10/05 08:43 Beyond.com Expands Games Center to Capture Growing Market
BYND.O>
Beyond.com Expands Games Center to Capture
Growing Market
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--
IDC Forecasts PC Entertainment Software Sales to be
$3.1 billion by 2000(a)
Launching a pre-emptive strike in the pre-Christmas battle for
consumer mindshare, online software superstore Beyond.com
(Nasdaq:BYND) today unveiled a vast selection of the hottest titles in
Gaming software available at one Internet address:
beyond.com.
Armed with artillery from such publishing allies as Electronic
Arts, GT Interactive, Eidos and Learning Company, the expanded
Beyond.com Games Center is one of several strategic initiatives aimed
at fortifying in the minds of consumers Beyond.com as the premier
place to buy Gaming software. To kick off the promotion, Beyond.com
unveiled a Beyond the Playoffs Sweepstakes featuring as Grand Prize a
trip for two people to Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami.
"Beyond.com is a serious contender in Gaming software that
delivers the hottest software releases, faster, at great value," said
Brian Sroub, vice-president of marketing for Beyond.com. "In the age
of the Internet, Gaming software is a discipline that can teach
everything from the strategy of Chess to the principles of War to the
responsibility of Monopoly."
The Grand Prize trip for two to the Super Bowl in Miami for four
days/three nights includes Super Bowl memorabilia, plus $500 cash, and
has an approximate retail value of $9,500. Entry forms are on the
Beyond.com web site at beyond.com
and must be received by Oct. 31, 1998. Winners will be announced on
Nov. 6, 1998.
(a) Source: IDC-Link data from IDC's report "The State of the
Entertainment Software Industry" (July 1997)
Fifty second-place winners will receive a copy of Madden NFL 99
by Electronic Arts for the PC. Madden NFL 99, one of the
hottest-selling gaming titles, has a retail value of $49.99 and is
just one of many Electronic Arts software titles available through
Beyond.com.
Other software titles and promotions from Beyond.com include:
-- Tiger Woods from Electronic Arts Sports. On sale for just
$39.99.
-- DeerHunter from GT Interactive. Available for download for
only $14.99.
-- Tomb Raider I ($14.99), II ($34.99) and III ($49.99) from
Eidos. Tomb Raider I and II are available immediately. Tomb
Raider III, which is scheduled for release in mid-November,
can be pre-ordered. All three titles are available, bundled,
for a value price of $89.99.
-- Riven by Learning Co. Available for $29.99 after mail-in
rebate.
In its "State of the Entertainment Software Industry" report
published in July 1997, Interactive Digital Software Association (IDC)
cites IDC/Link data that shows U.S. sales of PC entertainment software
are projected to grow to $3.1 billion by 2000. In 1996, there were 59
million units of PC entertainment software sold in the United States,
according to the report. That number is expected to grow to 112
million units by 2000.
About Beyond.com
Beyond.com is a leading, online reseller of commercial,
off-the-shelf software to the government enterprise, corporate and
consumer markets, offering its customers a better way to buy software.
Visitors to the company's online store (http://www.beyond.com) enjoy a
comprehensive selection of software backed by customer service and
competitive pricing. Approximately 30,000 software stock-keeping units
(SKUs) are available for online purchase with more than 3,300 SKUs
available for immediate, electronic delivery, including software from
such major publishers as Adobe, Lotus, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and
Symantec. The company has established strategic marketing alliances
with America Online, Inc., Excite, Inc. and Netscape Communications
Corporation. Beyond.com is incorporated in Delaware as software.net
Corporation. Software.net Corporation has applied for federal
registration of the marks BEYOND.COM and SOFTWARE.NET. Beyond.com
trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol ("BYND").
To the extent that this news release discusses expectations about
software.net (Beyond.com's) business in the fourth quarter of 1998 and
beyond, or plans to grow the business in the area of Games software,
these statements are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to
substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual results for the fourth
quarter of 1998 and subsequent quarters could differ materially from
any future performance suggested above. Among the factors that could
affect subsequent periods include: Reductions in or cancellations of
customer orders, changes in relationships with software suppliers,
changes in relationships with strategic partners, changes in the
product mix sold by the company, competition from other online
software resellers or publishers and other factors described in the
company's prospectus dated June 17, 1998, as filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
--30--cs/sf*
CONTACT: Beyond.com, Sunnyvale
Lise Olson, Director, Public Relations, 408/616-4256
liseobeyond.com
or
Laura Dayton, Director, Investor Relations, 408/616-4328
lauradbeyond.com
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