News

FINALLY!!!

EA SPORTS AND EA GAMES PERFORMING LIVE ON XBOX

Agreement With Microsoft Brings Madden NFL, NBA LIVE, FIFA Soccer, and Other Blockbusters to Xbox Live This Year

 

Redwood City, Calif. – May 10, 2004 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced one of the most anticipated events in the history of videogames:  EA and Microsoft have struck an agreement that will allow players of EA SPORTS™ and EA GAMES™ titles to compete and play online through Xbox Live™.  Players will have access to voice communication, tournaments, ladders and all the fun of online play.  Terms of the agreement were not released.

 

The first game to include Xbox Live capability will be NCAA® Football 2005, scheduled for release in July.  Madden NFL 2005, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 2005, NASCAR® 2005: Chase For The Cup, NBA LIVE 2005, NHL® 2005, and NCAA® March Madness™ 2005 will follow.  EA GAMES titles on Xbox Live include GoldenEye: Rogue Agent™, Need for Speed™ Underground 2, Battlefield: Modern Combat™, Burnout™ 3 and TimeSplitters Future Perfect™.

 

“Microsoft has always been one of our best business partners,” said EA Chairman and CEO Larry Probst.  “This agreement took time because we needed to get it right.  This agreement enlists EA to further expand the Xbox Live community and allows us to build a business around premium content.  The agreement is good for Microsoft, good for EA and most of all, good for the players.”  

 

“Since launching the Xbox Live service less than 18 months ago, we already have nearly a million subscribers in 24 countries around the world,” noted Microsoft Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach.  “The addition of blockbuster EA franchises to the Xbox Live service promises to reinforce our strong online position and bring even more gamers into the Xbox Live community.”

 

EA’s Xbox Live titles will provide features that bring the unified Xbox Live experience to the millions of EA Xbox gamers. EA’s Xbox Live features will deliver world-class EA games, as well as an online community through EA online. EA Xbox Live features include Quickmatch and Optimatch, as well as supporting current Xbox Live Gamertags and voice communication. EA also will support the existing Xbox Live friends list, and additionally offer the EA Messenger service for easy communication amongst other Xbox Live friends.

  

ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS

Electronic Arts, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion for fiscal 2004. The company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. In 2003 EA had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA has more than 15 titles available on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, offering online play. Together, EA SPORTS and EA GAMES brands have online registration for more than 700,000 players on the PlayStation 2 console.  Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA GAMES™ and EA SPORTS BIG™.  EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. Additional EA at E3 information can be found at http://www.ea.com/e3/home.jsp. 

About Xbox

Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/)  is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The tag line, “It’s good to play together,” captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia.

 

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Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES, EA SPORTS BIG, John Madden Football, and Need for Speed, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. NBA, NFL, NASCAR, NCAA, NHL, March Madness, FIFA, Tiger Woods, and PGA TOUR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission.

 

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent ™ & © 2003 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists. Battlefield: Modern Combat is a trademark of Digital Illusions CE AB. TimeSplitters and TimeSplitters Future Perfect are trademarks of Free Radical Design Ltd. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and Xbox Live are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.