Electronic Arts Ships Nuclear Strike for the PC; Top-Selling Game Franchise Available on the PC for First Time.

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1997--Electronic Arts(TM) (NASDAQ:ERTS), a leading global interactive entertainment software company, today announced the shipment of its action/strategy game, Nuclear Strike(TM) for the personal computer (PC).

This begins a new phase in the popular, console-based Strike series, marking the first time a Strike game has been available on the PC platform.

Nuclear Strike is the latest addition to the successful Strike series that has shipped more than 2.7 million units across all platforms worldwide. The series traditionally makes players part of a covert government force that is charged with going behind enemy lines to stop an international crisis before it begins. Nuclear Strike drops players into the jungles of Southeast Asia in a fight to stop a tyrant who is holding the world hostage with a nuclear threat. Players must complete detailed missions within five levels of play in order to neutralize the tyrant, LeMonde, before he unleashes a nuclear weapon on the world.

"Consumers have been clamoring for the Strike series to come to the PC platform for a very long time," said Michael Kosaka, executive producer of the Strike series. "The Strike series has been extremely successful on the console systems and Electronic Arts wanted to ensure that it delivered the same rich experience to the PC customer. We really looked hard at what differentiates a PC and console consumer in terms of graphics and game play and reworked key areas such as the interface to meet the needs of the PC gamer. We believe consumers will think it was worth the wait."

Nuclear Strike brings exciting new elements into the Strike experience with more than 25 missions. For instance, players can fly alongside a squad of armed Huey helicopters in a search and destroy mission, issue battle commands to thwart an enemy invasion, and use the firepower of 15 different user-controlled vehicles to protect a trainload of diplomats from being intercepted by enemy forces. -0- Other significant Nuclear Strike features include:

-- A PC-specific interface that includes a Heads Up Display (HUD)

with a way point indicator and mini-map that provide direction

to the next mission. The HUD can be displayed while playing

the game.

-- Fifteen player-controlled vehicles, including the following

helicopters: a Super Apache, Sea Apache, News chopper, Cobra

gunship, Commanche, Havoc, Huey and Hokum; land vehicles: a

Bradley APC tank, M1Abrams main battle tank, Multiple Launch

Rocket System (MLRS), and a Russian T-90 tank; jets: a Harrier

and an experimental A-10X; and one naval vessel: a PAVC 

Hovercraft.

-- A living battlefield where enemies and friendly forces react

to player behavior and follow his commands

-- Dynamic pyrotechnics, i.e., craters will result from a

player's bombing a land area, shockwaves will result from

vessels being destroyed in the water

-- Full motion video that delivers quick-cut, MTV-style action

sequences, such as a tiger attack scene

-- Photo-realistic terrain with 3-D objects

-- 3Dfx support

-- User-selectable difficulty levels: normal and easy

-- An interactive music system where the game's music keeps pace

with the action onscreen

-- Multiple game play resolutions (minimum: 320 x 240; maximum:

1024 x 768) -0-

The game also touts two camera views: "classic" where the player-controlled vehicle moves around a scrolling 3-D world and "chase" where the vehicle remains in place and the world moves around it.

In addition, Strike-net team members deliver a steady flow of intelligence to the player. Characters include: the commanding officer General Earle; computer expert Hack; and undercover television reporter and Strike team member, Andrea.

Other characters include: Colonel LeMonde, the leader behind the enemy conspiracy and the man with his finger on the detonator of a nuclear weapon; Napoleon Hwong, a criminal\warlord in the South Seas; Harding Cash, an Australian mercenary who acts as an advisor to the player; and Naja Hana, a freedom fighter who was pressed into helping the people of Indochine fight against the terrorist army. She also acts as an advisor to the player.

Nuclear Strike for the PC carries a suggested retail price of $49.99. Recommended system requirements include: Windows 95, Pentium processor 133 MHz CPU or faster (P90 MHz or faster with a 3Dfx card), 110 MB minimum hard drive, 16 MB of RAM, 4 speed CD-ROM drive, and a DirectX 5 supported sound card. In addition to the game, Electronic Arts has unveiled an updated Strike Web site (http://www.Strike-Net.com). The site includes elements such as a demo, screen shots, quicktime movies and frequently asked questions.

Electronic Arts, headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., is a leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of $625 million for fiscal 1997. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for personal computers and advanced entertainment systems such as the PlayStation(TM), Nintendo(R) 64 and Sega Saturn(TM). Electronic Arts markets its products worldwide under six brand names: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS(TM), Maxis(TM), Inc., ORIGIN Systems(TM) Inc., Bullfrog(TM) Productions Ltd. and Jane's(R) Combat Simulations.

EA has international subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Company has North American development operations in San Mateo and Walnut Creek, Calif.; Baltimore; Austin, Texas; Seattle; and Vancouver, British Columbia. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com . -0-

Note to Editors: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, ORIGIN Systems, Maxis, Bullfrog and Nuclear Strike are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts or its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Jane's is a registered trademark of Jane's Information Group Ltd. PlayStation is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Nintendo 64 is a trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. Sega Saturn is a trademark of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Electronic Arts

Mary Leddy, 415/513-7314

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