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To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 2:43:00 PM
From: Anthony Maza  Respond to of 16960
 
good point.



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:22:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
10/1/98 Computer Gaming World 24
1998 WL 9534959
Computer Gaming World
COPYRIGHT 1998 Golden Empire Publications Inc.

Thursday, October 1, 1998

The Perils of Patches.(simulation game defects chase away customers) (Industry
Trend or Event)(Column)

Why Can't Companies Get Simulations Right the First Time?

Denny Atkin

It's an unfortunate reality that most sims aren't all they can be out
of the box. Patches add features and/or fix bugs in programs. That's a
good thing. The bad thing is that they're necessary in the first place.

You can't fault a company for sticking with customers and fixing its
product. You can fault it for shipping a product with known flaws and
figuring it can fix them later with a patch. Consider your less
hard-core gaming friends, and how few of them know what a patch is,
much less where to find one and how to install it. When these folks get
a new sim home and have problems with it, their solution isn't to go up
to the company's Web site and search for a patch, it's to return the
sim to the store. Another potential sim fan goes running back to the
"safe" world of QUAKE and STARCRAFT--or even worse, back to the
Plug-and-Play safety of a PlayStation.

There are a number of reasons patches come to be. Not all of these
are bad: Sometimes patches are written to add support for new hardware
that didn't exist when the programs were under development. Witness the
addition of support for 3Dfx accelerators in JETFIGHTER III, for
instance, or patches for JSF and F-22 ADF that add support for Voodoo2
boards. Sometimes patches simply enhance already-working gameplay, such
as the improved Internet play in recent versions of F-22 RAPTOR.

But all too often, patches are necessary to make basic features of a
game work at all. Witness Sierra's PRO PILOT, which shipped with
terrible flight models, stuttering graphics on Pentium IIs, and
numerous other problems. By the time the second patch was released, the
program was a decent instrument-flying sim, but how many people gave up
long before then? Compare that to Looking Glass's FLIGHT UNLIMITED II.
Here, patches did fix some problems with air-traffic control and plane
AI, but they also added major features. Higher-resolution graphics,
force feedback, an adventure creator, and even a new plane were added
in various patches--all wonderful bonus features, but not features
necessary to enjoy the sim out of the box.

Why do companies ship games that need bug-fix patches? Sometimes, a
product incorporates such a wealth of features that problems just slip
through despite heavy testing. This happened with JANE'S F-15, which
has been patched to fix a crash bug in the Iran campaign, and to fix
some avionics systems that didn't work properly. Sometimes a company in
financial trouble has to ship products in order to survive--although
shipping a buggy product is likely to hasten the rush toward
bankruptcy, despite whatever cash it may raise in the short term.
Sometimes co-marketing deals are struck with retail chains that require
products to ship by a certain date. Sometimes the marketroids and bean
counters get fed up with a program's protracted development and insist
that it ship right now, so as not to miss the holiday season.

Still, there's little excuse for programs to ship when they need
patches for general playability. Consider that Novalogic and Jane's
Combat Simulations have released numerous products that were quite
playable out of the box, but used patches to fix only minor glitches
and to add user-requested features. Compare that to last year's release
of RED BARON II by Sierra--it needed patches just to make the game work
as advertised.

Sierra seems to have seen the light with regard to releasing programs
too early. As part of the company's reorganization earlier this year,
it has made vocal commitments to releasing no more products before
their time. As evidence of its renewed commitment to quality, Sierra's
Dynamix division has kept the RED BARON II team working on the product
for nearly a year since the game's release. Recent patches have
dramatically improved the flight modeling in the game. By the time you
read this, another patch will be available that will add 3Dfx (and
possibly Direct3D or OpenGL) support to the game. I tried the
preliminary version of this patch, and it was very impressive, with
dramatic special effects, trees at low altitudes, faster frame-rates,
and better-looking cockpits. Despite the cost of keeping the
development team on this project instead of moving them to the next
game, the RED BARON II "SuperPatch" will be a free download, and Sierra
also plans to offer it on CD at no cost (other than shipping and
handling). Sierra does plan to release a new retail "RED BARON 3D"
package as well, which will add support for 100-plus players in
multiplayer games. Sierra has stated that owners of the original RED
BARON who purchase the 3D version "will receive a substantial (if not
entire) refund on the purchase price of the new retail package."

Sierra has promised that the upcoming ACES OF THE PACIFIC II and
ACES: X-FIGHTERS will be of the quality gamers used to expect from the
company's products. The commitment Sierra has made to ensuring that RED
BARON II purchasers get their money's worth is a good sign. Let's hope
the "new" Sierra/Dynamix sets a good example that the rest of the
industry can follow.

Better Baron The RED BARON II patch features dramatically improved
flight models, 3Dfx support, and trees to make low-level flight easier.

---- INDEX REFERENCES ----

NEWS CATEGORY: COLUMN



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:23:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
10/1/98 Computer Gaming World 36
1998 WL 9534962
Computer Gaming World
COPYRIGHT 1998 Golden Empire Publications Inc.

Thursday, October 1, 1998

Banshee Set to Scream.(Guillemot International's Gamer3D Phoenix graphics
accelerator uses 3dfx's Voodoo Banshee 3D/2D chipset) (Hardware Review)
(Evaluation)

Early Results From Guillemot Intl. Gamer3D Phoenix Are Impressive

Dave Salvator

3Dfx's success as a 3D-only company has been truly remarkable. Even
more remarkable is that the company has achieved this success by
standing the typical graphics business model on its head. Typically,
graphics makers sell about two-thirds of all their wares in new
systems, and the other third in stores as upgrades. 3Dfx, from the
advent of its first Voodoo chipset, went the opposite way, appealing to
the hearts and wallets of gamers in stores, and picking up some deals
for putting its chips into new systems. The company's first 2D/3D
effort, Voodoo Rush, was just that: rushed. The result was that Voodoo
Rush had pretty solid 3D performance relative to Voodoo, but its 2D was
weak, because the 2D chipset and the Voodoo chipset shared the same
clock. And, to make matters worse, while the Voodoo ran at about normal
clock speed, the 2D chipset, Alliant's AT3D, was underclocked.

Well, 3Dfx still has an eye on the bigger pie, and it's looking to
get a giant piece with the latest 3Dfx chipset, Voodoo Banshee, a 2D/3D
integrated part that should deliver near-equivalent performance to
Voodoo2, and 3Dfx says its 2D will be competitive with the best of the
lot. We tested Guillemot's Gamer3D Phoenix board (which uses the
Banshee chipset) with Alpha 2 drivers. While these drivers were stable,
they were very early versions, and Glide wasn't yet working in them, so
QUAKE and QUAKE-II wouldn't run (since 3Dfx's mini-GL driver runs
through Glide). But even so, Banshee delivered very solid Direct3D
performance, and its 2D, though not as impressive, was still pretty
good. We stacked it up against Matrox's Mystique G-200, the fastest
2D/3D board we've seen to date, and Diamond's Voodoo2 board, the
Monster3D II.

Banshee outgunned the G-200 on 3D WinBench as well as on 3D
GameGauge. What's remarkable about the Banshee's 3D GameGauge score is
that it doesn't include any contribution from running QUAKE or QUAKE
II. Its 2D performance is 26 points behind Matrox, although that may
improve with driver optimization. Compared to Voodoo2, Banshee was
actually a hair faster running Direct3D games, and was also faster on
3D WinBench.

Banshee does have a downside, however. Unlike Voodoo2, which has two
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs), Banshee has only one. For single-pass
rendered games (all Direct3D games and QUAKE in 3D GameGauge), this is
fine, but as multitexturing games begin to arrive, Banshee won't get
the second pass for free, as does Voodoo2. Instead, the Banshee's fill
rate will be cut in half, from about 100Mpixels/sec maximum to
50Mpixels/sec.

Still, Banshee will be a tough competitor this fall, with
Banshee-based boards recently announced from Guillemot, Intergraph, and
Diamond Multimedia, to name just a few. Watch for more Banshee-based
board reviews in the coming months in CGW's Hardware section.

---- INDEX REFERENCES ----



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:29:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
9/14/98 Electronic Buyers' News 94
1998 WL 13059838
Electronic Buyers' News
Copyright 1998 CMP Publications Inc.

Monday, September 14, 1998

1126

Computers & Multimedia

Briefs

3Dfx Ships Glide 3.0 Software Interface

Graphics-chip maker 3Dfx Interactive Inc., San Jose, has released
Glide 3.0, the next-generation version of its low-level software API for
its Voodoo Graphics chip products.

3Dfx has built its success on Glide and the 100-plus games written
for the API. "It's in the best interest of [game developers] to write to
the fewest number of chip platforms, and in the enthusiast-PC category
right now the only game in town is [3Dfx's] Voodoo 2 [chip]," said
analyst Bob McQuillan at Jon Peddie Associates, Tiburon, Calif.

Glide 3's new features include triangle "strips" and "fans," plus
gamma table support for lighting brightness, vertex layout support, and
a mechanism for developers to write their own extensions and
optimizations. Glide 3 can be freely downloaded from 3Dfx's Web site
(www.3dfx.com).

September 14, 1998

Word Count: 129
9/14/98 ELBUYN 94
END OF DOCUMENT



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:33:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
I guess the following counts as PR:

9/10/98 Bus. Wire 11:16:00
Business Wire
Copyright (c) 1998, Business Wire

Thursday, September 10, 1998

NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway Gears Up for First-Ever Virtual Racing
Championship in 1998 3Dfx Cup

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 1998--

3Dfx and Creative Labs Launch Interactive Race For All Skill

Levels, Complete with Life-Size Stock Cars and A Virtual Track

NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway(TM), the country's hottest interactive race
driving center, announces the 3Dfx Cup, a four-state, four-city, no-holds-
barred, first-ever virtual NASCAR race driving championship worth $30,000 in
prize money.

The door-banging, white-knuckle, wheel-to-wheel racing action on the
simulated track at NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway is getting even more serious
with the creation of the "3Dfx Cup," a three-tiered competition open to players
of all abilities at Speedway race driving centers located in Minnesota's Mall
of America, in Illinois' Woodfield Shopping Center near Chicago, in Texas at
the Dallas Galleria and in Southern California's Irvine Spectrum Center.

Using a proprietary simulation system powered by 3Dfx Interactive technology,
the fully equipped, two-seat, 700hp NASCAR stock cars are each mounted on their
own full-motion platform. This allows NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway to provide
life-like, race-driving action including acceleration up to 195mph, banking and
bumping sensations.

Dale Jarrett, NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver, said "I am amazed at how
competitive this simulated race can get. I felt like I was fighting for every
inch of track, not unlike any given Sunday in a NASCAR Winston Cup race."

Contestants can qualify to race in Veteran, Professional and Rookie levels at
Speedway locations between September 12 and November 15, 1998. Following
elimination races on Nov. 18 through 20, the top two fastest qualifiers in each
category at each site will win a trip to Dallas plus two-nights hotel stay to
take part in the 3Dfx Cup's championship race on Dec. 5.

The top eight winners in each level will win prize money, with the
Professional first-place winner netting the grand prize of $5,000, followed by
the Veteran bracket champion winning $2,500 and the Rookie winner racking up
$1,250 in cash prizes.

3Dfx Interactive, Inc., along with Creative Labs, Inc. are the premier
sponsors of the 3Dfx Cup. NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway uses 3Dfx Voodoo2(TM)
technology in the form of Creative Lab's award-winning 3D Blaster Voodoo2 along
with Sound Blaster products to help create the hottest, most intense gaming
experience ever.

"The 3Dfx Cup is a sport of skill that combines the latest technology with
race car driving talent," said Doug Kennedy, events and promotions manager for
3Dfx Interactive, Inc. "The Speedway is powered by multiple Voodoo2 graphics
accelerators -- the same 3D graphics technology used to transform a PC into the
ultimate gaming machine. This techology delivers a visual experience that
rivals that of real racing."

"Creative is proud to be a premier sponsor of the 3Dfx Cup," said Jim
Carlton, product marketing manager for Creative Labs. "Our hardware provides
the sights and sounds of a racing experience so real you feel like you're
actually strapped to the seat of a NASCAR Winston Cup car."

A player's best lap time in a qualifying race will be used to determine the
category of competition: faster than 29.39 seconds is Professional, 29.40 to
29.99 seconds is Veteran and 30.00 seconds and above is Rookie. The cost to
qualify is $10 which includes a 3Dfx T-shirt and the chance to win $5,000. All
participants must be 18 years of age or older.

"We created the 3Dfx Cup in response to the popularity of racing leagues that
have sprung up at each Speedway and hope to expand it into an annual national
competition as dozens of sites open around the country over the next two
years," said Chris Morse, vice president of Silicon Entertainment, creators of
the Speedway.

Motor Trend Magazine says "Whether you're a closet stock-car race driver or
simply looking to boost your adrenaline count by a couple hundred percent, a
visit to a new NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway center is just the right
prescription." Sports Illustrated Magazine calls NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway
"an exhilarating approximation of real racing."

For information about local Speedway racing, telephone toll free
877/NEEDSPEED. Or visit NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway on the Web at
www.smsonline.com. Or check out the 3Dfx Web site at HYPERLINK http://
www.3dfx.com.

3Dfx Interactive develops high-performance, cost-effective 3D media
processors, software and related technology that are designed to enable a
highly immersive, interactive and realistic 3D experience across interactive
electronic entertainment platforms and personal computers, coin-operated arcade
systems and location-based entertainment. Current 3Dfx Interactive products
include the Voodoo family of accelerator chipsets, Voodoo2(TM), Voodoo Graphics
and Voodoo Banshee(TM).

Creative Technology Ltd. (Creative Labs) develops, manufactures and markets a
wide array of advanced multimedia solutions for the PC, entertainment,
education, music and productivity tools markets. Creative's products are
marketed through the OEM, systems integrator and retail channels under a
variety of trademarks, including the "Blaster" family name. With the new Sound
Blaster PCI standard, Creative has produced a solution that utilizes a
combination of hardware and software for near-perfect compatibility with
existing DOS and Windows titles.

Privately-held Silicon Entertainment (formerly LBE Technologies, Inc.),
creator of NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, is located in Cupertino, California.
NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, the most realistic and entertaining driving
simulator in the world, is officially licensed by NASCAR. Developed around
continually advancing technology, a network of NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway
race driving entertainment centers is being located throughout the U.S.
Note to Editors: Photos & videotape available

3Dfx Interactive and Voodoo Graphics are registered trademarks and Voodoo,
Voodoo2 and Voodoo Banshee are trademarks of 3Dfx Interactive.

CONTACT: KPR Frank Kappler, 415/777-4019 FKK2KPR
@aol.com or 3Dfx Interactive
Michele Spring, 408/935-4322 michele@3dfx.com 11:01 EDT
SEPTEMBER 10, 1998

---- INDEX REFERENCES ----

NEWS SUBJECT: Business Wire; Press Release Wires; New Products & Services;



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:35:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
9/10/98 Multimedia Wire (Pg. Unavail. Online)
1998 WL 7306421
Multimedia Wire
Copyright 1998

Thursday, September 10, 1998

Vol. 5, Issue: 175

3Dfx's Organizational Moves Aim to Focus on Core Strategies

3Dfx Interactive yesterday reorganized execs to focus on
technology, brand and software compatibility.

VP of Marketing Andy Keane left the company. Replacing him was
Michael Howse, who was promoted to VP of corporate marketing and
business development. Meanwhile, Janet Leising, former VP of software
engineering, is now VP of engineering. Co-founder Scott Sellers is now
senior VP of product development.

And Nader Vasseghi, former director of VLSI engineering, was
promoted to VP of hardware engineering. (3Dfx, Greg Ballard, CEO,
408/935-4462)

---- INDEX REFERENCES ----

COMPANY (TICKER): 3Dfx Interactive Inc. (TDFX)

INDUSTRY: Semiconductors (SEM)

Word Count: 81
9/10/98 MWIR (No Page)
END OF DOCUMENT



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:36:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
9/10/98 Multimedia Wire (Pg. Unavail. Online)
1998 WL 7306422
Multimedia Wire
Copyright 1998

Thursday, September 10, 1998

Vol. 5, Issue: 175

MMWire News Briefs
--
ECTS, GT/S&SI, ASC, Interplay, Infogrames, Midway, MGM, id, iMagic, Won.net,
Microsoft, Nintendo, SegaSoft, Mplayer, IMEX

ECTS Roundup: Midway Home Entertainment, at ECTS for the first
time, unveiled seven Color Game Boy titles, four of which will ship
simultaneously with the expected Nov. 23 UK launch of Nintendo's
machine. The titles are: Mortal Kombat 4, San Francisco Rush, Rampage
World Tour, NFL Blitz, to be followed next year by double-packs Spy
Hunter & Moon Patrol and Defender & Joust, and skateboard-sim 720. --
Nintendo was named publisher of the year, with its Goldeneye 007
winning "console game of the year" at the ECTS Interactive
Entertainment Awards, held on Saturday night. Blizzard Entertainment's
StarCraft picked up the PC gong, with PC hardware honors going to 3Dfx
Interactive's Voodoo2 chipset. PlayStation was named best
console.
. . .



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:38:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
9/9/98 PR Newswire 08:21:00
PR Newswire
Copyright (c) 1998, PR Newswire

Wednesday, September 9, 1998

3Dfx Expands Executive Staff to Help Advance the Company's Key Business
Strengths: Technology, Content and Brand

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- 3Dfx Interactive(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:
TDFX) today announced a reorganization of the company with the expansion of the
executive staff to focus on the company's three core business strategies:
technology, brand and software compatibility. Janet Leising, Nader Vasseghi
and Michael Howse, each promoted to executive staff positions, will help
provide the strategic leadership to ensure that 3Dfx Interactive retains its
leadership status in 3D-consumer entertainment.

3Dfx Technology Leadership

Janet Leising, formerly the vice president of software engineering, is now
the vice president of engineering. Leising joined the company in August 1995
as one of the first 30 employees and is responsible for all aspects of
engineering, including both software and hardware engineering organizations.
Leising previously led software development for the Voodoo(TM) family of
products, of which, more than 4 million units have been sold to date.

Nader Vasseghi, formerly director of VLSI engineering, was promoted to vice
president of hardware engineering. Vasseghi, who reports to Leising, manages
hardware development of graphic accelerators from product conception to release
to production.

As she did in the past, Leising will continue to report to co-founder, Scott
Sellers, who was also promoted to senior vice president of product
development. Sellers was previously head of engineering and is now head of
both engineering and product marketing. Sellers founded 3Dfx Interactive in
March of 1994 with Gary Tarolli and Ross Smith to provide unparalleled gaming
performance and the most realistic 3D experience in consumer entertainment.

"Our goals when the company began and the goals today are the same -- create
a standard platform that pushes the edge in content development and technology
performance, and then aggressively reduce the cost of the technology to fit in
mainstream OEM products," said Sellers. "We believe this reorganization will
ensure our ability to continue to develop the fastest and highest-quality 3D
accelerators for the PC entertainment market."

3Dfx Brand Power

Additionally, Michael Howse was promoted to vice president of corporate
marketing and business development, responsible for managing public relations,
marketing and branding programs, as well as creating strategic relationships
and new business opportunities for 3Dfx. Prior to joining 3Dfx this past
April, Howse earned kudos from industry insiders and was named one of ten
"Marketers of the Year" in 1997 by Marketing Computers.

Howse replaced marketing executive, Andy Keane, who has left the company to
pursue new opportunities. Keane, who joined 3Dfx in 1995, lead the company's
product marketing efforts during the formative stages.

"3Dfx's growth over the last year - in revenue and people - has been an
amazing experience and is the result of smart, innovative minds driving toward
our strategic leadership goals," said Greg Ballard, chief executive officer and
president of 3Dfx Interactive. "With the promotion of these key individuals,
we intend to advance our brand equity and promote our technology leadership
through the development and introduction of solid, leading-edge products."

3Dfx Executive Staff

The executive staff of 3Dfx Interactive follows:

Gordon Campbell, Chairman

L. Gregory Ballard, President and CEO

Karl Chicca, Vice President Operations

Michael Howse, Vice President Corporate Marketing & Business Development

Darlene Kindler, Vice President Developer Relations

Janet Leising, Vice President Engineering

Scott Sellers, Senior Vice President Product Development

Gary Tarolli, Chief Technology Officer

Nader Vasseghi, Vice President Hardware Engineering

Jordan Watters, Vice President Sales

David Zacarias, Vice President Administration and CFO

3Dfx Interactive

3Dfx Interactive develops high-performance, cost-effective 3D media
processors, software and related technology that are designed to enable a
highly immersive, interactive and realistic 3D experience across interactive
electronic entertainment platforms -- personal computers, coin-operated arcade
system and location-based entertainment. Current 3Dfx Interactive products
include the Voodoo(TM) family of accelerator chip sets, Voodoo 2(TM), Voodoo
Graphics(R) and Voodoo Banshee(TM). Visit the company on the Web at http://
www.3dfx.com.

NOTE: 3Dfx Interactive and Voodoo Graphics are registered trademarks and
Voodoo, Voodoo2 and Voodoo Banshee are trademarks of 3Dfx Interactive.

/CONTACT: Michele Spring of 3Dfx Interactive, Inc., 408-935-4322, or michele
@3dfx.com/ 08:01 EDT



To: Curbstone who wrote (7096)9/12/1998 7:40:00 PM
From: Gary Korn  Respond to of 16960
 
More PR:

9/8/98 Bus. Wire 11:44:00
Business Wire
Copyright (c) 1998, Business Wire

Tuesday, September 8, 1998

Blockbuster Video, Macromedia, iDot, Canopus and Kinetix Join Chaos! Comics in
Launching "3-D Character Design/Player Plug-in Contest" for "Quake II"

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz./HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Sept. 8, 1998--

Companies Join id Software, Activision and

3Dfx Interactive in Unique Contest

Chaos! Comics (one of North America's top-ten comic book publishing
companies, with a circulation of between 100,000 and 150,000 comic books sold
monthly), Blockbuster, Macromedia, iDot, Canopus, and Kinetix are joining
forces to offer contestants -- 3-D artists and 3-D modelers worldwide -- the
opportunity to design their own 3-D versions of Chaos! Comics' popular stable
of characters in conjunction with Quake II, id Software's hugely popular PC/CD-
ROM Game, distributed by Activision.

The aforementioned companies join id Software, Activision and 3Dfx
Interactive as corporate sponsors of the contest. The announcement was made
today by Brian Pulido, President and Founder of Chaos! Comics.

The basic idea behind the unique contest is for video gamers, computer
artists, and novice computer users to create a Chaos! character 3D-player plug-
in model for use in Quake II. Contestants can create 3D versions of such Chaos!
Characters as Evil Ernie(R), Lady Death(R), Chastity(TM), and Homicide(TM).
Once created, the models can be dropped into Quake II, and actually become
characters within the game environment. Participants are urged to visit the
Chaos! website at www.chaoscomics.com, to get a good look at the stable of
Chaos! characters and to obtain contest rules and instructions.

The contest kicks off on October 1, 1998. All submissions must be received
via e-mail or by disk no later than December 31, 1998. Prizes valued at over
$20,000 include Gamer Extreme computers from iDot, Blockbuster Video(R) gift
certificates, Quake II Mission Packs, Voodoo(2) boards from 3Dfx and Canopus,
Multimedia Studio and Dreamweaver programs from Macromedia, 3D Studio MAX from
Kinetix, Chaos! products, the opportunity to create a panel in one of Chaos!
Comics' books, and more. Prizes will be given in numerous categories such as
"Best Overall Model," "Best Evil Ernie," and "Best Lady Death." Winners will be
announced on the Chaos! website on January 15, 1999.

Quake II, the popular "first person shooter game," was developed and
published by id Software and distributed by Activision, a premier worldwide
developer, publisher, and distributor of interactive entertainment software for
PCs. Texas-based id Software, whose titles include Doom, Doom II, and
Wolfenstein 3-D, is the hottest game shop in the world.

Macromedia's mission is to add life to the Web. By providing its award-
winning Web Publishing, Web Traffic, and Web Learning solutions to web
designers, consumers, and the enterprise, Macromedia is delivering a completely
new generation of Internet tools and technologies designed to transform the Web
experience. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more
than 550 employees worldwide and is available on the Internet at http://
www.macromedia.com. Macromedia also hosts one of the most engaging
entertainment sites on the web at shockrave.com.

Kinetix is the publisher of the industry standard in professional 3D modeling
software, Canopus is a leading manufacturer of Voodoo(2) 3D acceleration
boards, and iDot is the first company built for the Web and Web-savvy buyers.

Founded in 1993 by Brian Pulido and his wife, Francisca Pulido, in
Scottsdale, Arizona, with a satellite office in Hollywood, CA, Chaos! Comics
has consistently remained one of the top ten comic book publishing companies in
North America since 1995. The company recently announced that it will "tag
team" with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF) to produce the
"Undertaker" comic book, a new monthly comic based on the most popular and
"dark" wrestler in the WWF. The company is the number one publisher of
"supernatural" comics, appealing to a wide generational span of readers,
including females. Chaos! has consistently led the publishing industry in the
introduction of "cutting edge" innovations within the comic book field,
including the first-ever velvet, leather, canvas and "coffin"-shaped magazine
covers.
Chaos! Comics(R) and all Chaos! character names are registered
trademarks of Chaos! Comics, Inc. (c)1998 Chaos! Comics, Inc. All
rights reserved. Activision(R) is a registered trademark of
Activision, Inc. All Rights Reserved. QUAKE(R) is a registered
trademark of id Software, Inc. QUAKE II(TM) and the id Software(TM)
name are trademarks of id Software, Inc. The BLOCKBUSTER name, design,
and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster Entertainment Inc. All
other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective
owners.
To Sponsor

Contact: Kyle Bousquet/Chaos! Comics (rumble@chaoscomics.com) CONTACT:
Asbury Communications, Hollywood Mike Garfinkel
(213) 962-8203 11:29 EDT SEPTEMBER 8, 1998