Video Gaming News - August 2002

Redwood City, CA (August 27, 2002) - EA Sports today released details on its upcoming Madden Challenge, a 10-city tournament to determine the top Madden NFL player in the country.

From EA Sports:

Answering the call from thousands of its die-hard Madden NFL TM Football video game enthusiasts Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) today announced the creation of the EA SPORTS TM Madden Challenge, a nationwide, 10-city Tournament to decide the best player of the world's top-selling football video game. Winners from each of the ten Regional Tournaments will be flown to the new Beaches Boscobel Resort & Golf Club in Ocho Rios, Jamaica for the Madden Challenge Finals. The ultimate winner will be invited to attend the famed EA SPORTS Madden Bowl, held every year during Super Bowl week, in San Diego, California.

The EA SPORTS Madden Challenge, starting September 7, 2002, is the first EA SPORTS sanctioned public competition in the celebrated 13-year history of the EA SPORTS Madden NFL Football video game franchise. All tournament proceeds* will be donated to NFL Youth Education Town (YET), an official NFL charity that provides high-tech educational and recreational centers designed to improve the academic, physical fitness and job-related skills of at-risk youth.

"The EA SPORTS Madden Challenge is a tribute to the tremendous number of Madden NFL football competitors who have asked us to stage a major nationwide competition and earn bragging rights," said Chip Lange, EA's vice president of marketing. "EA SPORTS is excited to offer each Madden NFL 2003 devotee the opportunity to become the first official amateur champion of the game and a chance to compete against the best Madden players from around the country."

The EA SPORTS Madden Challenge, plans to match-up thousands of competitors across Regional Tournament venues beginning with San Francisco (Sept. 7-8, Justin Herman Plaza), Los Angeles (Sept. 14-15, Glendale Galleria), Seattle (Sept. 20-21, Seahawks Stadium), Washington, D.C. (Sept. 28-29, Union Station), New York City (Oct. 4-5, South Street Seaport), Philadelphia (Oct. 12-13, Gallery Market East), Tampa (Oct. 19-20, Sundome), Atlanta (Oct. 26-27, Underground), Chicago (Nov. 3, Navy Pier) and San Diego (Nov. 9-10, Mission Valley Mall).

Winners from each of the 10 Regional Tournaments will be flown by Air Jamaica, the national carrier of Jamaica, to compete in the Madden Challenge Finals, to be held at Beaches Boscobel Resort & Golf Club, Jamaica's only All-Inclusive Family Golf Resort January 9 - 13, 2003. Other EA SPORTS Madden Challenge partners include, Air Jamaica, Blockbuster and G4.

Madden NFL 2003, which shipped on August 12, 2002, is available on the PC, the PlayStation®, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox TM video game system from Microsoft, the Nintendo GameCube TM and the Game Boy® Advance. As the undisputed worldwide leader in authentic football simulation, the Madden NFL Football franchise has sold more than 25 million units over its lifetime. Madden NFL 2002 sold more than 4.5 million units, more than twice the number sold by its nearest competitor.

To enter one of the 10 regional EA SPORTS Madden Challenge Tournaments, players can register online and view Tournament Rules at maddenchallenge.com, the official EA SPORTS Madden Challenge website. The competitors for each Regional Tournament will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. Online registration will be open on a region-by-region basis for two weeks prior to each Regional Tournament until three days before the particular Tournament event. Some walk-in entries will also be accepted at each Regional Tournament. Maddenchallenge.com also features the "Touchdown @ Beaches" online Sweepstakes, giving fans the opportunity to win one of two (2) trip prizes to attend the Madden Challenge Finals at Beaches Boscobel Resort & Golf Club. *Each eligible Tournament entrant will be required to make a $5 donation at the event in order to participate. Electronic Arts will donate the $5 entry fees collected to the NFL YET Charity, which will be distributed to Centers throughout the country.

"The YET centers will directly benefit from EA SPORTS Madden Challenge," said Beth Colleton, NFL director of community affairs. "As these Madden fans are competing around the country, kids in multiple cities will reap the rewards from the national tournament."

All phases of the tournament, including the 9th Annual EA SPORTS Madden Bowl on January 23, 2003, will be broadcast on G4 TV. The Madden Bowl, currently the largest interactive sports gaming event, is a major annual VIP Madden NFL competition among NFL players and showbiz celebrities held prior to the Super Bowl

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