GOLD COAST, Australia- March 24, 2000 - Open the batting or take the new ball into the wind in the quest for international one-day cricket glory. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) announced today that EA SPORTS™ Cricket 2000 is shipping for the PlayStation® and the PC, bringing home one of the world's most popular sports. This is the first time that an EA SPORTS™ Cricket game has been available for the PlayStation.

Cricket 2000 is exclusively licensed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), featuring 12 international teams and over 25 faithfully remodelled stadia from the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. Cricket 2000 combines stunning gameplay, graphics and AI (artificial intelligence) that immerse gamers into the pressure cooker and all action world of international one-day cricket. PC gamers will enjoy the depth of gameplay, including revolutionary Tru-Spin™ bat and ball physics technology, all new night games, an additional intuitive batting control method designed using consumer feedback from previous cricket games, and over 600 motion captured animations. Be your country's captain and determine batting, bowling and fielding strategies, with "click and drag" fielder settings. For the statistically minded, assess any team's performance by tracking every ball bowled and hit with the unique ball tracking analysis engine, to help pick up weaknesses in your's and your opponent's game. Cricket 2000 for the PC is an unparalleled presentation of the game of international one-day cricket. PlayStation gamers will be drawn in by the fun and fast paced arcade cricket experience which features an ease-of-entry front end, an all new skill based batting control, the ability to select from pre-set fielder formations and plenty of arcade-style gameplay.

“Cricket lovers and general sports fans alike can now become familiar with the subtle nuances and fun of the game of cricket whilst aiding in the development of the sport throughout the world. Royalties from sales of Cricket 2000 will be invested back into the sport at grass roots level. Interactive games are another means by which the ICC will be taking the game of cricket beyond its traditional audience", said David Richards, Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council.

With hopes of winning a friendly one-day international match right through to taking your country to victory in the official ICC Cricket World Cup mode, cricketers will need to become intimately familiar with the various elements of cricket. Scalable difficulty modes will allow first time gamers and cricket novices alike to get into Cricket 2000 immediately. However, once the basics have been mastered the challenge still remains with increasing difficulty settings.

“The Cricket franchise has been a solid performer for EA SPORTS since its inception in 1996 with a string of top selling PC cricket games” said Nick Love, Cricket Studio Product Manager, Electronic Arts Studio Oz. “Now with our first PlayStation Cricket title, we can build on that pre-existing brand and franchise equity amongst cricket fans and take the sport to the mass market gaming consumer at the same time. Cricket is an intense sport with international appeal and a rich history, helping us broaden the reach of the EA SPORTS brand in territories where many of our titles are relegated to niche sports status. It’s also an excellent complement to our World Sports game line-up that includes the upcoming July release of our first licensed PC and PlayStation rugby titles, EA SPORTS Rugby 2001. The Cricket Franchise is helping EA open up new markets such as India, where cricket is a religion to most of the 900 million population and PC sales growth is exploding."

EA SPORTS, using motion capture technology, was able to capture all the real movements and actions of international cricket with over 600 animations in the PC version and over 200 for the PlayStation. International cricketers, Ben and Adam Hollioake, were used in extensive motion capture sessions with the PC development team at The Creative Assembly Ltd in the United Kingdom. Real cricket moves and animations are captured by attaching reflective balls to actual cricketers. The reflective balls signal back to a computer the data necessary to recreate these actions in the video game. Capturing cricketer motions enhances the game with greater realism while bowling, batting, fielding and celebrating. Casual gamers and cricket fanatics will appreciate the level of detail captured from the subtle gestures of players polishing the cricket ball to the many types of cricket batting strokes to fielders taking amazing one handed diving catches.

Cricket 2000 was developed by The Creative Assembly on the PC and by Krisalis Ltd. on the PlayStation and is being published by Electronic Arts. The game carries an ESRB rating of “E” (Everybody). More information on the Cricket 2000 title can be found on the EA product website (http://www.easportscricket.com).

EA SPORTS, (www.easports.com), is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world. Its top-selling franchises and titles include FIFA Soccer, John Madden Football™, NHL® Hockey, Knockout Kings™, NBA LIVE Basketball, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® Golf, Triple Play Baseball™ and NASCAR® 2000.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts (EA) posted revenues of more than $1.2 billion for fiscal 1999. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for personal computers and video game systems. Electronic Arts™ markets its products under eight brand names: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, Maxis™, ORIGIN™, Bullfrog Productions™, Gonzo Games™, Westwood Studios™ and Jane’s® Combat Simulations. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com.

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