive, Infogrames, Inc. and Take2

Offering a one-stop destination to play a wide selection of popular PC games from leading publishers, Yahoo! Games on Demand offers more than 40 titles at launch, giving users a choice of popular new and classic games, in genres ranging from action and strategy to simulation and arcade. Users can make their selection by browsing game titles or learn more about games through screen shots, reviews, demos and more. Games available at launch include Civilization III, Deus Ex, 4X4 EVO, Star Trek(R) Armada II and Serious Sam.

Yahoo! Games on Demand will also give consumers the first chance to preview and play the new action game Zapper(TM) from Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq:IFGM), the publishers of Frogger(TM) 2: Swampy's Revenge. Zapper is a cricket with an attitude and a pair of high voltage antennae he's not afraid to use. Zapper challenges gamers with non-stop frantic action, through 18 levels, set in totally twisted worlds, filled with bizarre enemies and deadly hazards. Gamers can play the full PC version of Zapper through Yahoo! Games on Demand prior to its availability in stores nationwide and can continue to keep the game conveniently at their fingertips.

"With more than 50 million people in the U.S. playing online games(1), we're seizing the opportunity to offer direct digital distribution to a ready audience, changing the way people pay for and play games," said Daniel Hart, senior director, Yahoo! Games and Entertainment. "We created Yahoo! Games on Demand to offer consumers value-added features they want including convenience, choice and control. Through Yahoo! Games on Demand, consumers can play their favorite games from a broadband-connected PC, save games between play sessions and play a wide variety of games while enjoying the same experience of playing a store-purchased PC game."

Yahoo! Games on Demand provides subscribers with a convenient, personalized "My Games" page, which tracks their current rentals and subscription packages, as well as updates to the Games on Demand service. The service also allows consumers to choose how they rent games: multi-game, monthly subscriptions or single, three-day rentals. Game rentals are offered at four price levels: $4.95 for the rental of one game for three days; $9.95 for the rental of three games for thirty days; $12.95 for the rental of five games for thirty days; and $14.95 for the rental of ten games for thirty days.

Yahoo! Games on Demand is available to users through the recently launched SBC Yahoo! DSL service or any broadband connection. Available to SBC Yahoo! DSL subscribers through a personalized My Premium Services page, a subscription to Yahoo! Games on Demand is only a few clicks away. As the latest Yahoo! premium services offering, Yahoo! Games on Demand joins a host of products that offer rich, compelling and personalized premium content and services which had over one million paying customers in June. Additional premium broadband services are expected to debut on the Yahoo! network in coming months.

Access and play on the Yahoo! Games on Demand service requires a broadband Internet connection and registration for a Yahoo! ID and Yahoo! Wallet. Additional PC system requirements include Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP, as well as a Pentium 233 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 500 MB of hard drive space, Direct X and compatible SVGA video and sound cards. Users must also complete a one-time download of the Yahoo! Game Launcher, powered by Exent Technologies. The Yahoo! Game Launcher is a dynamic tool that allows players to download only the files necessary to begin game play while the remaining required game elements download and stream in the background.