X-COM Interceptor(TM) From MicroProse Goes Gold

    ALAMEDA, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroProse, Inc. (Nasdaq:   MPRSD),
 a worldwide interactive entertainment company, announced today that the next
 PC CD-ROM game in the best-selling, award-winning X-COM series, X-COM
 Interceptor(TM), has mastered with an initial launch of 125,000 units shipping
 worldwide beginning June 15. X-COM Interceptor is the fourth game in the X-COM
 series, which to date has sold almost one million units worldwide, achieving
 status as one of the best-selling science fiction computer game series of all
 time.
     "Getting playable demos in the hands of game players is a key part of our
 marketing strategy," said Robert Botch, senior vice president of marketing at
 MicroProse. "By partnering our Internet efforts with companies such as Pepsi
 and Microsoft, our campaign reaches a mass audience in a direct and targeted
 manner."
     "X-COM Interceptor offers the best of both gaming worlds -- action space
 simulation and strategy," said Jason Henderson, product information specialist
 and game expert at Babbage's Etc. "The X-COM Interceptor retail demo has been
 flying off the shelf," Henderson added.
 
     Marketing and Promotions:
     MicroProse is supporting the release of X-COM Interceptor with numerous
 marketing programs, World Wide Web promotions and retail promotions. These
 programs include:
 
     Over One Million Gamers Sample X-COM via Demo -- Over one million
 impressions have been made through online sites, gaming publications and
 retail outlets via the X-COM Interceptor demo.
     X-COM on the Microsoft(R) Windows 98 Game Sampler -- The X-COM Interceptor
 demo will be featured on the Microsoft Windows 98 Game Sampler, an OEM CD-ROM
 and DVD product that includes both game demos and an interactive guide to the
 world of Windows gaming. The sampler will be available in July 1998.
     Exclusive X-COM Pepsi World Game Promotion in June -- Pepsi World, Pepsi
 Cola Company's entertainment-based online community
 ( http://www.pepsiworld.com ), has entered into an online marketing
 partnership with MicroProse which will highlight X-COM Interceptor. With over
 half a million visitors per day, the Pepsi World site provides a high-profile
 launch pad for X-COM Interceptor. The Pepsi World web page includes a
 downloadable demo and detailed game information. Contests and developer chat
 sessions are scheduled to follow in the coming weeks.
     Microsoft(R) Internet Gaming Zone Is Official X-COM Multiplayer Site
 -- Free multiplayer game action via the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone
 ( http://www.zone.com/ ) will be available simultaneously with the release of
 X-COM Interceptor.
 
     Gameplay:
     X-COM Interceptor combines the action of space flight games with the
 in-depth strategy of legendary X-COM games to create a truly addicting
 gameplay experience. In X-COM Interceptor(TM), the player takes command of a
 hand-picked, elite force that has been fielded to meet the aliens on their own
 turf -- the depths of space. Players will battle swarms of alien fighters in a
 dynamic real-time 3-D universe full of asteroids, black holes and other deadly
 space phenomena. The strategy gameplay in X-COM Interceptor is similar to the
 previous X-COM games and includes a mix of resource management, scientific
 research and base construction and maintenance. X-COM Interceptor is the first
 X-COM game with a multiplayer game mode that allows up to 16 players to battle
 in a galactical "deathmatch" with customized space vehicles.
 
     Game Storyline:
     The year is 2067, about 17 years after the events in X-COM: Terror From
 the Deep and a full 17 years prior to the events in X-COM: Apocalypse. After
 the continued degradation of Earth's environment due to alien wars in X-COM:
 UFO Defense and Terror From the Deep, the human race resorted to searching for
 minerals and resources in far reaches of space. Once again, the future of the
 human race is in the hands of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (X-COM) which
 must fight the aliens on their own turf:  deep space.
 
     Category:  Action with strategy elements
     Era:  Future
     Format:  Windows 95/98 with DirectX 5.0
     Min. Requirements:  Minimum system of 133MHz compatible or faster with 3-D
                         graphics accelerator or 166MHz compatible without
                         graphics accelerator, Windows 95, 16MB RAM, quad-speed
                         CD-ROM drive, 16-bit color graphics, DirectX
                         compatible sound card.
 
     MicroProse, Inc. is a leading developer and publisher of interactive
 entertainment software for use on CD-ROM-based personal computers. The company
 has five development studios located in Alameda, California; Hunt Valley,
 Maryland; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Chipping Sodbury,
 England. Products are available nationally and internationally and are sold
 through major distributors, retailers and mass merchants. Product and company
 information are available for download from the MicroProse World Wide Web site
 at www.microprose.com.
     NOTE:  X-COM is a registered trademark and X-COM Interceptor is a
 trademark of MicroProse, Inc.  Microsoft is a registered trademark or
 trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
 Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective
 owners.
 
 

SOURCE  MicroProse, Inc.