Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Title Sponsor for Vans/Playstation® World Championship of Skateboarding

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today their title sponsorship of the Vans/PlayStation® World Championships of Skateboarding. The grand finale of the Vans Triple Crown of Skateboarding takes place at the pier in Oceanside, California October 6-8, 2000 and will feature legendary skaters such as Steve Caballero, Willy Santos, Bob Burnquist and Geoff Rowley.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a )

As part of the title sponsorship the PlayStation 40-foot retail truck will be on site at the event featuring the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Consumers will be able to play up to six of the most anticipated PlayStation 2 titles, prior to the system's launch on October 26th. The PlayStation game console will also be featured on eight kiosks where consumers can sample Grind Session™, one of the hottest new skateboarding games.

The "PlayStation 2 Soul Bowl," a 65-foot long capsule-shaped bowl for skateboarding will be one of the major attractions allowing spectators to watch masters and pros compete for a title. For amateurs, Sony Computer Entertainment America will be adding more excitement to the weekend with the specially designed Grind Session™ Street Course, where the crowds can test their skateboarding abilities. The course will feature banks, ledges, rails and more, and will be open to the public for a nominal fee.

"We are proud to announce our title sponsorship of the Vans/PlayStation World Championship of Skateboarding and are extremely excited to be an integral partner in the grand finale of what has been a successful tour," said Sharon Shapiro, director, promotions, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Our partnership with Vans allows us to reinforce our already dominant presence within this elusive youth market and also provides us with the opportunity to increase exposure of our titles like Grind Session to a core extreme sports audience."

Sony Computer Entertainment America and its PlayStation brand has been a primary sponsor of the Vans Triple Crown Series events for the past two years. The tradition continues this year with broadened co-promotional efforts with the title sponsorship of the Vans/PlayStation World Championship of Skateboarding.

The Vans/PlayStation World Championships of Skateboarding is one of 21 events in the Vans Triple Crown Series, composed of Triple Crown of Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Surfing, Wakeboarding, Freestyle Motocross, Supercross and BMX. Each stop of the Vans Triple Crown Series receives a dedicated one-hour show, airing a minimum of three times on the ESPN networks in over 180 countries to over 200 million households worldwide. This is the largest television distribution package ever featuring these core sports.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation game console and the upcoming PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is set to revolutionize the home entertainment market, offering the most compelling interactive content and the capability to be used as a network terminal in the coming broadband era.

Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation game console and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PlayStation game console and the upcoming PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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SOURCE: Sony Computer Entertainment America

Contact: Stephanie Iwamasa of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.,
650-655-6083, or stephanie_iwamasa@playstation.sony.com; or Sonya Conway of
Fleishman Hillard, 213-489-8207, or conways@fleishman.com, for Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc.

Website: http://www.playstation.com/