*Electronic Arts Captures World Cup France 98 With Interactive*

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(Courtesy BW SportsWire -- 800-221-2462) 

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BW SportsWire)--May 19, 1998-- Electronic
Arts, the world's largest independent interactive entertainment
software company, today announced the shipment of World Cup 98
for the Nintendo(R) 64, PlayStation(R) and PC. 
     
World Cup '98 is an official licensed product of the FIFA World
Cup France '98, which promises to be one of the biggest sporting
events of the century with an expected television audience of 35
billion viewers over the month-long event June 10-July 12, 1998.

World Cup '98 is the latest product offering in EA SPORTS'(TM)
internationally best-selling FIFA Soccer series which has sold
more than 8.5 million units across all platforms over the
lifetime of the franchise. 
     
World Cup '98 features all the excitement of France 98,
including: 40 national teams, 10 authentic stadiums, eight World
Cup classic final matches, World cup history, national team
facts, opening and closing ceremonies, detailed statistics for
over 1,600 soccer players, national anthems and the exact
two-stage tournament format to be used during France 98. 

The games also include over 850 ultra-realistic player movements
created by a MotionBlending(TM) technique that uses motion
captured data from professional soccer players, such as striker
Roy Lassiter (U.S. National Team/D.C. United), midfielder Preki
Radosavljevic (U.S. National Team/Kansas City Wizards), goalie
Mark Dodd (U.S. National Team/Dallas Burn) and defender Cle
Kooiman (Miami Fusion). 
     
"World Cup '98 is a testament to EA SPORTS' passion for soccer
and the desire to deliver the most realistic and fun experience
to soccer fans around the globe," said Lassiter. 

"It was a thrill to participate in motion capture sessions where
my signature moves were digitized into the game. World Cup 98
will undoubtedly be the center of home entertainment for soccer
fans around the world as the excitement builds for France 98." 
     
"Our mission was two-fold with World Cup 98 -- we wanted to
recreate every nuance of the World Cup frenzy while delivering
the world's most technically advanced soccer game ever," said
Bruce McMillan, vice president and executive producer of the
FIFA and World Cup Soccer series at Electronic Arts. 
     
"From a gameplay perspective, we have delivered lightning fast
reactions to user control commands and also added game
strategies and tactics that can be changed 'on the fly.' 
     
"Then, to add to the overall gaming experience, we compiled an
incredible music soundtrack with popular alternative bands and
we signed world-renowned commentators to deliver play-by-play.
Soccer fanatics are going to be cheering from the opening of the
game's interface screens through their victories and defeats as
they play World Cup 98." 
     
World Cup 98 immerses game players into the soccer experience
with a music soundtrack featuring Chumbawamba ("Tubthumping"),
Fluke ("Absurd"), Boymerang ("Soul Beat Runna") and God Within
("Rain Cry"). 

Offering a wide array of commentary, World Cup 98 features
player introductions by Desmond Lynam and play-by-play performed
by Europe's legendary John Motson and latest European commentary
sensations Chris Waddle and Gary Lineker. World Cup classic mode
contains guest commentary by the UK's historically renowned
Kenneth Wostenholme. 
     
Game players will have the ability to defend or attack the goal
with a brilliant variety of bicycle kicks, diving headers, slide
tackles and aerial volleys. Additionally, World Cup 98 offers
five modes of competition: World Cup, World Cup Classics (replay
eight of the all-time greatest matches in World Cup history),
Friendly, Penalty Kick Shootout and Training. 
     
In World Cup mode, players must lead their teams through both
Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the competition to claim the Cup -- the
same process used in France 98. Based on the international
appeal of World Cup 98, game players can choose in-game text in
eight languages, including: English, Spanish, German, French,
Swedish, Italian, Danish and Dutch. 

World Cup 98 for PC supports a wide variety of 3-D accelerator
cards, extensive 8-button gamepad support and head-to-head
competition via modem (up to eight players on two PCs) or
network play (up to 20 players on eight PCs). The PlayStation
version supports the analog joystick and up to eight players
with a multi-tap. Up to four players can compete on the Nintendo
64. 
     
World Cup 98 for the Nintendo 64 carries a suggested retail
price of U.S. $59.95; the PC and PlayStation products carry
suggested retail prices of U.S. $39.95. 
     
EA SPORTS is the leading interactive sports software brand in
the world with a 58 percent marketshare. Its top-selling titles
include John Madden Football(TM), NHL(R) Hockey, NBA Live
Basketball, Triple Play Baseball(TM) and NASCAR(R) Racing. EA
SPORTS is an official sponsor of the U.S. and Canadian National
soccer teams. 

Electronic Arts, headquartered in San Mateo, is the world's
leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in
1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of $860 million for
calendar 1997. The company develops, publishes and distributes
software worldwide for personal computers and advanced
entertainment systems. 
     
Electronic Arts markets its products under six brand names:
Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, Maxis(TM), Origin Systems(TM) Inc.,
Bullfrog(TM) Productions Ltd. and Jane's(R) Combat Simulations.
More information about EA's products and full text of press
releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com. 

     CONTACT: EA SPORTS               
              Kathy Frazier, 650/513-7030 (Senior PR Specialist)              
              kfrazier@ea.com