Spore franchise leaps onto Nintendo platforms this October (UK)

– Create, Fight and Explore Spore-Style for the First Time on the Wii –
Guildford, UK – 17th August 2009 – Get ready for heroic battles, vibrant worlds and boundless creativity! Maxis™, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today announced that Spore™ Hero and Spore™ Hero Arena will be available on the 9th October 2009. Built from the ground up exclusively for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ platforms, Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena introduce a new level of action-packed adventure and combat to the critically acclaimed Spore franchise.

““Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena give Spore and Nintendo fans a new, dynamic and engaging way to interact with their customised creature heroes,” said Lucy Bradshaw, VP and General Manager at Maxis. “Players’ heroes take center stage as both games, distinctly tailor-made for its Nintendo platform, infuse creativity, combat and adventure to create a unique gameplay experience on the Wii and Nintendo DS.”

Spore Hero delivers the unparalleled creative freedom of Spore in an action-adventure game created exclusively for the Wii. Set in a rich and vibrant 3D world, Spore Hero empowers the player to become the hero as they embark on an epic quest to save their creature’s home planet from destruction. Along this journey, players engage in fun battles, and solve puzzles to collect and unlock more than 250 new creature parts, all with unique abilities. These parts, which can be used to customise creatures in the revolutionary Spore Creature Creator, can change the way creatures will play and combat in the world. Players can also utilise their brawling skills in a dynamic multiplayer mode, where they fight their friends with their own customised creature to become the ‘baddest’ Spore hero around!

Spore Hero Arena catapults players into a galaxy filled with fun and intense arena-based combat. Featuring an all-new story set in the same universe as Spore Hero, Spore Hero Arena takes players on a quest to save planets in their galaxy from an evil force. Throughout the game, players create their own unique gladiator hero creature and guide it from planet to planet as they fight enemy creatures, collect new parts, gain upgrades and unlock special abilities that will benefit their hero. Developed with multiplayer capabilities in mind, Spore Hero Arena also allows players to battle with up to three friends locally or play with a friend over Wi-Fi, taking the Spore gameplay experience to an entirely new and interactive level.

Available for £39.99 RSP Spore Hero is rated 7+ by PEGI Spore Hero Arena is available for £29.99 RSP and is rated 7+ by PEGI

To learn more about Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena, play minigames and download fun content, please visit www.sporehero.com. For screenshots or press materials about the Spore franchise, please visit www.eagames.co.uk/press.

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About Spore
Spore, available for PC and Mac®, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even spaceships. Spore Creatures, available on Nintendo DS™, takes players on a quest to save their species and the entire Galaxy. Meet, befriend or fight other creatures in a number of unique Touch Screen-based activities. Spore Galactic Adventures, available now, allows players to beam down to planets for the first time and play, create and share missions with friends online. Available in October, Spore Hero, exclusive to the Wii™ and Spore Hero Arena for the Nintendo DS, catapult players into the role of a fully-customized hero creature fighting to save its planet.

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 SPORTSTM, EATM, EA MobileTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.electronicarts.co.uk. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.eagames.co.uk/press.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, POGO, Maxis, and Spore are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. Mac is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective licensors.