Microsoft Game Studios Leads Way On Xbox and Windows Gaming Platforms

Microsoft Game Studios Leads Way
On Xbox and Windows Gaming Platforms

"Halo 2," "Fable," "Forza Motorsport,"
"Jade Empire" and "Dungeon Siege 2" Highlight Mixture of Established Franchises
and Future Blockbusters

LOS ANGELES – May 10, 2004 –
Microsoft Game Studios today unveiled its product lineup at this year’s
Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3), featuring games for the Xbox® video
game system and Windows® operating system. Highlighting the portfolio is one of
the century’s most anticipated video games, "Halo® 2" from Bungie Studios.
Today, Microsoft Corp. announced "Forza Motorsport™," an advanced, fully
customizable racing simulation developed by Microsoft Game Studios that will be
playable over the Xbox Live™ service. The lineup also includes three of the most
eagerly awaited role-playing games (RPGs) in development: "Fable" for Xbox from
Big Blue Box Studios and Lionhead Studios, "Jade Empire" for Xbox from BioWare
Corp., and "Dungeon Siege 2" for Windows from Gas Powered Games Corp.

Microsoft’s portfolio is a
compelling lineup of 13 Xbox and Windows games developed by some of the video
game industry’s brightest stars, including "Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri
Conflict" for Xbox from Epic Games Inc.; "Conker™: Live and Reloaded" and "Kameo™:
Elements of Power™" for Xbox from famed developer Rare Ltd.; "Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes," a new Windows massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)
from Sigil Games Online Inc., founded by the original executive producer and
co-creator of "EverQuest"; "MechAssault® 2: Lone Wolf" for Xbox from FASA Studio
and Day 1 Studios LLC; "Sudeki™," the soon-to-be-released role-playing game for
Xbox from Climax Studios Ltd.; "BC" for Xbox from Lionhead Studios and Intrepid
Computer Entertainment; and "Zoo Tycoon™ 2" for Windows from Blue Fang Games.

"At Microsoft Game Studios, our
mission is to create excellent and innovative franchises that customers love,"
said Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios. "Our focus on
developing amazing entertainment experiences with the best creative talent in
the world is the most important aspect of our strategy to become the premier
publisher of interactive entertainment."

Ambitious Xbox Games Lineup

Microsoft Game Studios offers a
prominent lineup of the most anticipated Xbox and Windows games, including the
hottest new Xbox exclusives:

• "Halo 2" is the sequel to the
  highly successful and critically acclaimed game "Halo: Combat Evolved." At the
  heart of "Halo 2" is a compelling, movielike saga, on par with the great
  stories told in film. In "Halo 2," the battle moves home to a war-torn Earth,
  where players utilize new vehicles and weapons to destroy the Covenant. "Halo
  2" will utilize Xbox Live in a way that will completely redefine online
  gameplay. (Bungie Studios, for Xbox, November 2004, rating pending)

• "Forza Motorsport" revs up Xbox
  gamers who are passionate about cars and racing. "Forza Motorsport" is the
  ultimate car-lover’s playground, letting gamers buy, sell, trade, tune, modify
  and race their customized car collection. On the track, players experience an
  impressively accurate simulation, putting their performance-tuned creations to
  the test against the best the online world has to offer on Xbox Live.
  (Microsoft Game Studios, for Xbox, winter 2005, rating pending)

• In "Fable," the groundbreaking
  role-playing adventure game from Big Blue Box and Peter Molyneux’s Lionhead
  Studios, every action determines characters’ skills, appearance and morality.
  Gamers choose the path of righteousness or a life of evil, and watch
  themselves transform into a reflection of their actions and decisions. (Big
  Blue Box, for Xbox, fall 2004, Mature)

• From BioWare, the developer of
  "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic," comes "Jade Empire," a
  martial-arts-influenced action role-playing game set in the ancient,
  mysterious world of mythical China. Only by mastering the greatest fighting
  styles and defeating the most powerful enemies will players earn their place
  as a master of martial arts in the world of "Jade Empire." (BioWare, for Xbox,
  spring 2005, rating pending)

Other titles in the Microsoft Game
Studios portfolio include these:

• "BC" (Microsoft Game Studios,
  developed by Lionhead Studios’ Intrepid Computer Entertainment division). "BC"
  is an original third-person action-adventure game that hurtles players back
  millions of years to the beginnings of humankind. Members of a tribe take part
  in an epic journey of survival, battling against ferocious, prehistoric
  creatures while exploring and exploiting vast natural environments. (Xbox,
  2005, rating pending)

• "Conker: Live and Reloaded"
  (Microsoft Game Studios, Rare). Gaming’s notoriously naughty squirrel, Conker,
  lands on Xbox with a bang in an all-new Xbox Live-enabled team-based shooter.
  Also included is the critically acclaimed single-player game "Conker’s Bad Fur
  Day®," completely re-created for Xbox with stunning graphics and unparalleled
  attitude. (Xbox, March 2005, rating pending)

• "Dungeon Siege 2" (Microsoft Game
  Studios, Gas Powered Games). "Dungeon Siege 2" returns players to the
  beautiful fantasy land of Aranna, but it is a land scarred by civil war, where
  the lines between good and evil are blurred. (Windows, holiday 2004, rating
  pending)

• "Kameo: Elements of Power"
  (Microsoft Game Studios, Rare). From legendary game developer Rare comes "Kameo:
  Elements of Power," a larger-than-life journey full of intense combat,
  magnificent exploration, and innovative morph-into-monster action that allows
  Kameo to transform into incredible monsters to search out and battle
  ever-present evil. (Xbox, January 2005, rating pending)

• "MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf"
  (Microsoft Game Studios, FASA Studio and Day 1 Studios). "MechAssault 2: Lone
  Wolf" continues the massive structural damage, intense combat and addictive
  online multiplayer gameplay on Xbox Live that Mech fans have been praising
  since "MechAssault" first hit Xbox. And now for the first time players can get
  out of the Mech. (Xbox, January 2005, rating pending)

• "Sudeki" (Microsoft Game Studios,
  Climax). "Sudeki" pushes the limits of what a role-playing game can be by
  providing bigger worlds, more powerful heroes and sexier heroines, all set in
  the context of fantastical real-time action. (Xbox, July 2004, Mature)

• "Unreal Championship 2: The
  Liandri Conflict" (Microsoft Game Studios, Epic Games). "Unreal Championship
  2: The Liandri Conflict" brings the "Unreal Championship" franchise to Xbox
  and Xbox Live with bold enhancements to single and multiplayer gameplay,
  including all-new superagile player acrobatics, a third-person camera mode and
  intense melee abilities. (Xbox, holiday 2004, rating pending)

• "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes"
  (Microsoft Game Studios, Sigil Games Online). "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes"
  represents the next evolutionary leap in massively multiplayer online
  role-playing games from the original creators of "EverQuest." "Vanguard" is a
  high-fantasy-themed MMORPG with a heavy focus on character advancement, an
  immersive world and player interdependence. (Windows, rating pending)

• "Zoo Tycoon 2" (Microsoft Game
  Studios, Blue Fang). "Zoo Tycoon 2," the newest addition to the massively
  popular and award-winning "Zoo Tycoon" franchise, provides the ultimate zoo
  experience. The game now allows players to step into their zoo, where they’ll
  be face-to-face with animals and guests in an all-new 3-D world. (Windows,
  holiday 2004, rating pending) About Microsoft Game Studios

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading
worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox video game system and
Windows and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft
Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows
http://www.microsoft.com/games/ ,
including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo
Tycoon"; Xbox http://www.xbox.com/ ,
including such franchises as "Halo," "Project Gotham Racing®" and "MechAssault";
and Zone.com http://www.zone.com , the
official games channel for the MSN® network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled"
and "OutSmart®."

About Xbox

Xbox
http://www.xbox.com/ is the video game system from Microsoft that
brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment
experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games,
powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The tag line, "It’s
good to play together," captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new
digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in North America, Asia,
Europe and Australia.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
"MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help
people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft, Xbox, Windows, Halo,
Forza Motorsport, Xbox Live, Conker, Kameo, Elements of Power, MechAssault,
Sudeki, Zoo Tycoon, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Age of Empires, Project Gotham Racing,
MSN and OutSmart are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
Corp. or Rare Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. Rare Ltd. is a
subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. The names of actual companies and products
mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information at E3: Visit
Microsoft’s booth in the South Hall, No. 1246.