Press Release

Prior to launching or actively marketing the game sites, Simutronics has more than 20,000 people signed up as paying customers. According to David Whatley, president and CEO of Simutronics, "At this rate, we’re within weeks of surpassing TEN as the biggest pay-for-play game company on the web." The Total Entertainment Network currently claims between 25,000 and 30,000 members.

"For our grand opening on the Web, Simutronics employees worked night and day to create the best software and the most features in any games on the web," continued Whatley. We also increased our computer capacity by more than 50 percent and laid in more than 10 times the bandwidth we had with the online services."

Beginning today, Simutronics launches a marketing campaign budgeted at approximately $5 million over the next 12 months. Game sites will be promoted on major web sites and in print. Players can take advantage of a two-week free trial offer available at each of its Internet game sites.

Players of Simutronics games on the Internet will enjoy enhanced game features at the new Web sites, including the Advanced Wizard Front End and Message Boards. The Advanced Wizard Front End gives PC and Macintosh players information at a glance, including their inventory, health and wealth. In addition, the Advanced Wizard Front End makes it easier to navigate by highlighting the available directions. Customizable options such as the ability to highlight friends’ dialogue in different colors makes play more fun and engaging.

"GameMasters" Prepare Games for Challenging and Unpredictable Play

Simutronics’ game creators and GameMasters have tested the sites and "lived" in the new online communities building improvements to ensure a smooth transition for current players.

"Players will be amazed with the improved Wizard Front End, quick updates and the fantastic community enhancements built into the game sites," said Mike Mhorigan, a GemStone IV GameMaster with Simutronics for more than 2 years. "We are building new cities to make the gameworld more alive and look forward to hosting special events and quests as we welcome everyone to our home on the Internet."

Simutronics’ GameMasters oversee play within the games. Their job is world building and social management – creating new areas, systems and creatures, interacting with players in role-playing events and maintaining the integrity, rules and policies that keep the game fun for everyone. In addition, GameMasters have the ability to monitor game play and tweak the games to keep play unpredictable and exciting for players. GameMasters can change the powers of trolls and monsters and help newcomers along by offering hints on strategy and game play.

Simutronics Games Most Popular Online

Players have logged more than two million hours of paid play in a single month on Simutronics games online. Just as chat rooms have become one of the most popular uses of the Internet, role-playing games, such as GemStone IV and DragonRealms, are by far the most popular titles online.

The four games now available on the World Wide Web are:

· GemStone IV is a MUD-style, fantasy role-playing game set in a medieval world of magic where players team up with powerful allies and earn rewards through feats of daring. Ever-evolving worlds are created in GemStone IV by the GameMasters, who are constantly changing the playing field to keep the game exciting. In the seven years since its creation, nearly one million people have played GemStone III, making it the number one online game of all time.

· DragonRealms, a spin-off of GemStone IV, is a very rich MUD-style game designed to focus the player on role-playing. Details about the game system are hidden, so the player is immersed in a fantasy adventure. Like any living world, the game is constantly growing and introducing new experiences and quests. In less than one year, DragonRealms has grown to be the second most popular online game, with more than 800,000 paid usage hours per month.

· CyberStrike is an award-winning, true, 3-D action game with arcade action and stereo sound. CyberStrike delivers real-time interaction as teams of robot CyberPods compete in a virtual cityscape. CyberStrike 2, a quantum leap forward in graphical online games, is under development for release later this year.

· Modus Operandi is a multiplayer, role-playing game in which players are invited to step into a fictitious modern-day world and assume the identity of a private investigator. The game was co-created with Time Warner’s Mysterious Press division of Warner Books and by Time Warner Electronic Publishing.
Pricing and Availability

The new subscription-based services will offer access to GemStone IV, DragonRealms or Modus Operandi for $9.95 each per month, with access to CyberStrike priced at $7.95 per month. Premium subscriptions, enabling players to develop multiple characters and receive priority VIP treatment in online gaming events, will be offered for select games at an additional $20 per month. For general information, players can visit http://simutronics.net.

In addition to the Internet sites, GemStone IV will also be available on Prodigy, CompuServe and Genie. DragonRealms will also continue to be available on Prodigy and Genie. All titles may be accessed via America Online. To sign up for any Simutronics game, players should visit the web site for that game. To advertise on Simutronics’ game sites, contact John Oberg at 561/243-6829 or joberg@simutronics.com.

About Simutronics

Simutronics Corp., the leader in multiplayer online games, specializes in the design, development and management of games created specifically for collaborative play in virtual online communities. Available on the World Wide Web and through major online services and publishers including Time Warner and Viacom, Simutronics’ titles are the leaders in online play, serving more than 5,000 simultaneous players nightly and 200,000 players per month with usage well over 2 million user-hours monthly. Founded in 1987, Simutronics Corp. is a privately held corporation with offices in St. Charles, MO and Rockville, MD.