Atari and Epic Games' ``Unreal Tournament 2004'' Demo Becomes One of the Most Popular Game Downloads of All Time; Posts More Than 1.5 Million Downloads Worldwide in First Week

Business Wire, Feb 20, 2004

Business & Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2004

Surpasses Groundbreaking Download Rate of "Unreal Tournament 2003"

Gamers worldwide have made the trial version of "Unreal(R) Tournament 2004" one of the most popular game demo downloads of all time, with more than 1.5 million downloads in the first week of availability. The demo first hit the Internet on Wednesday, February 11, and was distributed on a worldwide scale.

Fans can download the demo directly from www.unrealtournament.com or choose from a list of mirror servers found on the Web site. The full version of "Unreal Tournament 2004" is expected to be available at retail in March; pre-orders are now available at all major game sales outlets.

According to statistics tracked by Web sites offering the demo, more than 1.5 million users accessed the "Unreal Tournament 2004" demo in the last week alone. Graphics card maker, NVIDIA(R), which hosts the demo on its own "nZone" gaming portal, reports that more than 140,000 gamers have downloaded the demo from their server. FilePlanet.com, one of the most popular online video game download destinations, reported more than 110,000 downloads, making the "Unreal Tournament 2004" download one of the fastest demo downloads to reach 100,000 in the site's history. On most gaming sites offering the download, the "Unreal Tournament 2004" demo is maintaining its position as the top download.

"Fan reaction has been over-the-top, demonstrating that the 'Unreal Tournament' franchise is still the King of the Hill for online multiplayer games," said Peter Wyse, executive producer at Atari. "Epic's excellent work at reinventing its own masterpiece continues to impress gamers worldwide. The introduction of Onslaught mode, the reemergence of Assault mode and the all-new vehicles in 'Unreal Tournament 2004' have created exactly what action fans have been waiting for -- the definitive multiplayer experience on PC!"

"Unreal Tournament 2004" is developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Digital Extremes. The "Unreal Tournament 2004" official demo includes five playable game modes, and offers fans their first taste of "Unreal Tournament 2004's" two new gameplay styles: the introduction of the hyper-charged Onslaught mode and the return of the fan-favorite Assault mode, which last appeared in the original "Unreal Tournament." The demo also features established game types like Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Bombing Run.

"We are really proud and excited to see the fans of the 'Unreal' franchise embracing the all new gameplay elements in 'Unreal Tournament 2004' in such overwhelming numbers," said Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games. "As a company, we focused hard on making a game that was more than just an incremental improvement and could meet our standards for breaking new ground in terms of gameplay innovation and multiplayer competition. Clearly, as PC gamers everywhere have demonstrated, 'Unreal Tournament 2004' stands to redefine what it means to compete online."

Some of the new features showcased in the "Unreal Tournament 2004" demo include:

-- Onslaught Mode: Onslaught is an epic-in-scope team-based

challenge that pits two teams in bitter warfare across massive

terrain maps in a frag-filled battle to destroy, capture and

hold key power nodes. Vehicles play a major role as

war-hardened flying and driving machines transport combatants

to the "front" and serve as mobile platforms to launch

devastating attacks on the enemy.

-- Assault Mode: In the completely redesigned Assault mode,

gamers are challenged to complete a variety of mission

objectives to attack or defend bases in a bigger and badder

version of the "Unreal Tournament" classic; many Assault maps

require the use of vehicles as a critical gameplay element.

-- Vehicles: "Unreal Tournament 2004" features a variety of

land-, space- and air-based vehicles, including buggies,

tanks, hovercraft, aircraft and more.

-- Voice Technology: Integrated voice communications, including

voice-over-IP technology to allow real-time chat during

gameplay; voice recognition, allowing players to issue orders

to computer controlled bots; and, text-to-voice conversion of

typed chat.

"Unreal Tournament 2004" is expected to release in March, in both a standard and a "Special Edition" format. The game will feature more than 100 environments and 80 characters as well as all the action and excitement that made the original "Unreal Tournament" a smash hit.

For more information, to download the demo or to find download mirror sites, please visit the official Web site at www.unrealtournament.com.

About Epic Games

Epic Games Inc., based in Raleigh, N.C., and established in 1991, is a developer of cutting-edge computer and video games. The company is best known as the creator of hit PC 3D action games "Unreal" and "Unreal Tournament," both award-winning blockbuster hits having each sold more than 1 million copies. Games created with the "Unreal Tournament" Game Engine include: 2002 Console Game of the Year winner: "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell"(TM) (on PC and console platforms) from Ubi Soft, PC Gamer's 2000 Game of the Year: "Deus Ex" from Ion Storm/Eidos, "America's Army: Operations," from the United States Army and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (PC) from Electronic Arts -- and many others. Prior to their 3D success, Epic Games was well known for the hit shareware games "Jill of the Jungle," "Jazz Jackrabbit" and "Epic Pinball." Additional information can be obtained through Epic's Web site at www.epicgames.com.