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To: Paul Schmidt who wrote (2468)	5/29/1998 4:54:00 PM
From: Mike M	Respond to of 11417

E3 General Interest E 3 show proves online gaming has come of age By MARLON MANUEL 1998 Cox News Service ATLANTA -- Video games once were the domain of the young. But the industry has grown up along with its audience. The industry generated $5.1 billion in sales last year and now rivals movies, music and television as entertainment for people of all ages. And if the latest strategy to make the Internet the new frontier for gamers works, it'll get bigger still. That's the pitch gaming executives made Thursday at the Electronic Entertainment Expo -- E 3 -- a software trade show that continues through Saturday at the Georgia World Congress Center. ''Maybe we used to cater to the kids, but that was years ago,'' said Kazou Hirai, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Nine of every 10 PC games and video game consoles sold are bought by someone older than 18, according to a survey by the Interactive Digital Software Association, which owns the E 3 show. ''If you think it's just a band of adolescent boys, think again,'' said Doug Lowenstein, IDSA president. The marketplace has outgrown its start-up niche by attracting adults and girls. Shoot 'em-up games, an enduring genre, have been challenged by programs based on sports, board games, toys and role-playing. Trying to attract the masses, software companies have taken an unsure step into the land of online gaming -- playing over the Internet. Since September, Origin Systems of Austin, Texas, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts, has marketed an online version of its ''Ultima'' role-playing game. ''Ultima Online'' has sold 150,000 copies worldwide. After buying the software, players can pay $9.95 a month to play on the Internet. At launch, it took six $30,000 computers to accommodate 2,500 players. More efficient programming and technological advances have cut the costs but companies still are slow to enter the fray. For now, Sony and Nintendo have steered clear of that audience. ''The infrastructure support costs were surprisingly high,'' said Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts. Jack Sorensen, a representative from LucasArts and Entertainment, said the ''economic model makes it very tough to justify a large investment'' in Internet games. To succeed on the Internet, Sorensen said game companies need to move beyond expanding one-player games into a multicompetitior free-for-all. That's where Origin comes in. Within two months, the company will put online episodes of its popular ''Wing Commander'' game on the Net once a week. ''Instead of Must-See TV it will be Must See PC,'' said Alex Carloss, Electronic Arts vice president for PC entertainment marketing. ''It will be on a fixed day and time.'' Story Filed By Cox Newspapers