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OKAFOR GRADUATES TO EA’s NCAA MARCH MADNESS 2005 COVER

Former Connecticut All-American to Endorse Popular College Hoops Franchise

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Thursday, September 16, 2004 – Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) announced today that Emeka Okafor, the University of Connecticut All-American who led the Huskies to the 2004 NCAA® Men’s Basketball Championship, will serve as spokesman and cover athlete for NCAA® March Madness 2005, scheduled for release this fall under the EA SPORTS™ brand.

Okafor averaged 17.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in leading Connecticut to a 33-6 overall record, the national title, and the Big East Tournament title in 2004. He was named Co-National Player of the Year, a unanimous First-Team All-American, and the Big East Player of the Year following a stellar junior season that also saw him earn his second straight Academic All-America nod. After graduating from UConn this past May in just three years with a 3.8 GPA and a degree in finance, Okafor was the No. 2 overall pick of the June NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. He also earned a bronze medal last month in Athens, Greece as a member of the 2004 United States Olympic Men’s Basketball Team.

 “Earning the cover spot on NCAA March Madness 2005 is the perfect way to celebrate my time at UConn,” said Okafor, who will appear on all packaging and merchandising for NCAA March Madness 2005. “I’ve been an EA SPORTS fan for as long as I can remember, and to be a part of this game—where strategy and teamwork is at the core—is a fitting extension to the incredible experience I had playing college basketball.”

The most strategic basketball game ever developed, NCAA March Madness 2005 allows users to be the floor general and lead one of more than 320 Division I schools to the Big Dance®. With the all-new Floor General System—featuring a new play-calling system and an innovative new timeout menu—users can take complete control and play college basketball as it was meant to be played. With new mascots, cheerleaders, arenas, crowd chants, fights songs, Arena Pulse, and Dick Vitale and Brad Nessler calling the action, NCAA March Madness 2005 puts you on campus for the deepest and most authentic interactive college hoops experience.

Developed in Vancouver, B.C., by EA Canada, the studio which is also home to the popular NBA LIVE and NBA STREET franchises, NCAA March Madness 2005 is scheduled to ship in November on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft. The game’s official website is www.marchmadness2005.com.

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® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, MVP Baseball™, NCAA® Football, NASCAR® racing and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®. The EA SPORTS home page is www.easports.com.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, 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.

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Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, EA GAMES and MVP Baseball are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.  NCAA and March Madness are trademarks or registered trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. NFL, NASCAR, NHL, Tiger Woods, PGA TOUR, NBA, and FIFA are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.  Microsoft and Xbox are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


 



For More Product Information
NCAA March Madness 2005 (PS2)
NCAA March Madness 2005 (XB)