The 3DO Company's Internet Strategy Paying Off
3DO.com Web Site Gets Upgrade, Top-Rated Titles Integrate Online Play
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 1999--The 3DO Company (Nasdaq:THDO - news) announced today that software revenues for the
first half of Fiscal Year 1999 were up 256% due in part to the success of the company's enhanced Internet strategy.
3DO recently completed upgrades to its popular website, 3DO.com, enabling the company to promote and sell its entire product line of award-winning games over
the Internet. In addition, the audience for the company's Internet-ready games continues to expand.
''We are one of the pioneers in Internet gaming and online commerce,'' said Trip Hawkins, chairman and CEO of The 3DO Company. ''It is gratifying to see our
expanded Internet plans coming to fruition.''
3DO.com was recently upgraded to enhance online sales of the company's entire product line directly to consumers. The company also supports the sale of its
games for the PC, PlayStation® game console and Nintendo® 64 via the popular Internet multi-player game service HEAT.NET(TM), as well as the Internet sites
of major retailers. The 3DO.com web site is one of the top-rated gaming Internet sites according to consumer surveys and 100hot(TM) Game Sites.
In addition to allowing customers to purchase games directly on 3DO.com, customers can find out about upcoming releases through news and information that is
continually updated, and interact with other users through message boards. For example, the message board for the best-selling Might and Magic® VI game has
received over 100,000 posts so far.
Meridian 59(TM), the company's most successful Internet-based game, is the highest rated multi-player online role-playing games according to a Computer Gaming
World Magazine readers' poll, and is also a profitable and expanding business for 3DO. During 1998, the company's best-selling Army Men(TM) game was one of
the top ten most popular games on both the Mplayer.com(TM) and HEAT.NET Internet gaming services, reaching as high as No. 6 overall on HEAT.NET. The
sequel, Army Men(TM) II, is planned for release in February 1999 and is also expected to be successful on Internet multi-player sites.
The critically acclaimed Heroes of Might and Magic® II received PC Gamer Magazine's award for ''Best Turn Based Strategy Game'' for 1997. Says Hawkins,
''A grandmother wrote to tell me that she plays it over the Internet with her children, and also plays it with her six year-old grandson. The Internet in this case has
allowed three generations to play and socialize together in one of our games.'' A highly anticipated sequel, Heroes of Might and Magic® III, is expected to be
released later this quarter.
The Requiem: Avenging Angel(TM) game, which has been proclaimed by numerous magazines including Computer Gaming World, to be one of the most important
new game releases this year, will also feature Internet play. The High Heat Baseball(TM) 1999 game received the highest rating among all competitive baseball
products on the market by PC Gamer Magazine last year. The sequel, High Heat Baseball® 2000, due out for the upcoming baseball season, will support Internet
play. 3DO games featuring Internet play include the Uprising(TM) 2: Lead and Destroy(TM) game and the Vegas Games® 2000 game. Additional Internet-ready
games are planned for the coming year.
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Potential 100$ stock if Internet fever hits. 3DO.com is making money and it is the only major company in Internet based game playing. The company is in Nitendo and Sony playstation games and as Internet conenctivity becomes common to these game stations 3DO will be very well positioned to take advantage of it with their know how of playing games and linking palyers over the Internet. |
