EA Takes It to the Streets with Need for Speed Underground

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--April 30, 2003--Enter the adrenaline-filled world of high performance street racers in the latest game from the award-winning Need for Speed(TM) franchise, Need for Speed(TM) Underground from Electronic Arts . The new EA GAMES(TM) title is under development by the award winning Need For Speed(TM) Hot Pursuit 2 team. The game features a breakthrough sensation of speed, developed by an OSCAR(R) nominated special effects expert, and a spectacular graphic presentation showcasing an exciting lineup of licensed cars and aftermarket performance parts (mods) from top manufacturers.
    Need for Speed Underground allows gamers to build a completely unique exotic ride by earning cash to pay for custom body kits and a host of car mods by winning events. But just creating the ultimate custom street racing machine will not get a racer to the top; it takes a certain amount of attitude and razor sharp driving skills to compete in the tough world of urban racing.
    A number of diverse events set in gritty, nighttime environments make up the heart of street competition. Players become complete street racers by perfecting skills in each event; by nailing the perfect shift in drag racing, and by putting their street cred on the line, racing through the city streets late at night.
    The game features 20 fully customizable licensed cars from Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru(R), Toyota(TM) and other top manufacturers. There are hundreds of ways to customize one's ride with aftermarket parts from dozens of providers including AEM Inc., Audiobahn(R), Bilstein(R), Dazz Motorsport, DC Sports, Eibach(R), Enkei, GReddy Performance Products Inc., HKS(R), Holley(R), Injen(TM), Jackson Racing, MOMO, Neuspeed(R), Nitrous Express Inc., O.Z. s.P.a., PIAA, Skunk2 Racing, Sparco(R), StreetGlow(R), and Turbonetics Inc.
    Need for Speed Underground is slated to ship for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the Nintendo GameCube(TM), Game Boy(R) Advance, and the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft and will ship in the beginning of next year. The game is being developed by EA Black Box.

    About Electronic Arts

    Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.7 billion for fiscal 2002. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS(TM), EA GAMES(TM), EA SPORTS BIG(TM), and EA.COM(SM). More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.info.ea.com.

    Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, EA GAMES, EA SPORTS BIG and Need for Speed are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA.COM is a service mark of EA.com Inc. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo. Microsoft and Xbox are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. OSCAR is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture and Sciences. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.