Press Release

975% growth in 5 years ranks Internet game developer among the nation's corporate elite.

Rockville, MD (October 19, 1999) - In its recently released annual report, Inc. magazine named Simutronics, the leading developer of multi-player Internet games, as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the country.

Ranked 295th out of 500 companies on Inc.'s list, Simutronics has experienced 975% growth from sales of $474,000 in 1994 to sales of $5,096,000 in 1998. Simutronics’ text-based role-playing games, GemStone IV, DragonRealms, Hercules & Xena: Alliance of Heroes, and Modus Operandi, attract over 40,000 subscribers and generate more than 2 million hours of game play per month. "No other on-line pursuit comes within a broadsword's reach," says Inc. magazine.

In the online medieval fantasy worlds built by Simutronics, players create richly detailed characters and interact with other players from around the world. With an emphasis on cooperation and camaraderie, Simutronics’ games engage players on a long-term basis. "GemStone IV has the most on-line usage of any game," says Mark Mooradian, senior analyst with Internet-research producer Jupiter Communications. "You might see some players migrate to graphics-based games," Mooradian says, "but Simutronics' strength is in its role-playing. Loyalty comes from creating a character and identifying with the community."

Simutronics' continuing growth has also earned it a place in Washington Technology magazine's "Fast Fifty" for the second consecutive year, ranking it among the top technology companies in the DC Metropolitan area. By working with major players such as Microsoft, Excite, Lycos, mPlayer, and AT&T, Simutronics has built the largest online game distribution network in the industry with a market reach in the tens of millions. As Executive Vice President Neil Harris explains, "the winning formula of great products and partnerships has driven the steady increase in revenue over the years."

The Inc. 500 designation is the latest in a series of awards that Simutronics has been receiving on both national and local levels. The company was recently honored with the 1999 State Blue Chip Enterprise Award by Mass Mutual, one of the nation's premier financial service companies, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation. The national program recognizes businesses that have demonstrated the ability to succeed in the face of serious challenge.

Simutronics’ road to success has not been without obstacles, yet the company continues to thrive. Faced with detrimental pricing changes to its host online service, Simutronics took the risky leap to the Internet in 1997. The proactive strategy proved enormously successful as subscribers and revenue doubled in the first year on the web. "In the constantly changing landscape of the Internet, businesses must be able to act fast, think on their feet, and not only adapt to change, but find ways to use it their advantage," says David Whatley, the company's founder and CEO.

Future prospects for Simutronics are bright, as the company continues to develop cutting-edge multi-player Internet games. Last year, the company released CyberStrike 2, its foray into 3D graphical action games. Now the company is developing Hero’s Journey, a much-anticipated graphical fantasy role-playing game that is designed to leapfrog its competition in game play and personalization.

The company is also capitalizing on its web distribution strategy, where partners including Microsoft, Lycos, Excite, mPlayer and AT&T provide a constant stream of more than 100,000 new player prospects each month. The company is seeking additions to its current lineup of six home-grown titles, including those from outside the company’s own studio.

About Simutronics

Simutronics Corp. (http://play.net), the pioneer in online gaming, is a fast-growing, Internet game company that designs, develops, and operates games created from the ground up for collaborative play over the Internet. Simutronics’ games generate nearly 2 million hours of game play per month and attract 5,000 simultaneous players at peak times each night. Simutronics has forged distribution partnerships with leading companies such as Lycos, Excite, AT&T WorldNet and mPlayer and development relationships with Universal New Media, Time Warner and 989 Studios, a subsidiary of Sony. Founded in 1987, Simutronics Corp. is a profitable, privately held corporation with offices in St. Charles, Missouri, and Rockville, Maryland.