Gen Con, the Best Four Days in Gaming, Announces Celebrity and Event Line-up for Gen Con So Cal.

Entertainment Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 2003

North America's largest hobby gaming convention secures out of this

world celebrities from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5,

Farscape, and Star Wars!

Gen Con So Cal to Debut in Anaheim, CA December 11 -14, 2003

Gen Con, LLC is pleased to announce the line up of celebrities and events for The Best Four Days In Gaming(TM), Gen Con's newest show, Gen Con So Cal. Gen Con So Cal will take place in Anaheim, California December 11-14, 2003.

A cast of science fiction and fantasy film and television favorites will be on hand to christen the inaugural Gen Con So Cal show, including William Shatner (Star Trek), Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica, The A-Team), Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Battlestar Galactica), Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica) Jerry Doyle (Babylon 5), Virginia Hey (Farscape), Jason Carter (Babylon 5), Richard Biggs (Babylon 5) and Robin Atkin-Downes (Babylon 5, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter). Gaming industry guests of honor include Steve Long, Kenneth Hite, Chris Pramas, Rick Loomis, James Ernest, Tracy Hickman, Skaff Elias, Dave Williams, Owen Seyler, Christian Moore, John Kovalic, and artist guest of honor April Lee.

Gen Con is thrilled to also announce that it will be home to one of Wizards of the Coasts' premier Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game Grand Prix tournaments -- Grand Prix-Anaheim at Gen Con So Cal. With a cash purse of $25,000, Grand Prix-Anaheim at Gen Con So Cal will be one of the few times a Magic Grand Prix has been held in conjunction with a convention. Wizards will also run four Grand Prix-Anaheim Trials, offering the winners a three-round bye to the Grand Prix. In addition, Wizards will host the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Dragoneye Prerelease, a full schedule of Magic: the Gathering tournaments including Pro Tour Qualifiers and Junior Super Series Challenges, Star Wars TCG, MLB Showdown, NeoPets, and Risk 2210 A.D. events throughout the weekend. Wizards of the Coast is a sponsor of Gen Con So Cal.

"For 36 years, Gen Con has been drawing gaming fans by the tens of thousands to the Midwest for thousands of gaming events, to meet fantasy and sci-fi celebrities and to sample new product releases," says Peter Adkison, Gen Con owner and CEO. "We are ecstatic with the caliber of celebrities, gaming companies and other guests who have jumped on board to bring The Best Four Days In Gaming to Gen Con So Cal!"

More than 90 exhibitors featuring the latest and greatest in the hobby game industry, and more than 1000 gaming events will kick off Gen Con So Cal in style. Among those, the Roleplaying Gamers Association (RPGA), will host over 175 favorite RPGA events, including Living Greyhawk, Living Arcanis, Living KoK, Legacy of the Green Regent and Star Wars-Living Force. Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), will host Legend of the Five Rings booster draft and team tournaments, Warlord US Doubles Championship and North American championships, Premier Humalions and Initial D tournaments, along with a full RPG schedule for Rokugan, Spycraft, Stargate, L5R and 7th Sea. Decipher games will present Lord of the Rings TCG Premier Series Qualifiers and a World Cup Qualifier, along with Star Trek constructed and sealed deck tournaments. Play in the Yu-Gi-Oh regional tournament, sponsored by Upper Deck Entertainment and you could qualify for US Nationals 2004 at Disney's Wide World of Sports. More gaming action will be provided by Steve Jackson Games, Fantasy Flight, Game Base 7, Fleer, Z-Man games, Comic Images, Sabertooth Games, Fastforward Entertainment and many more!

Look for the return of the wildly popular True Dungeon(TM): A life-sized Dungeons & Dragons adventure among the many events making Gen Con the Best Four Days In Gaming. True Dungeon is a d20 variant that allows players to experience their D&D adventure within a life-size dungeon environment.

Gen Con So Cal will be open to the public daily beginning Thursday, December 11 through Sunday, December 14. Gaming events are offered 24 hours a day, and the Exhibit Hall is open from 10 - 6. The convention will take place in the Anaheim Convention Center, a 933,000 square foot state of the art facility in Anaheim, Calif. On site registration fees are as follows:

Four-day admission: $55

One-day admission: $20

Children 8 years of age and under receive complimentary admission if accompanied by a paying adult. For more information, the public can call (800) 529-EXPO or visit www.gencon.com.

About Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering(R), among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as Dungeons & Dragons(R), and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at wizards.com

About Gen Con

Gen Con, LLC and The Best Four Days in Gaming(TM) are wholly owned by Peter Adkison, former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast. Now in its 36th year, Gen Con Indy has become the largest annual consumer fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Each year, game enthusiasts converge to share a common enthusiasm and a long weekend of interactive play, to participate in hobby-related events and meet celebrity guests. With more than 23,000 attendees each year and more new product introductions than any other consumer game convention in the U.S, Gen Con is an annual destination for fans of adventure games, fantasy and science fiction. This year marks Gen Con's debut in Anaheim, Calif. with Gen Con So Cal.