Imagine Media's Next Generation Magazine Reveals That Microsoft Will Introduce Set-Top Games Console.

BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1999--

The October issue of Next Generation magazine includes a worldwide exclusive on Microsoft's (Nasdaq:MSFT) "X-Box."

While Microsoft representatives have explicitly denied it, several sources close to the company have told Next Generation editors that Microsoft is, in fact, developing a set-top game-playing console under the code name X-Box.

"According to our sources, work has been proceeding on the console for several months, but it has been kept under wraps to avoid damaging the company's relationship with Sega during Dreamcast's launch phase," states Tom Russo, senior editor of Next Generation.

There is no word on whether or not Microsoft would market the box as a game console or as a do-everything set-top box a la 3DO's Multiplayer(TM) or Philips CD-i, but Next Generation's sources believe it to be primarily a games console.

"This is the kind of story that Next Generation's readers have come to expect. It's cutting edge, in-depth and focused on the next generation of gaming. We were the first to bring news and analysis of PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color  and now, X-Box. For over five years, the industry has trusted Next Generation to deliver the best games coverage on the planet. And this latest scoop proves that we'll be doing it for a long time to come," said Chris Charla, Next Generation's editor-in-chief.

The October issue of Next Generation hits newsstands on Sept. 21.

About Imagine Media, Inc.

Imagine Media (www.imaginemedia.com), America's fastest-growing publisher of magazines and web-sites, recently became part of The Future Network plc (www.futurenet.com), a noted European success story. The Future Network has become Europe's largest publisher of consumer magazines covering computing and video games.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Imagine Media's publications sell in excess of 1.5 million copies per month. Its market-leading titles include: PC Gamer, PC Accelerator, PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine, Next Generation, Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine, NGamer, Games Business, Business 2.0, MacAddict, Maximum PC, the MacDaily Network (www.macdaily.com), and the MaximumPC Network (www.maximumpc.com).