Electronic Arts Completes Acquisition of Westwood Studios; Creators of "Command & Conquer" Become EA's 10th Game Studio.SAN MATEO San Mateo (săn mətā`ō), city (1990 pop. 85,486), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1894. It is a commercial and retail center with some high-technology manufacturing. San Mateo, Spanish for St. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1998--Electronic Arts(TM)(NASDAQ NASDAQin full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :ERTS ERTS Electronic Arts, Inc. (stock symbol) ERTS Earth Resources Technology Satellite (US NASA) ERTS Embedded Real Time Systems ERTS Enhanced Remote Transit Shed ), the world's largest interactive entertainment software company, today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Westwood Studios Westwood Studios (1985-2003) was a computer and video game developer, founded in 1985 as Westwood Associates by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle and based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Inc., and the Irvine, Calif.-based Virgin Studio from Virgin Interactive Entertainment Inc., a division of Spelling Entertainment Group Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :SP). The cash transaction is valued at $122.5 million. Westwood, based in Las Vegas, becomes Electronic Arts' (EA) 10th entertainment studio and a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of San Mateo-based EA. Founded in 1985 by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle, Westwood is known for the best-selling franchise "Command & Conquer"(R), which has been one of the most successful PC games ever, and the critically acclaimed "Lands of Lore Lands of Lore or LoL is a classical computer role-playing game series by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive. Lands of Lore follows the tradition of Dungeon Master "(TM) and "Dune"(TM) series. Both Sperry and Castle have signed five-year employment contracts and will remain with Westwood. Larry Probst, Electronic Arts' chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , said, "Westwood is one of our industry's finest entertainment software studios. Its top-selling "Command & Conquer" and "Lands of Lore" series set new standards for innovation and creativity and are two of the industry's most valuable franchises. "Adding Westwood to our EA SPORTS, Maxis, ORIGIN, Jane's Combat Simulations Jane's Combat Simulations was a brand of PC flight and combat simulators released by Electronic Arts (EA). The Jane's Information Group sold the rights to EA so that EA could lend authenticity and accuracy to their growing line of combat games. and Bullfrog bullfrog, common name of the largest North American frog, Rana catesbeiana. Native to the E United States, this species has been successfully introduced in the West and in other parts of the world. The body length is 4 to 8 in. brands positions Electronic Arts to reach our goal to be the No. 1 publisher of entertainment software on the personal computer." EA President of Worldwide Studios Don Mattrick said, "We are pleased that Westwood co-founders Brett Sperry and Louis Castle will remain with the company and will continue to play key leadership roles in producing imaginative original titles and in managing the tremendous creative team at the Westwood and Irvine Studios. The outstanding creative talent and rich pool of intellectual properties are great additions our studio family." Westwood Studios was previously a division of Virgin Interactive Entertainment, which is a division of Spelling Entertainment Group Inc. Viacom Inc. (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :VIA/VIAB) owns approximately 80 percent of Spelling Entertainment. Westwood is a prominent publisher of best-selling PC and next-generation console games. The company has released several popular titles including: the "Lands of Lore" series, the "Kyrandia"(R) adventure trilogy, "Monopoly"(R) for the Internet, "Blade Runner"(TM), "Games People Play Games People Play can refer to:
Electronic Arts, headquartered in San Mateo, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of $909 million for fiscal 1998. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for personal computers and advanced entertainment systems such as the PlayStation(R) and Nintendo(R) 64. Electronic Arts markets its products under six brand names: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS(TM), Maxis(TM), Origin Systems(TM) Inc., Bullfrog(TM) Productions Ltd. and Jane's(R) Combat Simulations. EA has international subsidiaries and distribution in more than 75 countries worldwide. The company has 10 major development operations in nine locations throughout the world that are based in San Mateo and Walnut Creek, Calif.; Baltimore; Austin, Texas; Maitland, Fla.; Seattle; Las Vegas; Vancouver, British Columbia; the United Kingdom and Japan. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com. Note to Editors: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, Maxis, Origin Systems and Bullfrog are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Jane's is a registered trademark of Jane's Information Group Ltd. Westwood, Command & Conquer, Lands of Lore and Kyrandia are trademarks or registered trademarks of Westwood Studios. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo 64 is a registered trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Electronic Arts
Caroline Hughes, 650/513-7860 (Investor Relations)
Pat Becker, 650/513-7523 (Public Relations)
or
Westwood Studios
Aaron Cohen, 702/228-4040
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