Tuesday December 1, 9:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Berkeley Systems Celebrates First
Anniversary of Acrophobia On Bezerk
Players Put Their Creativity on the Line More
Than 20 Million Times in the First Year
BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1998--The first anniversary of Acrophobia, the online game that
has spawned several marriages, dozens of player conventions, and hundreds of fan web sites was celebrated today
by Berkeley Systems, Inc., a Sierra company. Launched a year ago on Bezerk (www.bezerk.com), Acrophobia has
won multiple awards including Best Online Game from FamilyPC, GameSpot's Best Online Only Game and
Yahoo!'s Pick of the Week twice. Acrophobia is part of the Bezerk line-up that includes YOU DON'T KNOW
JACK® the netshow, YOU DON'T KNOW JACK Sports the netshow and the currently Open Pilot What's the Big
Idea?
''I'm continually amazed at the extent to which people have embraced Acrophobia,'' said Anthony Shubert, creator
of Acrophobia. ''This game is only as good as its players and we have been blessed with a smart, funny and loyal
bunch. I'm convinced Acrophobia has one of best communities anywhere on the web today.''
Acrophobia pits players' creative energies against the clock and other players in true multiplayer gaming fashion. Up
to 14 people meet in a game room where they must come up with witty, creative phrases based on the group of three
to seven letters and the category displayed on the screen. Players have only seconds to enter a phrase matching both
the letters and category. There are hundreds of categories, ranging from sports to poetry and food to current events.
Gamers vote on their favorite phrases and points are awarded for speed and humor. Acrophobia also offers an
innovative chat feature that allows players to converse during the game. Due to popular demand, Berkeley Systems
has added special game rooms where teams, or ''Acro Clans'', compete in fiercely competitive team matches.
More than 20 million game sessions of Acrophobia have been played since the game first launched, forty-three
percent of which have been played by women. This is an exceptionally high percentage for an online game.
Acrophobia is simple to start playing, requires only a small time commitment from the player, and lends itself
perfectly to player interaction. Chat conversations are often initially sparked by player's acronyms and then quickly
expand from there. Some Acro enthusiasts play in a designated game room at the same set time with the same people
on a daily or weekly basis. There are literally hundreds of fan web sites dedicated to the game, some of them
dedicated to specific game rooms. Links to some of these sites and free graphics to use in their creation can be found
in the Acro Lounge.
Some players have had their lives changed by the other people they have met playing the game. Many have met their
fellow players in person at Acrophobia conventions and a few have even met their mates. ''In August I flew to
Texas from New York and met Admiral27 along with seven other Acrodome Regulars. Every single one of these
people will be my life-long friend. Admiral27 and I hit it off from the second we met and two months later he asked
me to marry him in open chat in the Acrodome. It seemed only fitting,'' said Acrophobia enthusiast Denise D.
Acrophobia fan Joe Clune added, ''As leader of an Acro clan, I care about my teammates. A couple of us met in
New Orleans for the weekend just before Hurricane Georges hit. When it became apparent New Orleans was going
to be evacuated, I invited my friends to stay at my home a few hours from the Big Easy. Acro got us together, and it
helped to provide them a place to stay while running from the wrath of Georges.''
This month Berkeley Systems is launching a fourth original game on Bezerk called What's the Big Idea?, the new
online multiplayer game where great minds think alike. What's the Big Idea? questions are fun, thought provoking,
and have no right or wrong answers. The better a player predicts how the other players will answer the faster he or
she can excel at the game. What's the Big Idea? is currently Open Pilot and can be played by the public during this
final stage of testing.
Berkeley Systems, Inc., a division of Sierra, develops and markets multimedia entertainment software, such as After
Dark® and YOU DON'T KNOW JACK. Berkeley Systems' products fall under the Sierra Attractions brand of high
quality products for the largest segment of PC gaming, the casual entertainment user. Sierra Attractions brings
together selected award-winning development teams from Sierra, Berkeley Systems and Dynamix.
Sierra, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and
productivity software. Sierra is comprised of six brands, Sierra Attractions, Sierra FX, Sierra Home, Sierra Sports,
Sierra Studios, and Dynamix, a Sierra Company. Sierra is part of Cendant Software, one of the largest PC
consumer software groups in the world, and a leader in entertainment, productivity and educational software.
Cendant Software is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation [NYSE:CD - news], one of the world's
foremost providers of consumer and business services.
Contact:
Berkeley Systems, Inc.
Cassie Roduner, 510/540-5535 ext. 772
pr@berksys.com
berkeleysystems.com |
