EA Returns Fans to Middle-Earth in The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., November 2, 2004 – Return to Middle-earth to forge a new adventure... Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age role-playing game has shipped and will be on store shelves in time for the holiday season. The epic quest, in which players will take on the roles of previously unplayable characters choosing their own path through Middle-earth while interacting with the heroes and villains of the movie trilogy, is available for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox videogame system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance under the EA GAMES brand.

Based on New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson's acclaimed film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age videogame allows players to adventure through Middle-earth, building a party of heroes as they journey. Players battle on the side of the Fellowship, but can unlock additional encounters where they fight on the side of Sauron as they progress. In the game, players will interact with key characters of the Fellowship in a unique structure, taking on individual quests while intersecting the major events of the film trilogy that drive the story forward such as the epic battles at Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith. Parties will traverse through both familiar and seldom-glimpsed locations, using an innovative turn-based battle system as they fight, encountering the demonic Balrog in the Mines of Moria, or defending the fallen city of Osgiliath.

The Lord the Rings, The Third Age, was developed by EA's Redwood Shores studio (Amaze Entertainment developed for the Game Boy Advance), the same studio that developed the hit The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King game. The game is rated "T" (Teen) with descriptor Violence by the ESRB and has MSRPs of $49.95 (PlayStation 2 console, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube) and $29.95 (Game Boy Advance). For more information on EA's The Lord of the Rings games, visit the official franchise website at http://lordoftherings.eagames.com.

Under an exclusive licensing agreement with New Line Cinema, EA has the rights to create and publish interactive entertainment games based on the movie trilogy.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion for fiscal 2004. The company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. In 2003, EA had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS, EA GAMES and EA SPORTS BIG. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com . More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at

About New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema is the oldest and most successful fully integrated independent film company in the world. In addition to the production, marketing, and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, it has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, licensing, merchandising and international marketing and distribution. New Line is a pioneer in franchise filmmaking and its Oscar winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the most successful film franchise in history. Together with its subsidiary, Fine Line Features, New Line is a unit of Time Warner. For further press information about New Line Cinema's merchandising program, contact Stephanie Baumoel or Sheila Feren at FerenComm, 212.983.9898. For more information about The Lord of the Rings trilogy, visit www.lordoftherings.net.