Sony Online Entertainment Unveils Latest Video Games at 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, introduced several new video games and provided details on soon-to-be-released titles during the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The new games announced include Lords of EverQuest™, a real-time strategy (RTS) game for the PC and EverQuest® Online Adventures: Frontiers™, an expansion for North America's only massively multiplayer online (MMO) game for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Additionally, SOE provided new information for upcoming titles PlanetSide, the first massively multiplayer action game set in a persistent world and EverQuest II, the parallel universe to the original EverQuest PC MMO role-playing game (RPG).

(Logo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011203/LAM002 )

"The coming year is going to be huge for us," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "The launch of PlanetSide is happening within days of E3 and the reactions to the game during Beta have been incredibly strong. EverQuest II will be happening later this year, with a whole new universe for both those new to MMOGs and hardcore EQ fans to explore. We're also taking the EQ brand in new directions, both on the PlayStation 2 and on the PC."

Sony Online Entertainment is located at Booth 846 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center during E3 from May 14-16.

  A brief synopsis of each title follows:

   PlanetSide
   Release: May 19, 2003    Platform: PC     Genre: MMO Action Game

PlanetSide™ will make history when it launches on May 19, as the world's first massively multiplayer online first-person action game. The groundbreaking game will allow hundreds of thousands of players to fight online in an all-hours-of-the-day massive war. Characters gain experience with every conflict, and can become one of the best in more than 30 combat specialties, including infantry, sniper, stealth commando, engineer, hacker, medic, pilot, driver and more. The company also announced that it will partner with Team Sound to add squad-based voice chat functionality to PlanetSide, further enhancing the experience of fighting together with your squad and growing as a team.

   EverQuest II
   Release: Winter 2003     Platform: PC     Genre: MMORPG

Scheduled to launch in Winter 2003, EverQuest II is a parallel online universe to the hugely successful gaming phenomenon EverQuest. Featuring breathtaking graphics and a vast, beautiful game world to explore, EverQuest II sets new standards in graphical realism as players are immersed in the game's powerful epic storyline with thousands of players online. Not only will current EQ fans enjoy the new game, but players new to both the world of Norrath and MMO games will find the game much easier to navigate and play. Based 500 years after EverQuest, EverQuest II is a new and different game experience in a changed world marred by a fantastic life changing event. Players enter this world by creating their own unique character from 16 races and 48 classes and using a powerful facial customization system for unprecedented player individuality.

   Lords of EverQuest
   Release: Fall '03        Platform: PC    Genre: Real-Time Strategy (RTS)

Lords of EverQuest is the next-generation of real-time strategy game. Inspired by the lore of the online gaming phenomenon EverQuest, Lords of EverQuest features an enthralling storyline drawing you into the world of Norrath to change the fate of the world. Take command of one of 15 Lords from the dawn of Norrath and lead an army against your enemies in a race to claim a lost artifact. Featuring three different unique factions with which to do battle, and a beautiful game world filled with breathtaking environments, you are able to command more than a hundred troops comprised of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Fiends and even Dragons! After the story is over, the game has just begun as players take the game online and play via SOE's upcoming matchmaking service.

   EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers
   Release: Fall '03        Platform: PlayStation®2    Genre: MMORPG

EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers expands the rich, vibrant fantasy world of Norrath with uncharted territories to explore, new items and spells to acquire, fierce creatures to battle, and a new playable race, ogres. The game also adds graphically enhanced player models and armor, allowing for greater character customization than ever before. Using the Network Adaptor for the PlayStation 2, EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers connects seamlessly via modem or broadband to the Internet, directing players to dedicated EverQuest Online Adventures servers. Gamers simply insert the disc and the adventures of Tunaria are just a few button pushes away.

   EverQuest: Evolution
   Release: Fall '03        Platform: PC     Genre: MMORPG

EverQuest: Evolution is the perfect starting point for players new to the world of EverQuest. This boxed collection gathers everything a gamer needs to enter the world of Norrath in a single package. The original EverQuest and the first five expansions, The Ruins of Kunark, The Scars of Velious, The Shadows of Luclin, The Planes of Power, and The Legacy of Ykesha, are gathered together, along with two maps of the various continents.

About EverQuest

Developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), EverQuest launched in 1999 and has since become both a gaming and cultural phenomenon. The game has sold more than 2 million copies while continuing to grow with award-winning expansions The Ruins of Kunark®, The Scars of Velious®, The Shadows of Luclin™, The Planes of Power™, and The Legacy of Ykesha™, making it the largest online 3D fantasy world ever created. During peak periods, more than 118,000 simultaneous adventurers have explored the fully detailed world of Norrath, filled with monsters, magic, adventure and more. The active global EverQuest subscriber base of more than 430,000 players is comprised of people from 40 different countries including North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Sony Online Entertainment is committed to bringing EverQuest to various entertainment platforms, releasing titles such as EverQuest® Online Adventures™ for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, EverQuest for the Pocket PC and EverQuest: Hero's Call for wireless phones. This Fall, SOE will launch the highly-anticipated sequel, EverQuest® II, on PCs around the globe.

About Sony Online Entertainment

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital Inc., is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchise, EverQuest®, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX and St. Louis, MO, SOE has an array of cutting-edge online games in development such as PlanetSide™, Star Wars Galaxies™ and the highly anticipated EverQuest® II.

EverQuest is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. SOE and the SOE logo are registered trademarks and PlanetSide is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment Inc.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20011203/LAM002
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

SOURCE: Sony Online Entertainment Inc.

CONTACT: Chris Kramer, +1-858-577-3481, ckramer@soe.sony.com, or Sean
Kauppinen, +1-858-577-3387, seank@soe.sony.com, or Tamara Sanderson,
+1-858-577-3362, tsanderson@soe.sony.com, or Christy Fritts, +1-858-442-9570,
cfritts@soe.sony.com, all of Sony Online Entertainment Inc.

Web site: http://www.station.com/