EA’s Madden NFL 2005 Blitzes ONTO Store Shelves

Retailers Report Record First Day For Blockbuster Game With All New Defensive Play, Franchise Mode And Online Innovations

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – August 9, 2004 – Signaling the start of football season, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that Madden NFL 2005, the flagship EA SPORTS™ videogame and the largest-selling franchise of all time in North America, with over 37 million copies sold, has shipped to retailers nationwide and will be in stores in time for National Madden Vacation Day on Tuesday, August 10th. Madden NFL 2005 celebrates the franchise’s fifteenth anniversary by pushing the boundaries of realism forward with new defensive innovations including the Hit Stick, that for the first time make playing defense as fun as playing offense, an immersive new Storyline Central in Franchise Mode, where player chemistry and personalities come alive, and enhanced online features including Xbox Live™ support.*

Madden NFL 2004 was the #1 selling videogame of 2004, and Madden NFL 2005 has already incited fan frenzy with pre-sell reservations doubling last year’s. A special limited edition Madden NFL 2005 Collector’s Edition with exclusive Madden Moments, classic versions of the game, collectible packaging, and behind-the-scenes videos is also available exclusively for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Adding to early demand is the fact that the third annual nationwide EA SPORTS Madden Challenge kicks off August 14th with a $50,000 grand prize check for the winner.

Defense wins championships and Madden NFL 2005 proves it with the Hit Stick, the dynamic control that gives players the power to change the momentum of a game with a single, perfectly-timed hit. Defensive Playmaker controls let players modify defensive assignments at the line of scrimmage and a host of defensive AI upgrades make defenders more intelligent than ever before.

Franchise Mode’s new Storyline Central is incredibly immersive, with realistic player personalities (including players requesting more playing time or want a bigger contract after a monster season), close to 20,000 different story types for virtually limitless replayability, a weekly radio show hosted by national talk show host, Tony Bruno that includes real player interviews, and local and national newspaper coverage. The new Create-A-Fan feature further enlivens the action by allowing players to customize ‘super fans,’ complete with individual costumes and props to cheer on their team. John Madden and Al Michaels return to the booth with Madden NFL 2005 sideline reporter, Jill Arrington.

PlayStation 2 console and Xbox Live online gamers get a host of new online features headlined by an all-new Mini game, quick tournaments and the EA SPORTS Ticker. Online gamers can also enjoy the new EA SPORTS Premium Pass presented by Dodge for Madden NFL 2005, a subscription-based service that is offered for free this year. Madden NFL 2005, the most complete football game ever, is available for the PlayStation 2 console, the Xbox® videogame system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube™, Game Boy® Advance this week and the PlayStation console and PC are scheduled to ship in September. The game, which was developed by EA Tiburon, is rated “E” (Everyone) by the ESRB and has an MSRP of $49.95 for the PlayStation 2 console , Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube, $39.95 for PC, $29.95 for Game Boy Advance, and $24.95 for the PlayStation console. The game’s official website is www.madden2005.com .

About EA SPORTS EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world. Its top-selling titles and franchises include Madden NFL™ Football, FIFA Soccer, NHL®, NBA LIVE basketball, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®, MVP Baseball™, NCAA® Football and NASCAR® racing. The EA SPORTS home page is www.easports.com. 

About Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion for fiscal 2004. The company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. In 2003, EA had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA GAMES™, and EA SPORTS BIG™. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com . More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com. 

* Internet connection required for online play. Not all features available with all platforms. See www.easports.com  or back of product pack for details.

Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, EA GAMES, John Madden Football, and MVP Baseball are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Team names/logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Officially licensed product of PLAYERS INC. www.nflplayers.com. NBA, NCAA, NASCAR, NASCAR, NHL, MLB, and FIFA are trademarks of their respective owners. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox is either a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries used under license from Microsoft. Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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