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EA RELEASES THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE TWO TOWERS ON THE PLAYSTATION 2 AND ANNOUNCES UPCOMING XBOX AND NINTENDO GAMECUBE VERSIONS

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., October 21, 2002 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today the North American release of The Lord of the Rings™, The Two Towers™ video game for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and revealed plans to bring this highly-anticipated title to the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube™ later this year.  The Nintendo Game Boy® Advance version will ship on Tuesday, November 12.

Based on New Line Cinema's Academy Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and the upcoming second installment, "The Two Towers," EA's The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers game will integrate cinema and gameplay to deliver an epic interactive experience.  Players will be immersed into the roles of the film's main action heroes:  Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, with other members of the Fellowship taking an active role during gameplay. 

Set in 13 stunningly detailed levels taken straight from the big screen, players must battle the evil forces of the Dark Lord Sauron in order to protect the Ring of Power and restore peace to Middle-earth.  The Two Towers game features third-person action/adventure gameplay and a tactical combat system that includes speed attacks, ranged weapons, defensive parries and special combination moves designed to allow players to be strategic with their choice of character, weaponry and combat attacks.  Throughout the journey, players will be rewarded with experience points that can be used to upgrade their character's abilities and weaponry. 

Through a close collaborative relationship with New Line Cinema and the New Zealand-based film production team, EA's The Two Towers game features actual sound effects from the films and voice-over from the real actors:  Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), and Ian McKellen (Gandalf).  To add to the authenticity and to the cinematic experience, the game will feature over five hours of Howard Shore's Academy Award-winning musical score.  The Two Towers video game also includes "never-before-seen" footage from the second installment of New Line Cinema's epic adventure, as well as exclusive interviews with the actors. 

EA's The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers PlayStation 2 video game is rated "T" (Teen) and carries an MSRP of $49.99.  The game is co-developed by EA's Redwood Shores Studio and Stormfront Studios.  For more information on EA's The Lord of the Rings games, visit the official product website at: www.lordoftherings.ea.com .  Additional information can be found on the press website at: www.info.ea.com .

Last year, New Line Cinema tapped EA as the exclusive interactive games licensee for the trilogy.  The license grants EA the exclusive rights to develop and publish products based on the movies for next generation video game consoles, PC and handheld platforms. 

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" will be released in theaters nationwide on December 18, 2002.  For more information about "The Lord of the Rings," please go to www.lordoftherings.net .

About the Game Boy® Advance Version
The handheld version will allow players to take control of five characters:  Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Eowyn and Gandalf the Wizard.  Over 30 levels per character will challenge each member of the Fellowship, bringing the grand total to over 150 levels in the entire game.  Linked play will accommodate two-player multiplayer action via the GBA Link Cable.  The game is being developed by Griptonite Games, an Amaze Entertainment Studio. 

ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS
Electronic Arts, 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 video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. EA markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA GAMES™, EA SPORTS BIG and EA.COMSM.  More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA
Founded in 1967, New Line Cinema is the entertainment industry's leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical motion pictures. New Line licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as to international venues. The company, which is a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc., operates several divisions including in-house theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, television, acquisition, production, licensing and merchandising units. More information about New Line Cinema can be obtained at www.newline.com .  For more information about The Lord of the Rings, please go to www.lordoftherings.net   For more information about New Line Cinema's Licensing & Merchandising, please contact Stephanie Baumoel or Sheila Feren Thurston at FerenComm, 212-983-9898.


Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and EA GAMES are trademarks or, registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA.COM is a service mark of EA.com Inc. The Lord of The Rings and the characters, names, and places therein, TM The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft and Xbox are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 



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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PS2)