LADYDRAGON.COM - EA.Com To Launch in Korean Internet Gaming Rooms

Monday August 27, 2001

EA.Com To Launch in Korean Internet Gaming Rooms; World's No. 1 Online Game Destination To Debut Ultima Online in Korea; Other Games to Follow

EA.com(SM) today announced that it will launch Ultima Online(TM) (UO) into the explosive Korean Internet Gaming Room (IGR) market in autumn 2001. The company plans to follow the UO launch with other online games, such as The Sims Online(TM) and popular EA SPORTS(TM) content.

As of January 2001, Korea had the highest usage of the Internet in the world. An estimated 22 million users spend an average of 16 hours per month on the Web with online gaming cited as one of the top three uses of the Internet along with audio/video streaming and file transfers. There are an estimated 25,000 IGRs in Korea where consumers pay by the hour to play games.

"We see a huge long-term opportunity to bring compelling online content to the booming Korean game market," said John Riccitiello, president and chief operating officer of Electronic Arts and general manager of EA.com. "Internet Gaming Rooms are one of the most popular forms of entertainment in Korea, outpacing all other mediums including television and movies. We are excited to bring Ultima Online and other EA franchises to this nation of rabid gamers."

EA.com, the sixth largest site on the Internet, launched in the U.S. in October 2000 and has quickly grabbed more than a 37 percent market share in the online interactive entertainment segment with 22 million registered members. The site, which offers both free and subscription-based content, is the home of more than 85 games that cover all genres.

    Ultima Online, one of EA.com's key properties and the industry's trailblazer of Internet-based massively multiplayer gaming, has an installed base of 235,000 subscribers. The game has been localized for the Korean market and will be available in IGRs in autumn.

    About EA.com

    EA.com, which went live in October of 2000, is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif. and is a business division of Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS), the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Under an agreement with America Online, Inc. (AOL), the world's leading interactive services company, EA.com provides exclusive games programming for the AOL(R) Games channel, AOL.COM, Netscape.com, ICQ, CompuServe, in addition to the EA.com home site. The relationship between EA.com and AOL has created a leading online gaming community and provides several services, including the ability to download and play games, find online opponents, obtain game related information and join chat rooms to discuss games.