GameSpy Industries Launches "CheatingPlanet.Com"

Market Wire, 20050229

GameSpy Industries, Inc., a leading software developer, winner of a 2000 "Webby" Award for its GameSpy.com gaming site, and a pioneer in interactive online entertainment with a network of websites specifically catering to the gaming community, has announced the launch of CheatingPlanet.com. Mark Surfas, CEO/Founder of GameSpy Industries, Inc., made the announcement.

Visitors to the site can enter the special CheatingPlanet.com launch contest (www.cheatingplanet.com/contests/), with the chance to win a Creative 3D Annihilator 2 video card, and a Voodoo 5 5500 AGP video card, as well as other prizes and GameSpy gear. The contest ends Sept. 8, 2000.

CheatingPlanet.com has been designed as a utility for gamers who are interestedin cheats--special codes which can be used to unlock special game features hidden inside various games by the game developers. The new site will offer tens of thousands of cheat codes for the following gaming platforms: PC, Macintosh, Dreamcast, Playstation, Playstation2, Nintendo 64, NES, GameBoy, GameBoy Color, Super Ninendo, 3DO, Amiga, CD-1, Sega Genesis, Saturn, and others. CheatingPlanet.com will also feature cheat codes for games running on future console platforms, such as Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox.

CheatingPlanet.com only lists game developer-created cheat codes, and will not contain hacks, trainers, or other material of a malicious nature. Other interesting aspects of the new site include:

Apowerful cheat code search function that ensures the codes needed are onlya few clicks away.

The ability for readers to submit their own cheats in order to earn "points" (if the code is verified) which can be accumulated toward contests, giveaways, and more.

Cheat codes which will be updated every day of the week.

A"Use CheatingPlanet.com on YOUR Site" component, in which webmasters canadd free CheatingPlanet.com search boxes to their own sites.

Regarding the new site, Mr. Surfas said, "If a gamer is having trouble with a certain level or puzzle within the game, a cheat code can allow him or her to bypass the level altogether, or imbue their character with special powers or abilities, or even the use of different weapons or gadgets. Cheats are fundamental to games -- nearly all games have them, in one form or another. We are using the term 'cheats' here, not in its malicious sense, but rather as a means by which to offer our players more control over their gaming experiences."

ABOUT GAMESPY INDUSTRIES

Founded in l995, GameSpy Industries, Inc., is synonymous with creating superior gaming experiences, in conjunction with such leading game publishers as Activision, Eidos, WizardWorks, and Gathering of Developers, for the enjoymentof more than six-million gamers located in over 100 countries, worldwide.

More than half-a-million people daily visit the 50 websites which comprisethe GameSpy Network. These include: the "Webby" Award-winning GameSpy.com,the Web's most comprehensive gaming portal; PlanetQuake.com and PlanetHalfLife.com, comprehensive resources for the world's most popular action games; and FilePlanet.com, the largest game file download site on the Internet, among others. Also a leading software developer, GameSpy's technologies have become the industry standard in multi-player client software, a multi-platform developer tools, and backend systems for the $8-billion interactive entertainment industry.

The privately-held company is based in Irvine, California. For more information, visit the company's website at: www.gamespyindustries.com.