EA TAKES THE GLOVES OFF, COMES OUT SWINGING WITH NHL 2004
#1 Selling Pro Hockey Franchise Delivers Authentic 'Gloves Off Hockey' Experience, New EA SPORTS Nation Online Play

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., September 23, 2003 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that NHL® 2004, the #1 selling Pro Hockey franchise, has shipped to retail under the EA SPORTS™ brand. The 12th installment of EA's legendary hockey franchise, NHL 2004 is now available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube™, and PC CD-ROM.

NHL 2004 delivers the most authentic hockey experience to date, with new features that accentuate the fast-paced, physical nature of the game. New "Bruise Control™" lets players charge up huge hits to level the competition, and an all-new fighting engine delivers thrilling, grappling-based fisticuffs, for when talking just won't settle things. Realistic in-game commentary comes from long-time play-by-play man Jim Hughson, who is now joined in the booth by Stanley Cup® winner Craig Simpson.

NHL 2004 also features an immensely deep Dynasty Mode™, which casts gamers as the General Manager of their own hockey franchise for up to 20 seasons. Gamers will have complete control over their team's operations-from scheduling practices and setting ticket prices, to hiring a marketing staff and upgrading equipment for the team's training facility.

In addition to EA SPORTS online play for PC-CD, NHL 2004 also offers online play for the PlayStation 2 console via EA SPORTS Nation online, which includes EA SPORTS Talk in-game chat (USB headset and broadband connection required) and EA™ Messenger to connect with friends online.

For more information on the online features of the product, see the platform specific pages at www.nhl2004.com, the official home page for NHL 2004.

Electronic Arts' EA SPORTS is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world. Its top-selling titles and franchises include Madden NFL football, NBA LIVE basketball, FIFA Soccer, NHL hockey, MVP Baseball™, NCAA® Football, and NASCAR Thunder™.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of $2.5 billion for fiscal 2003. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. 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.

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Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES, EA SPORTS BIG, Dynasty Mode, Bruise Control, MVP Baseball and John Madden Football are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. NHL and the National Hockey League are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © 2003 NHL. All Rights Reserved. National Hockey League Players' Association and NHLPA are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used under license by Electronic Arts Inc. © NHLPA.. NFL, NBA, FIFA, NCAA, NASCAR, and NASCAR Thunder are trademarks of their respective owners. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo GameCube is a trademark of Nintendo. Microsoft and Xbox are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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