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NCAA Basketball 09 from EA Sports Ships to Stores Today

^{Published on 2008-11-17 11:28:11 - Market Wire}
 

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced that NCAA® Basketball 09 ships to retailers today in North America, delivering a college basketball experience that captures the emotion, intensity and atmosphere of a real college basketball game. Featuring former UCLA star Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves on its cover, NCAA Basketball 09 showcases a new, strategic college basketball gameplay experience that challenges gamers to replicate their school's style of play and set the game tempo to win.

Experience the electricity of game night with the band playing fight songs, the student section leading the cheers and ESPN college basketball broadcasters Dick Vitale, Brad Nessler and Erin Andrews providing the commentary. Whether your school plays up tempo looking to push the ball in transition, runs a half-court offense that utilizes the clock and limits possessions or features a balanced attack that combines transition offense with set plays, NCAA Basketball 09 rewards the strategic gamer and emphasizes team specific styles of play.

Dream match-ups are a reality as NCAA Basketball 09 enables you to replay classic games in college basketball history in the EA SPORTS™ ESPN Classic Tournament of Legends -- 64 of the greatest college teams from every era placed into the ultimate bracket and to determine who takes home the crown.

This year on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, NCAA Basketball 09 will operate on a new gameplay engine with over 1,000 new animation sequences that deliver a more responsive experience with improved ball physics and more intelligent AI. The new animation system enables gamers to apply pressure defense with new full-court presses and traps. Plus, improved AI and animations enable quicker players to get up and down the floor faster and make better decisions running the lanes and driving to the rim.

NCAA Basketball 09 is in development at EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. It is also available on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated "E" for everyone by the ESRB. To learn more about the game visit [ www.ncaabasketball09.com ]. Box art, screen shots and fact sheet of NCAA Basketball 09 can be downloaded at [ http://info.ea.com ].

EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL Football, FIFA Soccer, NHL^® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA^® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR^® and NASCAR^®racing.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA™, EA SPORTS™, EA SPORTS Freestyle™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is [ www.ea.com ]. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at [ http://info.ea.com ].

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and III sports. For more information, go to [ www.ncaa.org ].

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved. All names, logos, team icons, and mascots associated with the NCAA, universities, and conferences are the exclusive property of the respective institutions. NCAA and March Madness are trademarks or registered trademark of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. "PlayStation" and "PLAYSTATION" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. NCAA Basketball 09 is intended for recreational purposes only and should not be used for sports wagering activities.