Electronic Arts Invests in Multi-Year Publishing Agreement with Game Developer, Digital Illusions - Battlefield

Dolemyte Commander Posts: 1116	Posted on Wed Feb 12, 2003 7:08 am Developer of Critically Acclaimed PC Game Battlefield 1942 to Get Strategic Investment REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2003--Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), the world's leading developer and publisher of video games, and Swedish developer Digital Illusions, C.E. (DICE) today announced a strategic investment and long-term publishing agreement for video games made by DICE studios. EA has purchased a minority interest in DICE and licensed the worldwide publishing rights for future products developed by DICE. In 2002, DICE and EA partnered to release the global blockbuster, Battlefield 1942(TM). The critically acclaimed online multi-player game is in distribution in more than 36 countries and has shipped more than 900,000 games to date. In January 2003, EA released a Battlefield 1942 expansion pack titled Battlefield: The Road to Rome, with all new content to accompany the original game. "The success of Battlefield 1942 proved that DICE has emerged from a small studio into one of the world's top developers of game content," said EA President and Chief Operating Officer John Riccitiello. "With EA's investment and global publishing capability, this company is going to continue to develop blockbuster game franchises." "Battlefield 1942 showed us what DICE could do with the right publishing partner for its original IP," said DICE CEO Patrick Soderlund from the company's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. "We are a company with tremendous talent, powerful intellectual properties and many ideas for new games. Now, with the financial backing and global publishing reach of Electronic Arts, DICE can focus on becoming a major force in the world of entertainment." ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS - News), headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.7 billion for fiscal 2002. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for the Internet, personal computers and video game systems. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA GAMES(TM), EA SPORTS BIG(TM) and EA.COM(SM). More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.info.ea.com. ABOUT DIGITAL ILLUSIONS Founded in 1992, Digital Illusions is an award winning developer of interactive entertainment based in Gothenburg, Sweden and with offices in Stockholm and London, Ontario, Canada. The company has more than 170 employees and develops both console and PC based games. Recent titles include Battlefield 1942 for PC, Shrek for Microsoft Xbox and RalliSport Challenge for Xbox and PC. Digital Illusions is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange New Market and is traded under the ticker symbol "Dice". More information can be found on www.dice.se. Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES and EA SPORTS BIG are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA.COM is a service mark of EA.com Inc. Battlefield 1942 is a trademark of Digital Illusions CE AB. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
	Dolemyte Commander