Warner Bros. Online Partners With IBM to Build Infrastructure Technology for the Matrix Online Game

Business Wire, March 9, 2005

GLENDALE, Calif. & ARMONK, N.Y. -- Warner Bros. Online today announced that IBM will provide the on-demand technology and services to power The Matrix Online, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's first massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), co-published with SEGA of America.

Based on The Matrix film trilogy, The Matrix Online will be released in North America on March 22, 2005 and in Europe on April 8, 2005.

"Warner Bros. Online is working with IBM to help build a flexible, resilient infrastructure that will be able to `continue the saga' of The Matrix trilogy and support the complex demands of a MMORPG," said Jim Noonan, senior vice president and general manager of Warner Bros. Online.

"Responsive and highly flexible technology is required to create an engaging and complete urban environment for players in The Matrix Online," said Jason Hall, senior vice president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Warner Bros. Online and IBM are working toward this goal in order to help provide a true interactive, online space that will allow gamers to continue the storyline of the Matrix."

To support The Matrix Online, Warner Bros. Online will implement IBM hardware, including IBM eServer pSeries systems and IBM eServer xSeries systems for overall infrastructure support. In addition, Warner Bros. Online will deploy IBM WebSphere Application Server for registration and billing; and IBM software to map out a blueprint that helps create a seamless environment for rapid design, integration, construction and deployment. IBM technology will also allow Warner Bros. Online to remotely manage the technology from different locations and with varying degrees of access so the team can separate out permissions, as well as identify and assign specific tasks. This is of particular importance considering the number of groups responsible for actual game play.

"Warner Bros. Online is well positioned to capitalize on the promise of an increasingly on-demand marketplace in interactive entertainment," said Steve Canepa, vice president, IBM Global Media and Entertainment Industry. "IBM technology, coupled with Warner Bros. Entertainment's storytelling expertise, can deliver a responsive quality experience for online game players."

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc., a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is a licensor and a developer of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including consoles, PC-based gaming and wireless applications.

About Warner Bros. Online

Warner Bros. Online (WBOL) (www.warnerbros.com) provides full-service interactive solutions for Warner Bros. Entertainment subsidiaries and external clients alike. The company's digital production, marketing and wireless capabilities span more than 40 international markets throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. WBOL also oversees all aspects of warnerbros.com, which serves as the entry point into, and aggregator of all things Warner Bros. Entertainment, including such megabrands as Harry Potter, The Matrix and Looney Tunes.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and IBM Business partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. For more information about IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com. For more information on IBM and the online game industry, visit: http://www.ibm.com/vrm/games

THE MATRIX ONLINE, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and (C) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

IBM, the IBM logo, e-business logo and WebSphere, are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, in the United States, other countries or both.

The IBM eServer brand consists of the established IBM e-business logo with the descriptive term "server" following it.