EA Ships SimCity 4 Play God, Play Mayor, or Play With Your Sims in This Ultimate SimCity experience REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Jan. 14, 2003 - Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS - News) today announced the release of the long-awaited 4th generation of the PC game SimCity(TM), SimCity(TM) 4. Featuring new simulation and graphics engines, new regional game play and the new ability to track the lives of individual Sims as they go about their daily routine, SimCity 4 is the most realistic, powerful and personal SimCity experience ever. "In SimCity 4 a city comes to life like never before," said Lucy Bradshaw, Executive in Charge of Production at Maxis(TM), developers of the #1 selling PC game of all time, The Sims(TM). "This is the most responsive, personal and satisfying SimCity yet." Right from the start, players experience new God-like powers of creation as they lay the groundwork for their cities by molding mountains, carving valleys, seeding forests and laying rivers. With these new landscape creation features, players can now construct the most realistic metropolis imaginable. Unlike earlier games in the series, SimCity 4 cities do not live in isolation from the world, they are part of an entire region. Each city a player creates becomes part of an ever-growing tapestry of municipalities that, once connected by transportation networks, share and compete for resources. Depending upon the choices made by a player, this multi-city game play can result in a variety of outcomes within that region. For the first time ever, players can follow a Sim as they go about their life in the city. Players can personalize their Sim and immediately move him or her into any area and watch them experience life in the city, first hand. Is he or she enjoying a happy existence in an urban utopia or enduring a futile fight for survival in the inner-city? A player's Sim provides valuable clues to improving the city. SimCity 4 allows players to actually touch their handiwork and feel the pulse of their creation. Whether a metropolis is booming with expansion or decaying through neglect, the new SimCity 4 simulation engine gives players immediate feedback so they can react to its every need. Individual buildings and their lots now provide feedback to the player who lives there. Bigger, better and more relevant disasters are also available along with the ability to dispatch the police or fire department to areas in the city where they are needed. Your every decision in this new SimCity has much more of an impact and gives you the ability to respond more effectively. Day and night, the movement in SimCity 4 is first-person, frenetic, palpable and unpredictable. Pursuing a lifelong fascination with simulations, legendary game designer Will Wright and the team at Maxis created the original SimCity in 1989. Critically acclaimed, it garnered dozens of awards and sold millions of copies both domestically and internationally. SimCity 2000(TM) followed in 1993. SimCity 3000(TM), released in 1999, became the #1 selling PC game that year. SimCity 3000 and SimCity 3000(TM) Unlimited, an enhanced version released in 2000, combined have sold over 5 million units worldwide. For more information on SimCity 4, please visit http://www.simcity.com. SimCity 4 works with Windows® XP, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows 98. Windows 95 and Windows NT are not supported. The game requires 500 MHz Intel® Pentium® III or AMD® Athlon(TM) processor,128 MB RAM,8x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive,1 GB free hard disk space plus space for saved games. Additional space required for Windows swap-file and DirectX(TM) 8.1 installation. Additional requirements include a 16 MB video card with DirectX 7.0 compatible driver. Players will also need a DirectX 7.0 compatible sound card, keyboard and mouse. SimCity 4 carries an ESRB rating of "E" for everyone. It is available in stores now for a suggested retail price of US $49.99 or by direct order from the EA Store(SM) at http://www.ea.com or by calling 877-EA GAMES (1-877-324-2637).