EARTH & BEYOND TO FEATURE TEAM-BASED "PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER" MODE

Team-based PvP to go live in December update 

LAS VEGAS, NV (Dec. 16, 2002) -Earth & Beyond(tm) players now have the opportunity to battle it out against their fellow players!   Westwood Studios(tm) announced today it will implement team-based player versus player (PvP) mode in Earth & Beyond's December content update. 

Earth & Beyond is an online role-playing game published by Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) under the EA GAMES(tm) brand.  

Earth & Beyond's team-based PvP will be in the form of gladiator-like games that will allow players to compete in a game of skill, combat and tactics.  The games will take place in three specially-created arenas throughout the game's galaxy, and six teams of up to six players each will be able to participate in each 15-minute game.  The team-based PvP arenas will accommodate all players, regardless of class or level.

"PvP has been one of the most requested features from the Earth & Beyond community," said Craig Alexander, vice president and executive producer for the game. "We plan to take this implementation and build on it for even more variations of PvP for our players in the future."

In the team-based PvP games, players must work together to collect and return orbs to designated goals, and can use a combination of combat, trade and exploration skills to accomplish that task:

• The Explorers use their prospecting skills to harvest the orbs.

• The Tradesmen use their large cargo holds and fast engines to transport the orbs.

• The Warriors use their combat skills to disable other players and steal their orbs.

• All races and classes can use their unique skills to assist their team.

The winning team will receive experience points that can be applied to upgrading their characters.  Players won't receive an experience debt if they are disabled while playing PvP, nor will their items experience degradation.

Earth & Beyond is one of the best-reviewed new games of the year winning many editors' awards, buy recommendations, and positive reviews from respected trade and mainstream publications like Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and www.IGN.com.

In Earth & Beyond, players become captains of their own starships and live futuristic galactic adventures in an evolving, online galaxy.  Westwood is committed to updating the game world every month with new content and features. 

For more information on Earth & Beyond and the team-based PvP, visit the game's official website at www.earthandbeyond.com.

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ABOUT WESTWOOD STUDIOS

Westwood Studios is a prominent publisher of best-selling PC and next-generation console games.  Formed in 1985, Westwood is the creator of the 15-million + selling Command & Conquer^TM franchise that includes Command & Conquer^TM, Tiberian Sun^TM, and Red Alert^TM 1 and 2 and Command & Conquer Renegade.  Westwood has also released award-winning titles such as Blade Runner^TM, Monopoly®, and the Lands of Lore^TM series.  Looking forward, Westwood is expanding to new franchises and genres with upcoming titles such as Earth & Beyond^TM.  More information can be found at the company's official website at http://www.westwood.ea.com. 

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 more than $1.7 billion for fiscal 2002. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for the Internet, personal computers and video game systems. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS^TM, EA GAMES^TM, EA SPORTS BIG(tm) and EA.COM^SM. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.info.ea.com.

*Rebate Offer Expires March 29, 2003. Valid only in the U.S. and Canada for the new purchase of the Earth & Beyond Online PCCD game. See Demo Rebate Offer Insert for details.

Electronic Arts, Westwood Studios, Earth & Beyond, Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer Renegade, Tiberian Sun, Red Alert, Lands of Lore, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and EA GAMES are trademarks or  registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the US and/or other countries.  EA.COM is a service mark of EA.com Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.