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New Online Game aRhythma, Invented by Teenager Dan Slutz, 18, of Canton, Ohio, Goes Live

^{Published on 2010-07-22 14:55:47 - Market Wire}
 

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Best Buy and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) in association with By Kids For Kids (BKFK) announced today that aRhythm,a the new game invented by Dan Slutz, winner of their 2009 Invent-A-Game Challenge, is now available free of charge at [ www.ea.com/rhythm ] and will be available the first week of August at [ www.bestbuy.com/games ].

"and it has been a pleasure bringing Dana™s vision to reality."

Dan Slutz, 18, of Canton, Ohio won the National Invent-A-Game Challenge, a competition for Americaa™s youth to create their own video games in June 2009. Slutz won for his music-based platform game where players battle evil forces utilizing various musical styles as weapons to advance, conquer and defeat their enemies. As the Grand Prize Winner, Dan was honored at EAa™s offices in Los Angeles, and received his Grand Prize, a $10,000 U.S. savings bond.

In the game, Rhythm is the hero of the story, in trying to recover the stolen platinum disc from his nemesis Sylence. The loss of the platinum disc has stolen music and color from the world, and converted its youthful inhabitants into mindless, colorless drones. Rhythm needs to explore the world, use a megaphone to convert drones back to music loving teens, and re-power amps to bring music and color back to the world. Rhythm can collect new musical genres, which when enabled change the world and allow him to perform special moves. When Rhythm finally catches up with Sylence, he needs all of the musical genres to defeat his arch enemy and recover the platinum disc.

aRhythm,a™ created by Dan Slutz, was developed by Say Design, with support and funding from Electronic Arts Inc. and the Best Buy Foundation, in cooperation with BKFK.

aIt is really exciting to see that my game has actually come to life and is ready to play,a said inventor Dan Slutz. aThis is a very important first step in realizing my dream to become a video game developer.a

aBest Buy is thrilled to be able to bring the game aRhythma™ to life for our customers,a said David Benson, merchant director, gaming for Best Buy. aDana™s hard work has definitely paid off.a

aThe game is loads of fun to play,a said Kevin Shrapnell, Development Director of EA, aand it has been a pleasure bringing Dana™s vision to reality.a

Norman Goldstein, the founder and CEO of By Kids For Kids, added: aDan Slutz is a perfect example of the power of youth to create engaging and compelling products. We congratulate Dan on the launch of aRhythma™ and wish him well in his future career as a video game developer. Also, BKFK would like to thank EA and Best Buy for all their incredible support of this competition.a

Notes to Editors:

About By Kids For Kids Co.

By Kids for Kids® (BKFK®) is a platform that empowers youth invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. BKFK promotes youth social innovation and partners with leading corporations to inspire product development, crucial technology skills, invention, and innovation in young people from 8 to 22. BKFK provides a unique platform for young people to develop, showcase, and commercialize their products, inventions and entrepreneurship. BKFK's acycle of innovation' develops critical 21^st century skills in our nation's youth. The company provides educational resources- curriculum and challenges that promote social change, product development and entrepreneurial endeavors. Learn more: [ www.bkfk.com ]

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, Mexico and Turkey, Best Buy isa multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $49 billion in annual revenueand includes brands such asBest Buy; Best Buy Mobile; Audiovisions; The Carphone Warehouse; Future Shop; Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star; Magnolia Audio Video; Napster; Pacific Sales; and The Phone House. Approximately 180,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers throughretail locations, multiple callcentersand Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery andactivities in our communities. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2010, we donateda combined $25.2 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work.

For more information about Best Buy, visit [ www.bestbuy.com ]

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSa", EAa", EA Mobilea" and POGOa". In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. 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 ].

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc.