Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Marks New Success for Black Isle Studios

Having shipped over 500,000 units worldwide, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance ranked among the Top 10 PlayStation(R)2 games in its first week of release, making it the only PlayStation(R)2 title in the Top 10 that did not have a pre-established brand for any console platform (source: NPDFunworld(SM) TRSTS(R) Video Game Service; December 2-8, 2001).

"We knew we had a critical success when we announced Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance due to the overwhelming response the game received by the media," said Feargus Urquhart, President of Black Isle Studios. "Snowblind did an excellent job pushing the hardware to its limits and we are thrilled that gamers have made Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance a commercial success as well." "The next generation console systems offer a variety of opportunity for Interplay's strengths as a cutting edge game developer and publisher," said Herve Caen, President of Interplay Entertainment Corp. "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance for PlayStation(R)2 is the prefect example of the type of console game Interplay will be dedicated to bringing to console platforms in the future."

Black Isle Studios is best known for its computer role-playing games such as the Fallout(TM), Baldur's Gate(TM), Planescape: Torment(TM) and Icewind Dale(TM) franchises. With these titles, Black Isle Studios has won RPG of the Year awards from Computer Gaming World, Computer Games Magazine and PC Gamer.

Developed by Snowblind Studios, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an entirely new action adventure experience opening the Baldur's Gate franchise to a much wider gaming community. This innovative game features a distinctive blend of action and adventure set in the most popular Dungeons & Dragons(R) campaign setting, the FORGOTTEN REALMS(R). Faithful adaptation of the new Dungeons & Dragons rules set, customizable player characters and character development allows for an engrossing gameplay experience new to console gamers. Dramatic new spell effects and powerful new abilities have been included to add to the flavor of the action-packed game and assist the player in combat against the terrifying monsters found in the adventure. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is available now for PlayStation(R)2. More comprehensive information about Black Isle Studios and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance can be found on the official Black Isle web site, located at http://www.blackisle.com .

Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, is a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains. Producing both the Pokemon(TM) and world's best-selling Magic: The Gathering(R) trading card games, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games. Publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons games, family card and board games and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers. The company's retail locations, many of which provide game-play areas, include a growing chain of Wizards of the Coast(R) specialty game retail stores as well as 53 The Game Keeper(R) stores. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's web site and electronic retail store at http://www.wizards.com .

Black Isle Studios is a division of Interplay Entertainment Corp., a leading developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software for both core gamers and the mass market. Interplay currently balances its development efforts by publishing for personal computers as well as current and next generation video game consoles. Interplay releases products through Interplay, Shiny Entertainment, Digital Mayhem, Black Isle Studios, its distribution partners and its wholly owned subsidiary Interplay OEM, Inc. More comprehensive information on Interplay and its products is available through its worldwide web site at http://www.interplay.com