|
Age of Empires Tops Worldwide PC Game Best-Seller Lists Success Among Strategy Gamers Validated by Industry Praise REDMOND, Wash. - Feb. 5, 1998 - Microsoft Corp. today announced that Age of Empires - the company's award-winning, epic, real-time strategy game - has been the best-selling strategy game in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France since its release in October 1997. To date, customers have acquired more than 850,000 units of the popular title in 55 countries, and Age of Empires is ranked the No. 1-selling PC strategy game in the United States by PC Data. These facts establish Age of Empires as one of the hottest new PC games during a period when sequels have dominated the best-seller lists. "Age of Empires seems to have struck a chord among gamers around the world," said Ed Fries, general manager of the games group at Microsoft. "It's exciting to see Age of Empires come out on top, especially during a holiday season when we had so many strong competitors with well-established brands. Bruce Shelley designed this game with wide global appeal." Age of Empires Receives Worldwide Praise Reflecting the consumer response to Age of Empires, the game has received worldwide industry praise for delivering great game play. Its awards and reviews include the following:
More About Age of Empires Age of Empires is an epic, real-time strategy game spanning 10,000 years in which players are the guiding spirit in the evolution of small Stone Age tribes. Starting with minimal resources, players are challenged to build their tribes into great civilizations. Gamers can choose from several ways to win, including conquering enemy civilizations, exploring the known world and accumulating wealth. Age of Empires is the creation of a business relationship between Microsoft and Dallas-based Ensemble Studios, a startup game-development company led by designer Bruce Shelley. Shelley previously has worked on hit titles such as Civilization and Railroad Tycoon. Pricing and Availability Age of Empires is currently available at computer retailers across the country with an estimated retail price of $54.95. A free trial version is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/games/empires/. It includes both single-player and multiplayer functionality and a variety of game-play scenarios. In addition, players can use the trial version to wage battles against one another, for free (connect-time charges may apply), over the Internet Gaming Zone at (http://www.zone.com/). Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. Microsoft and Age of Empire are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft's corporate information pages. |