April 10, 2003

MICROSOFT LIGHTS THE LAMP WITH "NHL RIVALS 2004"

New Hockey Title Equipped with Xbox Live to Energize the Category

Historic hockey rivals will face-off this week as the quest for the coveted Stanley Cup begins. With intense NHL Playoff battles opening throughout the league, Microsoft Game Studios announced today its first hockey title for the Xbox video game system, "NHL Rivals 2004." The game is scheduled to “go top shelf” in stores this fall.

“NHL Rivals 2004” will have all the modes of play that hockey fans want including single game, playoff mode, season mode and online play.

In addition, “NHL Rivals 2004” will showcase a variety of features including:

• An advanced stick-placement system with unique moves and countermoves to make the face-off as important in the game as it is in the NHL.

• An in-depth Tournament Mode allowing gamers to set up an 8, 10, 12, or 16 team round-robin knockout tournament.

• A challenging Rivalry Mode that instantly puts gamers into a grudge match between historic rival teams like the Canadians vs. Maple Leafs.

• Unique player roles including Snipers, Enforcers and Agitators offer gamers a chance to experience different aspects of the NHL game. Each player will have special moves indicative of their role on the ice.

“The popularity of NHL hockey is based on the intense rivalries that teams and fans have with each other,” said Kevin Browne, sports studio manager at Microsoft Game Studios.” “’NHL Rivals 2004’ has captured the thrill and excitement of those rivalries. Gamers will be able to experience their own hockey rivalries through intense, competitive play, whether that be in single-player mode or with others around the world via Xbox Live.”

Hockey fans will be able to settle old grudge matches and create new rivalries online using Xbox Live. Gamers will be able to track individual and team stats, leader boards and win/loss records as well as support cooperative, team, ranked and non-ranked play. With Xbox Live, gamers will be able to download quarterly roster updates, All-Star game rosters and updated player ratings.

“NHL Rivals 2004” is scheduled to hit store shelves in the Fall and will be Xbox Live enabled.

About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon(tm)"; Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as "Halo(tm)," "Project Gotham Racing(tm)" and "NFL Fever"; and Zone.com (http://www.zone.com/), the official games channel for the MSN® network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "OutSmart(tm)."

About Xbox

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Xbox Live

Xbox Live, which launched in the United States Nov. 15, 2002, allows gamers to play multiplayer Xbox games with other gamers everywhere via a broadband connection. With a built-in hard drive and Ethernet port, the Xbox console is the only video game system built from the ground up for online gaming, negating the need to buy additional, costly peripherals or upgrades. Xbox Live enables gamers to easily find their friends; talk to other players during game play through the Xbox Communicator headset; download current statistics, new levels and characters to their Xbox hard drive; and play online-all exclusive features to Xbox Live.

Microsoft, NHL Rivals 2004, Xbox and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp in the United States and/or other countries. NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Rivals is a trademark of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. © NHL 2003. All rights reserved. Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey League. © NHLPA. NHL Rivals 2004 is an Officially Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA, National Hockey League Players' Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used under license by Microsoft Game Studios

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